What is/was the worst kept secret in the industry?

Tali'Zorah · Apr 2, 2018

Is, as in right now, the worst kept secret in the industry is obviously Spyro
Was, as in in the past, is a tougher question. AC Origins and Shadow of the Tomb Raider both seemed to leak ridiculous amounts of times. Also worth noting that while it didn't leak that long before its announcement, an actual physical playable PS4 slim was out in the wild before it was announced, despite Sony's hilarious attempts at trying to deny it existed

Phoenix Splash · Apr 2, 2018

I don't wanna say Valve because it would make me sad if it turns out to be true, but Valve hasn't released an AAA game in almost 6 years now :( they also parted ways with their 3-4 main writers, the writers from Half Life 2 Ep 1 & 2, Portal 1 & 2, Left 4 Dead 1 & 2... It feels a bit like Konami in that regard :(

sn00zer · Apr 2, 2018

I feel like by and large in the last 5 years "worst kept secrets" are companies either not caring if the info leaks or leaking it themselves as a part of marketing. Leaks are so ingrained in the cycle of advertising now. A lot of games have been "leaked" with just enough info to get people interested, but not enough to let people know anything important.

N.Domixis · Apr 2, 2018

Crash and then Spyro. When Layden wore the Crash Bandicoot shirt during PSX, we knew a Crash announcement by Sony or Activision was just as a matter of time.

evilmonkey · Apr 2, 2018

Not a game or system, but the notion that horsepower determines which systems get which games is the probably the industry's worst kept secret. What's worse is that no publisher or developer has ever outright stated it, but most people (wrongly) assume that and fall for it every time.

JimmyJacking · Apr 2, 2018

sn00zer said:
I feel like by and large in the last 5 years "worst kept secrets" are companies either not caring if the info leaks or leaking it themselves as a part of marketing. Leaks are so ingrained in the cycle of advertising now. A lot of games have been "leaked" with just enough info to get people interested, but not enough to let people know anything important.

I would have to agree, most 'leaks' these days seem to be quite deliberate. Staged and/or managed.

That said probably the most damaging and non-deliberate leak in the last 5-6ish years would have to have been the Durango specs and goodies.

Zan · Apr 2, 2018

Heartskips said:
Shulk's Smash reveal.

But Shulk's facial structure is the same as pittle macs! And Ness has one less stripe on his shirt! That means the whole thing is fake!

Those were the days...

Max|Payne · Apr 2, 2018

I think I remember the original Xbox being a known thing for months before it was revealed, right? I'm pretty sure everyone was talking about it back then but maybe I'm confusing it for something else.

angelgrievous · Apr 2, 2018

I'm curious if there has ever been a 'Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Batman' kind of thing in the gaming industry. I'm sure if there was it would have been on something from the early days of the industry as I don't see anything like that happening these days. I'm sure if it had happened we would know about it but I've never heard anything like it.

For reference, Bill Finger was the co-creator of Batman and went uncredited for his entire life, all of Bob Kanes life, and for a long time after that.

(I just watched Batman and Bill)

Khanimus · Apr 2, 2018

ZeldaGalaxy94 said:
Project Café = Wii U

Didn't Nintendo literally validate the reports of this with a "Hmmm" on Twitter?

evilmonkey · Apr 2, 2018

angelgrievous said:
I'm curious if there has ever been a 'Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Batman' kind of thing in the gaming industry. I'm sure if there was it would have been on something from the early days of the industry as I don't see anything like that happening these days. I'm sure if it had happened we would know about it but I've never heard anything like it.

For reference, Bill Finger was the co-creator of Batman and went uncredited for his entire life, all of Bob Kanes life, and for a long time after that.

(I just watched Batman and Bill)

Mega Man, kinda. For a very long time Inafune had the full credit for the character, and it was only a few years ago that he came clean that he was only the co-creator.

The character's real creator, Akira Kitamura, left Capcom fairly early on, then opened his own company and worked on a few games, then seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth.

angelgrievous · Apr 2, 2018

evilmonkey said:
Mega Man, kinda. For a very long time Inafune had the full credit for the character, and it was only a few years ago that he came clean that he was only the co-creator.

The character's real creator, Akira Kitamura, left Capcom fairly early on, then opened his own company and worked on a few games, then seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Oh wow, that's exactly what I was looking for. I'm gonna dig around and see if I can't find some more information. Thanks!

JimmyJacking · Apr 2, 2018

Maxey said:
I think I remember the original Xbox being a known thing for months before it was revealed, right? I'm pretty sure everyone was talking about it back then but maybe I'm confusing it for something else.

