At a GameStop managers' conference in Texas on Aug. 27, accessory-maker PDP let slip that the Wii U will launch on Nov. 18. While the company quickly followed with clarification that it does not know the release date, a November launch is expected.

A representative of PDP stated that its Wii U peripherals will launch before the Wii U's Nov. 18, 2012 launch date.

"They changed the subject really quickly once they realized what was said," Kotaku's source claimed.

"To be clear, PDP has no knowledge whatsoever of the official Wii U release date, and thus it is not possible for PDP to have "leaked" this information," Will Otte -- PDP's senior vice president of sales and marketing -- clarified. Otte went on to explain that accessories for Epic Mickey 2: The Power of 2 will be available by the launch of the game. Connecting the launch date of accessories and the launch date of the game itself was described as "inaccurate".

"We are launching accessories, but the date for the accessories doesn't mean a confirmation on the hardware," PDP Community Manager Candance Hinton added.

Despite PDP's consistent claims Wii U is not launching Nov. 18, or at least the company does not know of a release date, Kotaku's source claims the legitimacy of the comments, and did not seem to be the only person who heard, while a user on NeoGAF insisted that the same date was mentioned.

"It was the buzz of the discussion after the event," Kotaku reported.

Nintendo remained coy on the release date news. Nov. 18, 2012 is a Sunday. Nintendo launched the GameCube and Wii on Sundays, along with games like New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS.

Recent rumors suggested that Nintendo would launch Wii U after Thanksgiving weekend, setting the console up for a North American debut during Black Friday. November 18 is just five days before the beginning of the holiday season sales.