Is Nintendo clamping down on Leakers?

[Smash Kirby]

I know this is a weird OP, but I noticed how everyone and their mom were heavy implying Metroid Prime would be at the Game Awards in some form. However it wasn't, it confused me and no one actually leaked Joker being in Smash as DLC or that Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is coming to the Switch exclusively. My theory is that Nintendo starting baiting leakers after the Kenceneroar, sorry if I misspelled it. What if Metroid Prime was a planted leak from Nintendo to figure out who the rest of the Leakers are and allowed Nintendo to clamp down on leakers. I figured Nintendo tracked down sources who were saying Kenceneroar was it when it came to Smash Brothers characters, then as I said earlier used Metroid Prime to lead the other leaker sources out.

Just an idea, but I am starting to think Nintendo is starting to clamp down on their information, so it makes me incredibly wary of any leaks that supposed come out about Nintendo directly that doesn't involve third parties.

 

[Deleted member 5028]

Nah. I think you're overthinking this. Wasn't it actual folks from Retro talking about MP4 publicly on Twitter? Stuff like that isn't a leak, but likely based around plans that had since changed.

 

[7threst]

Interesting angle. I wouldn't rule out Nintendo doubling down on leakers with fake leaks. However, doing that with beloved franchises like Metroid can turn ugly for them. I mean, I kind of crave a Metroid Prime trilogy now 🙂

 

[BassForever]

I don't think so, I'm pretty sure plans just changed between when the insiders heard things and when the show actually happened. Even just 6 months ago before e3 everyone was talking about and confirming the existence of a star fox racer, up till switch launch people confirmed the existence of both pokemon stars and mario + rabbids kingdom battle.

Insider sources even the most accurate ones only end up being right say 50:50 because plans change. While sometimes fake info is intentionally leaked out to catch leaker sources (such as harada confirmed with tekken 7 iirc) I think these times are the exception and not the norm.

 

[Deleted member 36578]

There are a lot of people who claim to be leakers who simply aren't. They want to gain followers , become popular ,ect. Unfortunately as soon as certain more credible people make educated guesses other people latch on and claim it to be true. Then the rumor mills start up and we get this social media spin on things. False leads , fake information, people wanting to be the first to break news , ect. So no, Nintendo isn't doing anything differently.

 

[.exe]

People get baited easily with Nintendo leaks, so people who want to build Twitter followings come up with all sorts of inane claims on the off chance they kinda sorta get one right and ride that status till the end of days. That's my theory.

 

[Tambini]

More like the leakers are just bullshitters

 

[Smash Kirby]

Nah. I think you're overthinking this. Wasn't it actual folks from Retro talking about MP4 publicly on Twitter? Stuff like that isn't a leak, but likely based around plans that had since changed.

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I would need links, but there are people stating that it would be part of the Game Awards.

A good method of Information Security is to filter out fake info in order to find leaks.

 

[Deleted member 198]

Plans always change.

 

[Datajoy]

I was also pretty surprised by no Metroid. We had clear hints from people like our very own Jonneh, who have sterling track records in recent months with hinting at upcoming announcements. I wonder if it was a sting.

 

[Phoenix Splash]

I imagine Reggie arriving at TGA and someone telling him about how everyone is expecting Metroid Prime to show up and being like "LMAO bring me the Ridley t-shirt. I'm gonna have some fun".

But yeah, it's odd. To be fair, before any leaker showed up hinting about Metroid Prime Trilogy or 4 at TGA, most of us(I believe) were expecting Metroid news at the show. It just made sense.

Edit: C'mon, they had to know hahahaha

And Geoff telling him "Great choice of shirt here, Reggie" hahahaha

 

[Deleted member 5028]

I would need links, but there are people stating that it would be part of the Game Awards.

A good method of Information Security is to filter out fake info in order to find leaks.

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Check the original thread (on my phone) but when employees start talking ON THE RECORD that usually implies permission is given. your theory would fit those who post anonymously

 

[Executive Taxi]

I do think Nintendo has tightened the ship behind the scenes. Look at the Nintendo leak/rumour space now compared to what it was in 2017 or even early this year.