The original OG Xbox? Or the X1 (2013) - if the latter, that was the Durango leak.

Max|Payne · Apr 2, 2018

JimmyJacking said:
The original OG Xbox? Or the X1 (2013) - if the latter, that was the Durango leak.

Yes, the very first one back in the turn of the century. I'm pretty sure gaming magazines and internet forums/chat were abound with leaked Xbox info months before it was officially revealed.

Bigg · Apr 2, 2018

angelgrievous said:
I'm curious if there has ever been a 'Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Batman' kind of thing in the gaming industry. I'm sure if there was it would have been on something from the early days of the industry as I don't see anything like that happening these days. I'm sure if it had happened we would know about it but I've never heard anything like it.

For reference, Bill Finger was the co-creator of Batman and went uncredited for his entire life, all of Bob Kanes life, and for a long time after that.

(I just watched Batman and Bill)

Besides Inafune, there's also Yuji Naka, who was once universally considered "The Father of Sonic" and was basically hailed as the Miyamoto of Sega. In reality, Naka only programmed Sonic - the character was designed by Naoto Ohshima (who went on to helm Artoon/Arzest) and the game was designed by Hirokazu Yasuhara (who actually worked at Naughty Dog for a time and worked on some of the Mario and Donkey Kong games), and neither of these things were really well-known until the 2000s. Supposedly, Naka had a massive ego and caused a ton of conflict at Sega, including driving Yasuhara out of Sonic Team and having him work for other teams at Sega. There are plenty stories of Naka being difficult to work with, which probably counts as a "worst kept secret."

For what it's worth though, it does seem like he's mellowed as he got older and he has since mended ties with Yasuhara and Ohshima. You don't see him doing shit like this anymore:

JamarXII · Apr 2, 2018

What about Horizon Zero Dawn? Wasn't the concept art out for quite a while before there was anything official?

Phendrift · Apr 2, 2018

Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Mario + Rabbids in recent memory

Jam · Apr 2, 2018

Saucycarpdog said:
Left4Dead 3

Wait... what?

Max|Payne · Apr 2, 2018

Jam said:
Wait... what?

Some leaked slides that were never confirmed or denied.

Like most Valve things lately, it was fucking nothing.

angelgrievous · Apr 2, 2018

Bigg said:
Besides Inafune, there's also Yuji Naka, who was once universally considered "The Father of Sonic" and was basically hailed as the Miyamoto of Sega. In reality, Naka only programmed Sonic - the character was designed by Naoto Ohshima (who went on to helm Artoon/Arzest) and the game was designed by Hirokazu Yasuhara (who actually worked at Naughty Dog for a time and worked on some of the Mario and Donkey Kong games), and neither of these things were really well-known until the 2000s. Supposedly, Naka had a massive ego and caused a ton of conflict at Sega, including driving Yasuhara out of Sonic Team and having him work for other teams at Sega. There are plenty stories of Naka being difficult to work with, which probably counts as a "worst kept secret."

For what it's worth though, it does seem like he's mellowed as he got older and he has since mended ties with Yasuhara and Ohshima. You don't see him doing shit like this anymore:

Woah, talk about an intro. Thanks for the info though, very interesting stuff. I'm gonna have to dig around some more and look at this stuff.

rude · Apr 2, 2018

Bigg said:
Someone already said it, but PSP Go - footage of the hardware was leaked before the system was even officially announced, which is wild. That's the only time I remember a hardware leak being that egregious.

Capcom always seems to leak like a sieve. IIRC, every SSF4 character was leaked right around the time it was announced, including Hakan who wasn't supposed to be revealed until a couple months before release. SFV DLC continues to get leaked months in advance, which probably lead to them annoucing all of S3 at once this time instead of doing it month-by-month. MHW was known months in advance. DMCV seems 99% likely at this point and it's been leaked since December.

I'm still kind of amazed that no one leaked that KITCHEN was a RE7 demo, even though there was stuff going around about the next RE being a return to series' roots.

Marvel Infinite was leaked like two or 3 months in advance by a guy who uploads fighting game replays on YouTube lol

Mona · Apr 2, 2018

That Half-Life 3 isn't ever coming out

Gun · Apr 2, 2018

hank_tree said:
Does the Switch count? I feel like we all knew exactly what is was going to be for years.

