Source: The online edition of Game Informer.

　　What we heard: Last month, George Harrison (pictured), Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and communications, took the stage at the MI6 game-marketing conference in San Francisco. For just under an hour, he outlined the successful strategy behind the nationwide ad campaign for the Wii. Given the console's surging sales, his presentation seemed like a victory lap of sorts, a pat on the back for a job well done.

　　Now, if a report today is to be believed, Harrison's job is itself done. The Minnesota-based magazine's online arm is reporting that he and several other major figures in NOA's PR machine have left Nintendo. Among those apparently boxing up their desks are senior director of public relations Beth Llewelyn and vice president of marketing Perrin Kaplan.

　　The mass exodus is reportedly a result of Nintendo's recent decision to relocate the entire sales and marketing department at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters to San Francisco and New York City. According to GI, nearly 90 percent of NOA PR staffers have opted to take a severance package rather than make the move.

　　The official story: Reps at Nintendo's external PR agency claimed to have no knowledge of the staffing changes. Inquiries sent to internal Nintendo PR--including several high-ranking staffers--were unanswered as of press time.

　　Bogus or not bogus?: With no official word, the exodus remains difficult to confirm...for now. However, departures of such magnitude are impossible to hide for long.