I want leaks again 😔

 

[Smash Kirby]

I imagine Reggie arriving at TGA and someone telling him about how everyone is expecting Metroid Prime to show up and being like "LMAO bring me the Ridley t-shirt. I'm gonna have some fun".

But yeah, it's odd. To be fair, before any leaker showed up hinting about Metroid Prime Trilogy or 4 at TGA, most of us(I believe) were expecting Metroid news at the show. It just made sense.

Edit: C'mon, they had to know hahahaha

And Geoff telling him "Great choice of shirt here, Reggie" hahahaha

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I think we need a Reggie Rule, if he wears anything Metroid related to the Game Awards, then Metroid won't be shown off.

 

[ConradCervantes]

I enjoy leaks, but greatly enjoy the spectacle of an overzealous leaker's credibility being torpedoed to oblivion, so I'm willing to believe Nintendo set those dunces up.

 

[Deleted member 2802]

I know this is a weird OP, but I noticed how everyone and their mom were heavy implying Metroid Prime would be at the Game Awards in some form. However it wasn't, it confused me and no one actually leaked Joker being in Smash as DLC or that Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is coming to the Switch exclusively. My theory is that Nintendo starting baiting leakers after the Kenceneroar, sorry if I misspelled it. What if Metroid Prime was a planted leak from Nintendo to figure out who the rest of the Leakers are and allowed Nintendo to clamp down on leakers. I figured Nintendo tracked down sources who were saying Kenceneroar was it when it came to Smash Brothers characters, then as I said earlier used Metroid Prime to lead the other leaker sources out.

Just an idea, but I am starting to think Nintendo is starting to clamp down on their information, so it makes me incredibly wary of any leaks that supposed come out about Nintendo directly that doesn't involve third parties.

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From listening to podcasts, the leaks are almost always from Nintendo Europe so it would be pretty easy to quash

 

[Diego Renault]

Good thing if true. Leaker culture has to die out. Let companies, artists, creators announce things when THEY are ready, not when fame seeking egoists who got ahold of certain information think it's the right time.

 

[Spine Crawler]

Nah. I think you're overthinking this. Wasn't it actual folks from Retro talking about MP4 publicly on Twitter? Stuff like that isn't a leak, but likely based around plans that had since changed.

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afaik retro isnt working on mp4 but a new team. retro is reportedly working on starfox grand prix (hoping for dkcr 3 though)

 

[Deleted member 198]

Good thing if true. Leaker culture has to die out. Let companies, artists, creators announce things when THEY are ready, not when fame seeking egoists who got ahold of certain information think it's the right time.

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You do realize a lot of leaks are also strategic and on purpose, right?

 

[SageShinigami]

Probably not. Just nothing major to talk about at the moment.

 

[Deleted member 5028]

afaik retro isnt working on mp4 but a new team. retro is reportedly working on starfox grand prix (hoping for dkcr 3 though)

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I think they're still internally clues into what's happening though. Prime is something I'd expect them to tak about tho as they're so closely associated with it.

 

[Soulflarz]

I don't think so, I'm pretty sure plans just changed between when the insiders heard things and when the show actually happened. Even just 6 months ago before e3 everyone was talking about and confirming the existence of a star fox racer, up till switch launch people confirmed the existence of both pokemon stars and mario + rabbids kingdom battle.

Insider sources even the most accurate ones only end up being right say 50:50 because plans change. While sometimes fake info is intentionally leaked out to catch leaker sources (such as harada confirmed with tekken 7 iirc) I think these times are the exception and not the norm.

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Bass gets it

Like remember the RDR2 leak that was pulled like a year ago? That was totally a thing lol. Pulled an hour before the show and revealed a month later. Every leaked seemed wrong but they sure as hell didn't lie at the time.

I mean shit some friends still give me flak for leaking TWEWY2 like half a decade ago. Was totally a thing back then though. /shrug

 

[Vern]

Probably not. Just nothing major to talk about at the moment.