Yep
I think in 2014 people were already saying that the next Nintendo console would (probably) be a hybrid

Baleoce · Apr 2, 2018

Bigg said:
Besides Inafune, there's also Yuji Naka, who was once universally considered "The Father of Sonic" and was basically hailed as the Miyamoto of Sega. In reality, Naka only programmed Sonic - the character was designed by Naoto Ohshima (who went on to helm Artoon/Arzest) and the game was designed by Hirokazu Yasuhara (who actually worked at Naughty Dog for a time and worked on some of the Mario and Donkey Kong games), and neither of these things were really well-known until the 2000s. Supposedly, Naka had a massive ego and caused a ton of conflict at Sega, including driving Yasuhara out of Sonic Team and having him work for other teams at Sega. There are plenty stories of Naka being difficult to work with, which probably counts as a "worst kept secret."

For what it's worth though, it does seem like he's mellowed as he got older and he has since mended ties with Yasuhara and Ohshima. You don't see him doing shit like this anymore:

This might just be the best thing I've ever seen xD

Alienous · Apr 2, 2018

angelgrievous said:
I'm curious if there has ever been a 'Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Batman' kind of thing in the gaming industry. I'm sure if there was it would have been on something from the early days of the industry as I don't see anything like that happening these days. I'm sure if it had happened we would know about it but I've never heard anything like it.

For reference, Bill Finger was the co-creator of Batman and went uncredited for his entire life, all of Bob Kanes life, and for a long time after that.

(I just watched Batman and Bill)

Hmm.

The one that immediately comes to mind is Patrice Desilets and Jade Raymond with regards to Assassin's Creed. I recall Raymond being presented as the creative face of the franchise, where her role (as producer) would've been closer to that of Bob Kane's role in Batman.

But like Bill Finger, or Steve Ditko, it was probably just a case of the most comfortable speaker (Bob Kane and Stan Lee respectively) taking the reigns. Especially with Assassin's Creed I imagine making Jade Raymond the face of the franchise was probably a Ubisoft decision, rather than anything deliberately antagonistic.

EmptySpace · Apr 2, 2018

Markitron said:
I feel we have known for about 3 years that the 2017 AC would be a prequel set in Egypt. That series could fill out this thread by itself.

Probably a result of having so many devs working on them.

There were hints of AC:Origins way back in 2012 with a game know as Osiris that was supposed to be a Prince of Persia reboot at first. The game was definitely set in ancient Egypt, but not much else is known about it. Looking at the one screenshot that got out does seem very AC like though.

angelgrievous · Apr 2, 2018

Alienous said:
Hmm.

The one that immediately comes to mind is Patrice Desilets and Jade Raymond with regards to Assassin's Creed. I recall Raymond being presented as the creative face of the franchise, where her role (as producer) would've been closer to that of Bob Kane's role in Batman.

But like Bill Finger, or Steve Ditko, it was probably just a case of the most comfortable speaker (Bob Kane and Stan Lee respectively) taking the reigns. Especially with Assassin's Creed I imagine making Jade Raymond the face of the franchise was probably a Ubisoft decision, rather than anything deliberately antagonistic.

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I know I'm going off information from a documentary, but wasn't the case between Bill Finger and Bob Kane exactly antagonistic and malicious? According to a number of reports, Bob Kane went out of his way to make sure he was the only one who got credit for the creation of Batman, not a publicity move as you imply.

*Sorry OP, I'll stop hijacking your thread.

Man God · Apr 2, 2018

Everything Ubisoft has been involved with in the past decade or so has leaked.

gcwy · Apr 2, 2018

Nintendo is the worst at keeping secrets. I think we've known about every single one of their consoles way before release.

Ethan Hutn · Apr 2, 2018

Battlefield Hardline

ClickyCal' · Apr 2, 2018

Twilight princess was leaked like in 2 or 3 different ways.

Red Arremer · Apr 2, 2018

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3's roster.

They fucked up the files on their own homepage. Like come on lol.

Deleted member 2171 · Apr 2, 2018

Halo 3 is probably up there.

I know they like to make fun of the Bungie employee that accidentally wore his Halo 3 shirt in public the day before the reveal, but c'mon, it was so obviously coming at that point.

And as an addendum, the Halo 3 Mythic Collection, which was not only accidentally leaked via a glitch, but then Bungie had the maps held back by Mattrick, but they were still in the game's achievements in a title update, but Bungie had to pretend those achievements didn't exist for a full on year when all you had to do was press the guide button to see them.

