NOMUK: Cover Lies Compounded by Bogus Power Brick Claims

We reported yesterday that the freshly-launched Nintendo Official Magazine, under the banner of Future Publishing, had gotten off to something of a depressing start by publishing what can only be described as a big fat lie on its front cover. “World's first hands-on session with the Revolution controller!” the magazine trumpeted, knowing full well that many publications had gone hands-on with the device, as long ago as Tokyo Game Show 2005.

As reported, one of the only pieces of new information in the magazine was the surprising news that the stand the Revolution has been pictured with since it was shown at last year's E3, also doubled as the console's power supply, though as we quipped yesterday, “...as to how printing a lie on the cover of a launch magazine impacts on the reliability of the content to be found within remains to be seen.”

Well it turns out to be bogus. The stand isn't the power supply. It's a stand. In fact, according to Nintendo, any information on the power supply for the Revolution could only be made up. “We have not announced or shown any details regarding the power supply for the console,” Nintendo Europe told SPOnG today. “The stand is just a stand, nothing more nothing less.” Nintendo, somewhat kindly, attributes the official magazine's blunder to a “production error.”

Where this will leave the magazine remains to be seen. The first issue is what you might call 'a big deal' in print publishing and the combination of a front cover lie and editorial blunders in what could be described as a content-light offering will not please Nintendo's rabid UK fanbase.

Future Publishing's problems with Nintendo publication don't stop here. NGC Magazine looked to distance itself from Nintendo over a public spat concerning the next Zelda game, a situation made worse by a serious drop in sales. You can read a full report on NGC's troubles here.