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That's subjective I suppose. Nintendo, same as Sony and MS always have major things that they could be talking about or could be leaked. I think if you go back I think it was E3 (could be a direct... my memory sucks) Matt and me and probably Nate or some other people were talking about some games that we knew to be happening and def far enough along to be shared but all quite surprised they weren't being announced. Some people that track leakers and leaks probably will jump in here with links... we were all kind of mildly shocked at what wasn't there. Anyway, there is always something worth talking about behind the scenes, you can't really time it like you are saying.

 

[Jessie]

The launch roster was bound to leak due to promotional art. It's not surprising that Joker didn't leak if Nintendo kept a tight ship in the creation of the promo video.

 

[Soulflarz]

The launch roster was bound to leak due to promotional art. It's not surprising that Joker didn't leak if Nintendo kept a tight ship in the creation of the promo video.

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Atlus employees didn't know, that's how tight it was.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

You do realize a lot of leaks are also strategic and on purpose, right?

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I raised this either back on GAF or here, can't remember. You'd be surprised, there are die-hards that believe their beloved Nintendo would never leak anything. I wouldn't be surprised if the Metroid 'leak' was planned. Just look at all the attention it got on sites, forums and YouTube.

I totally accept that there are the bandwagon jumpers though. Just look at the Starfox Racing rumour from earlier this year. It started out from one place and then everyone and their mother claims they've heard similar things. What a joke.

 

[BDS]

As pissed as I was about the MP4 shit, I do think the leaks were real and it was intended to be shown at TGAs and something changed near the last minute (a la Diablo 4 at Blizzcon). If we don't see it in the next Direct (circa January or so) then we can probably start to wonder what the hell happened to this game and where it is.

 

[SageShinigami]

That's subjective I suppose. Nintendo, same as Sony and MS always have major things that they could be talking about or could be leaked. I think if you go back I think it was E3 (could be a direct... my memory sucks) Matt and me and probably Nate or some other people were talking about some games that we knew to be happening and def far enough along to be shared but all quite surprised they weren't being announced. Some people that track leakers and leaks probably will jump in here with links... we were all kind of mildly shocked at what wasn't there. Anyway, there is always something worth talking about behind the scenes, you can't really time it like you are saying.

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The other half of it is thanks to a variety of reasons people aren't as interested. You stopped leaking things. Shinobi quit after people whined about the TLOU2 reveal. Verendus was a weirdo who got several things right then just started making things up. Cboat was just the mods on GAF. There was the one girl who leaked a bunch of Switch stuff, she gave up after missing a couple things and being harassed. Emily leaked a port of NSMB WiiU but hasn't said a whole bunch since.

The most credible leaker, Jason Schreier, decided it wasn't worth it to leak anything unless it served the public interest to know. I couldn't tell you about Nate and why he hasn't said anything.

I think I ran down most of the biggest leakers. Everyone else is like 4chan or something.

I don't think the leaks have been plugged so much as for a variety of reasons people just don't think it's worth it. Shame, personally. Though I guess if I knew a bunch of stuff I wouldn't go telling anyone either lol.

 

[Neoxon]

It seems more like they got the reveal for Joker out before he could get leaked, hence the lack of gameplay. Remember, the characters for the Fighters Pass weren't finalized until days after the November Smash Direct. If you mean the MP4 thing, maybe you're on to something about Nintendo cracking down on leaks.

 

[BassForever]

I raised this either back on GAF or here, can't remember. You'd be surprised, there are die-hards that believe their beloved Nintendo would never leak anything. I wouldn't be surprised if the Metroid 'leak' was planned. Just look at all the attention it got on sites, forums and YouTube.

I totally accept that there are the bandwagon jumpers though. Just look at the Starfox Racing rumour from earlier this year. It started out from one place and then everyone and their mother claims they've heard similar things. What a joke.