Reach's existence was leaked by MS (in materials that referred to it as Halo 4, for those out there mildly interested by that stuff). When Reach itself was leaked people thought it was fake because it debuted the new "flat" Halo logo.

yuoke said:
Twilight princess was leaked like in 2 or 3 different ways.

Yeah, that's another one. People like to post the freakout video at E3, but people were hollering because it was confirming the leaks that were out left and right at that point.

strideredge · Apr 2, 2018

I seem to recall the PS3 twisted metal having a story where they went past just not confirming it to making people outright or to try to make it a surprise.

Deleted member 34949 · Apr 2, 2018

I could have sworn a bunch of stuff from Playstation All Stars Battle Royale leaked months ahead of the game's official announcement.

Bigg said:
Besides Inafune, there's also Yuji Naka, who was once universally considered "The Father of Sonic" and was basically hailed as the Miyamoto of Sega. In reality, Naka only programmed Sonic - the character was designed by Naoto Ohshima (who went on to helm Artoon/Arzest) and the game was designed by Hirokazu Yasuhara (who actually worked at Naughty Dog for a time and worked on some of the Mario and Donkey Kong games), and neither of these things were really well-known until the 2000s. Supposedly, Naka had a massive ego and caused a ton of conflict at Sega, including driving Yasuhara out of Sonic Team and having him work for other teams at Sega. There are plenty stories of Naka being difficult to work with, which probably counts as a "worst kept secret."

For what it's worth though, it does seem like he's mellowed as he got older and he has since mended ties with Yasuhara and Ohshima. You don't see him doing shit like this anymore:

The story Peter Moore told about meeting him is one of my favorite tales to come out of the industry.

GingerbreadMan · Apr 2, 2018

Smash Bros. Switch.

We all knew it was coming, we all know it will be heavily based on Smash Wii U.

ScatheZombie · Apr 2, 2018

Developers know what they are doing.

We don't.

DigitalTravis · Apr 2, 2018

The horrible treatment and overworking of employees. The environment of game development is awful and I am ashamed more protection isn't offered in the industry of products I love.

Rhaknar · Apr 2, 2018

Any Bethesda sequel. Like when FO4 wasn't announced for years but everyone knew it was being done.

Same for Elder Scrolls 6 now I guess.

Phil32 · Apr 2, 2018

Most YouTube personalities when it concerns gaming are really terrible people?

Zan · Apr 2, 2018

Phil32 said:
Most YouTube personalities when it concerns anything nerd related are really terrible people?

FTFY.

LeroyOctopus · Apr 2, 2018

Markitron said:
I feel we have known for about 3 years that the 2017 AC would be a prequel set in Egypt. That series could fill out this thread by itself.

Probably a result of having so many devs working on them.

They even made jokes about it in Watch Dogs 2.

Megatron · Apr 2, 2018

Bloodborne. We knew a ton about that game before it was 'revealed' at e3.

Cinemikel · Apr 2, 2018

Literally every Assassins Creed game

SaucyDancer · Apr 2, 2018

The Smash Wii U roster. There were constant leaks leading up to release and a picture of the entire cast with a load of unannounced characters was released. Also the DLC of Roy and Ryu was found through data-mining before we knew there would be any more DLC.

ASaiyan · Apr 2, 2018

Oldie but a goodie

ascii42 · Apr 2, 2018

HvySky said:
PSP Go

Was it the Go where Sony even said as much when they revealed it?

Or am I thinking of the Vita.

NexasX · Apr 2, 2018

Definitely not the worst, but I don't think anyone was particularly surprised that the new Doom had a really difficult development cycle, and all the interviews and PR spin didn't really paint the game in a positive light. It really surprised in the end but I think most people (me included) was ready to write it off as another Duke Nukem Forever.

Deleted member 25108 · Apr 2, 2018

sn00zer said:
I feel like by and large in the last 5 years "worst kept secrets" are companies either not caring if the info leaks or leaking it themselves as a part of marketing. Leaks are so ingrained in the cycle of advertising now. A lot of games have been "leaked" with just enough info to get people interested, but not enough to let people know anything important.

Especially in places like This, which seems to serve as a market research/Viral marketing hub at the best of times.

The meaning of leak has been watered down so much over the years it barely means anything anymore. The last great leak was NTCNL or whatever his name was (who was also a viral marketer)

mindsale · Apr 2, 2018

I'll reiterate the Switch hardware revision. It was no secret the thing launched woefully underpowered and would swiftly get an upgrade, then the Mariko code name was uncovered.

What is/was the worst kept secret in the industry?

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