In the last few hours, some unpublished images from Pokémon Shining Diamond and Shining Pearl, the fourth generation remake titles released on Nintendo Switch the next 19th November. It is obviously about unauthorized content, leaked on the internet due to some industry insiders receiving preview copies for reviews and apparently they did not comply with the non-disclosure agreements.
It is certainly not the first time that such episodes have occurred in the world of video games, especially aimed at Nintendo software, especially at Pokémon, series targeted by leaks and leaks of information for now more than 5 years. Why does all this happen?
Pokémon and leak: a story already seen
As already mentioned above, it is not the first time that the games in the Pokémon series suffer from leaks before their official release.
Although there has always been preview information, the first real leaks of information about the series of pocket monsters date back to the now distant 2014, the year in which they arrived on the market Pokemon X and Y, the sixth generation titles, the first in 3D and the first to be released on the same day around the world.
In that case, images of greninja and MegaMewtwo Y. In 2016 too Pokémon Sun and Moon undergo the same treatment: in this case theentire illegal copy of the game weeks before the official release.
Sword and Shield Pokémon, in 2019, with consequent DLC of the following year, they are unable to escape the leak of information: on the 4chan anonymous bulletin board are published dozens and dozens of images regarding new Pokémon, new forms and heavy plot spoilers.
It is certainly no coincidence that these heavy leaks are striking every year Pokémon: although the heavy measures taken by Nintendo over the years and the tight NDA agreements, there will always be some crafty eager to illegally disclose the information in his possession.
Finding the wrongdoers is difficult, at times impossible, but over the years less and less industry insiders are receiving preview copies for reviews, thus limiting news leaks by entering into agreements only with great information giants.
Pokémon is the most followed and talked about brand in the world and for this reason i leaks make such a stir: all of this obviously fits perfectly with the marketing campaigns of Nintendo e The Pokémon Company not always flawless and often unable to entice a player to buy or perhaps make him give up.
The epochal blow to Nintendo
Expanding the “leak” discourse, we can see how information leaks are not just about Pokémon titles, but in recent history we can find cases of heavy leaks also in other videogame landscapes: it is therefore time to talk about the "Gigaleak" immediately from Nintendo.
In March 2018, a series of information about the source codes of many games and Nintendo home consoles. The world becomes aware, due to this blow against the great N, of dozens and dozens of information on the development of well-known titles, but also of some projects started and never finished, which without this leak would have remained buried forever.
Il Gigaleak, as it was called by the international press, is considered a unprecedented event for the amount of information leaked and for the period of time in which these leaks circulated on the internet: although the latest news dates back to July of the 2021, there is a strong belief that the information leak is still ongoing, a more than 3 years from the first publications.
Among other platforms, the Gigaleak mainly hit Nintendo Wii, whose development files and source code are now at hand and many Nintendo first party games: Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Super Mario and many others.
Not just Nintendo: the recent case of The Last of Us
We introduced the article talking about Pokémon and Nintendo, given that they are the hot topics of the last few hours, but it must be specified that heavy leaks have also affected other videogame companies: one of the most famous of recent months is certainly the one concerning The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog's masterpiece released last year.
In April 2020, about 2 months after the game's release, an alleged hacker posts on 4chan's anonymous bulletin board very heavy spoilers on the plot of the long-awaited sequel to the adventures of Joel and Ellie. The amount of information leaked is immeasurable and the unfortunate (or particularly curious) who stumbled upon these leaks declared that there were so many details about the game that the experience could even turn out to be ruined.
We know that in the end this was not the case and The Last of Us II was still played and fully appreciated by thousands of players, even those who have suffered the plot spoilers. turning up his nose a little for some choices by Naughty Dog.
The double face of the same coin
It must be absolutely specified that these acts constitute a crime to all intents and purposes: publishing information protected by copyright and covered by a previous non-disclosure agreement entered into with the manufacturer is illegal and in many cases it results in a huge loss of money, especially when pirated copies of video games begin to circulate.
In addition to a damage of economic type, also aggravated by any processes as in the case of Nintendo's Gigaleak, these actions can also be negative from the point of view of the image: if a company chooses to show a certain product preview to a select few, it does so also being aware of any bugs that a game may present a few weeks after its release on the market; if these technical problems are put in the spotlight and are fed to the entire people of the web then many gamers can get misconception of the game.
However, it must also be said that in some cases the leaks can be useful to buyers who may not be able to make a final decision with the marketing campaign alone, often fallacious and who cannot give an idea of how the final product will actually be: in this case it is very likely that many gamers will convince to buy the game thanks to the leaks, thereby increasing the overall sales of the title.