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A star fox racer could still happen, or we may find out later like pokemon stars it was in some very early planning and never got that far along before things changed or that it got canceled (not the first time a finished star fox game was cancelled :P). Just like the gematsu leak for smash wiiu/3ds there was a limited window of time when greninja was chosen for smash with no name, a rhythm heaven character, and chrom were planned to be characters. At the time of the leak the information was outdated, but the information wasn't a lie.

It seems more like they got the reveal for Joker out before he could get leaked, hence the lack of gameplay. Remember, the characters for the Fighters Pass weren't finalized until days after the November Smash Direct.

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I'm not sure we can fully believe this, that was a lot of time and effort to animate the joker announcement trailer and record all the voice acting. While it's possible the final 2-3 dlc characters were just decided upon, discussion as to who the first few dlc characters had to have been in some level of planning well before November. Heck we know some level of dlc had been worked on since we've seen P.Plant gameplay already.

 

[Skittzo]

That's subjective I suppose. Nintendo, same as Sony and MS always have major things that they could be talking about or could be leaked. I think if you go back I think it was E3 (could be a direct... my memory sucks) Matt and me and probably Nate or some other people were talking about some games that we knew to be happening and def far enough along to be shared but all quite surprised they weren't being announced. Some people that track leakers and leaks probably will jump in here with links... we were all kind of mildly shocked at what wasn't there. Anyway, there is always something worth talking about behind the scenes, you can't really time it like you are saying.

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It was this past E3, yeah. And it seems like Nintendo decided to give a laser focus to Smash at the expense of other announcements which actually seems to have been the right move when we look at how it's selling.

 

[MaitreWakou]

They decided to pull it off a few days before the show imo.
Even Tom Phillips and Jason Schreier said they "think it will happen" for both MP4 and MPT HD. Those are not your typical anonymous internet leaker. Those are journalists working for big sites. They have multiple sources, especially Jason who talks to a shit ton of people in the industry.

Peer Schneider even said he heard that Metroid Prime Trilogy should have been announced earlier in 2018. Hell, this dude works with Nintendo sometimes on the Nintendo Power Podcast, and even him says that.

Nintendo just seem to be waiting for what seems to be the best moment for them. I dunno why they would delay it two times like that, but I think it is what happened.

 

[Skittzo]

They decided to pull it off a few days before the show imo.
Even Tom Phillips and Jason Schreier said they "think it will happen" for both MP4 and MPT HD. Those are not your typical anonymous internet leaker. Those are journalists working for big sites. They have multiple sources, especially Jason who talks to a shit ton of people in the industry.

Peer Schneider even said he heard that Metroid Prime Trilogy should have been announced earlier in 2018. Hell, this dude works with Nintendo sometimes on the Nintendo Power Podcast, and even him says that.

Nintendo just seem to be waiting for what seems to be the best moment for them. I dunno why they would report it two times like that, but I think it is what happened.

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It almost sounds like another Mother 3 situation where everybody and their... well, mother, knows the game exists but Nintendo is just holding onto it for some unknown reason. I just hope this one actually gets announced and released.

 

[MaitreWakou]

It almost sounds like another Mother 3 situation where everybody and their... well, mother, knows the game exists but Nintendo is just holding onto it for some unknown reason. I just hope this one actually gets announced and released.

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True, I hope so too.

 

[Braaier]

I imagine Reggie arriving at TGA and someone telling him about how everyone is expecting Metroid Prime to show up and being like "LMAO bring me the Ridley t-shirt. I'm gonna have some fun".

But yeah, it's odd. To be fair, before any leaker showed up hinting about Metroid Prime Trilogy or 4 at TGA, most of us(I believe) were expecting Metroid news at the show. It just made sense.

Edit: C'mon, they had to know hahahaha

And Geoff telling him "Great choice of shirt here, Reggie" hahahaha

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Haha. I missed that. I think that is some level of fuckery from Reggie. Love it

 

[Apathy]

You just gotta take internet rumours with a truckload of salt. Like 98% of the rumours online is someone making shit up on their own and then if it happens to come true people fall over themselves to praise that they were right as "insiders".

