Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Go Nintendo's RawMeatCowboy recently received an email from an anonymous, shadowy figure calling themselves "rabbits can't be sad." That's pretty weird, but stranger still, the email contained something we almost never expected to see: footage of Nibris' "vaporware" title, Sadness. Despite the unconventional method of its delivery, it definitely looked like the real deal.

We say "looked" because now it's gone, pulled down by RawMeatCowboy, who (we're guessing) was asked to remove the footage. In his amended post, RMC simply writes: "Sorry for the inconvenience, but I unfortunately have to remove this post. That is all I can say at this time."

So after being relentlessly mocked (not least by us), has Nibris actually been making a game all along? Really, really slowly?

[Update 1: Some enterprising soul grabbed the footage before it was pulled, and added it to YouTube -- thanks, DaisukeKiriyama!]


[Via Go Nintendo]

Hold on, what's all this? A Sadness rumor that actually came true? This can't be right -- and it sort of isn't. The website is there, and it's got stuff on it, but the stuff is old and it's a pretty amateur attempt at a website. It's just, you would think that the creators of the most talked-about Wii game pretty much ever would make the effort to put together a good show, but it looks somewhat awful.

The screens are old and tiny, the text is formatted all wrong (and translated poorly), and there is no trailer, although it will be "Coming soon (this vacation maybe)." Maybe? Maybe? Whatever.

To top it off, the release is scheduled for Fall 2009. That is, over a year from now. On the plus side, Nibris representatives will be attending the Leipzig Game Convention this year, so if nothing turns up at E3 we might find something there.


[Via GoNintendo]

There's nothing left to say. Sadness is the definition of sadness, and it always will be. We'll post about this "news", oh yes -- but until a physical copy of the game is actually in a Nintendo Wii console, right in front of us and running properly, we won't be certain of its existence. Forward motion is a myth.

The latest on Sadness is thus: the official website will be launched next week, along with some new images. A chap from Fog Studios (because they're so damn hazy on the details) says it's all real, and Nibris is still working away without a publisher. The lack of a publisher means a lack of a release date. If the game exists.

Rest assured, if any of the above actually happens, we will let you know. We know what a promise from anyone remotely associated with Sadness is worth, so don't hold your breath.


[Via GoNintendo]

Most companies choose to issue media via press releases or exclusive articles. But here we're talking about companies with actual games, not just a campaign of windbaggery and empty promises. Nibris, where they tend to focus on the latter, apparently feels releasing what is purportedly the first and only screenshot of Sadness to date (two years late, mind) to some random dude on the Internet is what makes for good PR.

The IGN Wii boards have blown up over the past few days due to the unending campaign of one Nibris supporter, a single purported screenshot, and a few cryptic remarks from the Nibris president himself, who is long known to frequent message boards. The numerous threads are a mess, so we'll attempt to sum up: user Twiilight_Prince posted the above, stating it was an actual in-game screenshot from Sadness and that he had received it from Nibris. He then apparently received messages from the user posting as Nibris, asking him to remove it. He did. Someone else also posted it, and received similar messages. Eventually, the reported PMs were posted. In them, Nibris (who we assume is president Piotr Babieno) did in fact ask for the shot's removal ... and also promised that there would be screens from Sadness and a trailer next month.

Now where have we heard that before? It's same to assume we're not holding our breath around here -- but here's the apparent screenshot for your perusal.

[Thanks, Joe!]

There were several things in 2007 that made us sad. Super Smash Bros. Brawl was delayed, Project H.A.M.M.E.R. got canceled, then it didn't, then it did, and now we're just stuck with rumors that it might exist, somewhere, in some form. People told us that the Wii Zapper would make us kill our families. We got no hard drive love. Reggie didn't kick any ass, though he might have taken (down) some names (we're not sure). But the thing that's made us saddest of all is the ongoing saga of the aptly-named Sadness, the Nibris vaporware game. For all we know, we could be playing it right now; their idea of a game may be centered around stringing us along for a couple of years. It's fun for the whole family!

Or, y'know, sad. So grab your tissues and journey with us through a timeline of Sadness.

*Not actual Sadness concept art, because Nibris hasn't bought/commissioned it yet from artist Mark Ryden.

Oh, Nibris. We recently had some real-looking videos of what appeared to be a real game on the DS. But all we've had about their Wii game Sadness recently is bad news (and responses to bad news). Well, they seem to be back on track with Sadness, or at least they're back on their uniquely Nibris track of showing a few tidbits of artwork, but no screens and no evidence that there is any game at all.

For what it's worth, the artwork looks okay. We're glad work is being done on this game at all. Do you think the issue with Sadness is that Nibris has been unusually transparent with the earliest stages of their game design, leading to the impression that it's been a really long time without seeing anything? Or is it just that they're really late getting to showing any real content? Check out the artwork after the break, and feel free to discuss what has become an impromptu Wii Warm Up in the comments thread.