Kotaku: pre-e3 news leak

Microsoft: Leaked Concepts "May Or May Not" Be Real Products

Leigh Alexander — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:00:00 MDT

The recent weekend leak-fest, courtesy of marketing research company Intellisponse, yielded lots of possible upcoming Microsoft projects gleaned from surveys. There was the evidence suggesting that Mii-like avatars could be coming to Xbox Live, the rumored "Lips," a possible SingStar-type game, and word that a "social interactive" game show channel might be popping up on Live as well.

Don't assume, though, that these are bona-fide products: As the leaked info came from marketing surveys, it's possible Microsoft is simply testing some possibilities out, or evaluating audience reaction to certain concepts.

“We regularly test all kinds of concepts in market research with our Xbox community," said a Microsoft representative. "These may or may not be real products in development or ever be released to consumers.”

The company declined to comment on the individual leaks or provide any specific confirmation or denial.

Intellisponse earlier declined to comment on the leak or on the concepts, calling them "rumor" and "speculation."

Massive Leaks Are Rumors, Says Marketing Company Responsible

Leigh Alexander — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:20:00 MDT

Intellisponse, the marketing firm behind the recent weekend's massive Activision and Microsoft leak-fest, is declining to comment on its gatekeeping issues or the impact the leaks might have on its clients.

"It is our policy that we do not comment on rumor or speculation," said spokesperson Elizabeth McCrocklin.

When Kotaku pointed out via email that the fact a leak most certainly occurred, resulting in widespread dissemination of info from the Intellisponse site was, well, a fact, and not a speculation, McCrocklin did not reply.

Intellisponse is a market research firm that partners with companies to help them conduct surveys and glean intelligence for their upcoming products and concepts. It also hosts a survey platform to help its clients conduct market research. It isn't certain just how actual any of the leaked products are - the leaks came from some of these surveys, so it's entirely possible that they're merely theoretical concepts for the purpose of gauging reaction and testing out the market.

For its part, Microsoft also declined to comment with the exact same "rumors and speculation" line, about either the fact of the leak or the concepts that emerged.

Microsoft/Activision News Leak: The Round-Up

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:00:00 MDT

Just wake up? Boy, did you miss a ton of stuff! Marketing research firm Intellisponse forgot all about standard internet security protocols and left a whole bunch of secret, yet-to-be-announced game information accessible to the public (first spotted by MMaRsu@GAF). Stuff that, you should be made aware, is totally unconfirmed. But also stuff that, from the looks of it, may well have been due to appear as official E3 announcements (for Microsoft) or official same-time-as-E3 announcements (for Activision). If you were sleeping, or otherwise missed it, catch up on it all by hitting the links below.

Leak Seems to Confirm Xbox Live Avatars On the Way
Leaked Details On Lips, Microsoft's Answer To SingStar
More Leaks: Forza 3 and Call of Duty
Game Show Channel Coming To Xbox Live
Guitar Hero World Tour's New Guitar Control Revealed, Priced
Ultimate Band for Wii: Music Games in a More Casual Style
Spider-Man Wii Games To Use Wii Fit Balance Board, "Web Shooter" Controllers
Rumor: "Trioxide" To Allow Console Games To Be Played On PC?
Powers & Titans Probably Announced For 360, PS3, PC
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance II Details, Platforms
Microsoft Avatars Will Be Playable, Licensed?
New Tony Hawk Game To Employ Motion-Controlled Peripheral?
Racing Equity Probably Announced
You Don't Know Jack Probably Announced For The Wii

[Pic]