Wish the opposite were true and people stopped listening to people who were monstrously wrong

 

[Deleted member 36622]

I don't think so, since leakers actually made this 2018 look even worse than what it was for Nintendo, creating false expectations every single time: from the January Direct which should have been the biggest Direct ever (with Bandai Namco exclusive games,... you all remember that?) to E3 which should have absolutely seen the debut of Star Fox Grand Prix, and most recently Metroid Prime 4 and Metroid Prime Trilogy HD at the Game Awards.

The only leaker i trust is Doctre81 just because his source is linkedin most of time and you can actually see where these rumors are coming from. You know Bandai Namco Singapore is working on Metroid Prime 4 because there were several evidences on Linkedin, while for example the rumor Eurogamer brought up that the project is now handled by BN Japan remains unproven, so i don't believe that's true.

My theory is that insiders, journalists,... noticed how much traffic generate these things especially when they are about certain Switch games like Metroid or the next Retro Studios project, so they started to throw these fake rumors literally every single month without any real source behind. At some point you'll accidentally nail one and you build reputation from that, while on other hand if your rumor is wrong nobody cares.

It makes me a little sad to see even the big sites like IGN or Kotaku which should represent a more reliable source than some random user on Twitter, totally jumping into these fake rumors just for the clicks. It exposes mediocrity.

If want to know what's next, we have the January Direct 2019 which is absolutely the best one ever, and all the games you're asking for will be revealed there. Source: my cousin works at Nintendo.

 

[Smash Kirby]

You just gotta take internet rumours with a truckload of salt. Like 98% of the rumours online is someone making shit up on their own and then if it happens to come true people fall over themselves to praise that they were right as "insiders".

Wish the opposite were true and people stopped listening to people who were monstrously wrong

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There were a lot of things leaked over the year in regards to the switch, but no one said anything about MUA3.

 

[evilmonkey]

I think overall people on the internet put way too much credence on leakers and think they get their leaks from the inside. What they really have is little bits of info here and there and then piece it together using educated guesses and previously confirmed info. And these little crumbs are usually acquired outside of official sources (like on LinkedIn, trademarks, etc).

For example, Bamco being the developer of Metroid Prime 4 is seen as a leak, but you don't need to be an insider to figure that one out. If Tanabe (publicly known to be the game's producer) was seen entering Bamco's development offices multiple times recently, one can easily put two and two together.

You do realize a lot of leaks are also strategic and on purpose, right?

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I raised this either back on GAF or here, can't remember. You'd be surprised, there are die-hards that believe their beloved Nintendo would never leak anything. I wouldn't be surprised if the Metroid 'leak' was planned. Just look at all the attention it got on sites, forums and YouTube.

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Nintendo has shown they always prefer to control the message. Leaks can miss lots of crucial info and can lead to misinformation / negative perception.

Leaks can be strategic sometimes but for very specific reasons. What benefit is there to have something leak early that you're going to announce anyway? That would only show that your security is poor.

 

[Skittzo]

I don't think so, since leakers actually made this 2018 look even worse than what it was for Nintendo, creating false expectations every single time: from the January Direct which should have been the biggest Direct ever (with Bandai Namco exclusive games,... you all remember that?) to E3 which should have absolutely seen the debut of Star Fox Grand Prix, and most recently Metroid Prime 4 and Metroid Prime Trilogy HD at the Game Awards.

The only leaker i trust is Doctre81 just because his source is linkedin most of time and you can actually see where these rumors are coming from.

My theory is that insiders, journalists,... noticed how much traffic generate these things especially when they are about certain Switch games like Metroid or the next Retro Studios project, so they started to throw these fake rumors literally every single month without any real source behind. At some point you'll accidentally nail one and you build reputation from that, while on other hand if your rumor is wrong nobody cares.

It makes me a little sad to see even the big sites like IGN or Kotaku which should represent a more reliable source than some random user on Twitter, totally jumping into these fake rumors just for the clicks. It exposes mediocrity.

