GameStop has just announced a new set of night-vision goggles from Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell series and also mentioned an unannounced 10th game in the franchise.
What the hell is going on with Splinter Cell? Just last month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told a Chinese gamer site that a new Splinter Cell was in the works, but then said that it would be for "different devices" which led us to assume he meant smartphones. Phones are, by far, the most popular game system in China, so that made sense.
But now GameStop has come along with a brand new Splinter Cell goggles replica. That's already pretty strange as Splinter Cell hasn't been a known entity in gaming for some time, so you'd think selling memorabilia wouldn't be in GameStop's best interest.
Then GameStop has this little gem to really get our motors turning: "For the first time since the introduction of Splinter Cell in 2002, after nine top-selling AAA+ titles, and with the 10th release on the horizon, this is your first chance to own Sam Fisher's signature Ultra High-Frequency Sonar Goggles. Inspired by Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video games by Ubisoft."
A tenth game, huh? And right after mentioning a AAA title? Could this be the fabled modern Splinter Cell game that fans have been clamoring for?
Another great thing to note is the release date for these goggles, which is November 1st of this year. If there’s a tenth game coming, then it would make sense to release some toy goggles around the same time as the new game.
As for the goggles themselves, they’re pretty unremarkable. Throw in some AAA batteries and have a glowing piece of headgear that also makes “sounds from the video games.” No mention of actual night vision capabilities, but at $39.99, it seems doubtful.
Of course, with no official word from Ubisoft, we could be getting way ahead of ourselves. This might just be uninformed speculation on GameStop’s part just to sell a cheap tchotchke without any actual Splinter Cell game forthcoming. But this is the best news Splinter Cell fans have received in years, and we’re going to hold onto it for dear-freakin’ life.
Source: GameStop