Admittedly, there was some legitimate concern raised when it was disclosed that the 3rd party software companies might not be receiving online kits from Nintendo until 2007. Theoretically, this meant that for the Wii launch and for at least three months afterwards, no 3rd party Wii title — like Red Steel — would have online play.
But this was always a rumor, pushed by IGN using unnamed 3rd party sources, and was never confirmed by Nintendo. It was the double edged sword of the Internet: rumor circles the globe before the truth can even get its shoes on (or so a similar saying goes).
With news from Advanced Media Networks today about Konami and Elebits, it appears as though the truth might be catching up with the trigger happy folks who wish to be first to print with a rumor rather than wait for the facts.
“Konami held a BBQ event in California last week, and US journos were there to munch away and speak to the company on their upcoming projects and ideas. Advance Media Network had the chance to speak to Denis Lee, Group Marketing Manager at Konami on the game.
He revealed that online play has not been completely dismissed, but the company won’t discuss the subject fully yet. He said, ‘the team is looking into online and trying to find out what the best kind of gameplay they can get into the game is and still make launch window. We’re working on a few ideas, but we’re not talking about online specifically.'”