If want to know what's next, we have the January Direct 2019 which is absolutely the best one ever, and all the games you're asking for will be revealed there. Source: my cousin works at Nintendo.

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None of the bolded are actually rumors leaked by anyone. Nobody hyped up the January direct but us fans, the Bandai Namco exclusives were found on LinkedIn, and not a single leaker said Star Fox GP would be at E3 2018. In fact most said they doubt it would be there.

So get your facts straight before you blame people and outlets for things they never did or said.

 

[Rogue Agent]

None of the bolded are actually rumors leaked by anyone. Nobody hyped up the January direct but us fans, the Bandai Namco exclusives were found on LinkedIn, and not a single leaker said Star Fox GP would be at E3 2018. In fact most said they doubt it would be there.

So get your facts straight before you blame people and outlets for things they never did or said.

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Yeah. They're basically twisting things to support their narrative.

 

[Pokémon]

None of the bolded are actually rumors leaked by anyone. Nobody hyped up the January direct but us fans, the Bandai Namco exclusives were found on LinkedIn, and not a single leaker said Star Fox GP would be at E3 2018. In fact most said they doubt it would be there.

So get your facts straight before you blame people and outlets for things they never did or said.

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We even had Emily warning us that 2018 will be slower paced than 2017. We have only us to blame for all the hype we create pre-Direct.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

The Ninja have done their job well.

 

[Deleted member 36622]

None of the bolded are actually rumors leaked by anyone. Nobody hyped up the January direct but us fans, the Bandai Namco exclusives were found on LinkedIn, and not a single leaker said Star Fox GP would be at E3 2018. In fact most said they doubt it would be there.

So get your facts straight before you blame people and outlets for things they never did or said.

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That's BS, i remember quite a few (i can name 2-3 of them known as "reliable sources", i don't know how fair it would be though to call them out since i don't know who starts these things) who hyped the January Direct for the entire month of December and literally few hours before the actual Direct warning people that this wasn't going to be what they were expecting but just a random direct with third party ports.

They are also very smart at not starting these rumors but always backing up them (for the clicks) to then deny everything right before the actual thing and delete tweets if necessary.

The same thing happened before E3, building up hype around that supposed Star Fox GP game and then few hours before "guys this is maybe nothing, don't expect much".

 

[mindsale]

Hang on, let's see what my tinfoil hat thinks.

 

[Pokémon]

I don't remember any of the insiders hyping up the January Direct and I have been in every Direct thread the last 12 months. I just remember crazy fans with unrealistic expectations that are disappointed after every Direct.

 

[Atheerios]

I don't remember any of the insiders hyping up the January Direct and I have been in every Direct thread the last 12 months. I just remember crazy fans with unrealistic expectations that are disappointed after every Direct.

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Yeah, this. Insiders didn't hype the January direct. People did for no reason.

 

[DaBoss]

I think it's safer to say the "leakers" had incorrect information or didn't actually know if Metroid Prime was going to be there. Consider how vague the "leak" was, it wasn't outright confirmation that it would show up, it was more of a tease. That makes it easier for it to not affect their credibility, but at the same time take credit for leaking it if it's true.

I think people should be looking at leaks from people who are more willing to put their credibility on the line instead of just vaguely teasing things. I personally don't like leak culture that much anyways.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I love when people twist and turn words of leakers around. No one said Star Fox GP would be at E3.

Nintendo is turning leakers into Batman. They living long enough to see themselves become the enemy. Nintendo is truly Joker.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I think it's safer to say the "leakers" had incorrect information or didn't actually know if Metroid Prime was going to be there. Consider how vague the "leak" was, it wasn't outright confirmation that it would show up, it was more of a tease. That makes it easier for it to not affect their credibility, but at the same time take credit for leaking it if it's true.

I think people should be looking at leaks from people who are more willing to put their credibility on the line instead of just vaguely teasing things. I personally don't like leak culture that much anyways.

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Nate Drake said Metroid Prime Trilogy coming to Switch is real. He's not a mod anymore because it didn't show up at the Game Awards.