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[Draugoth]

Good summary article by Jason on the recent leaker drama​

There was something unusual about this week’s Nintendo Direct — a showcase of the Japanese company’s upcoming games — and it wasn’t that they finally announced a Legend of Zelda game where you actually play as Zelda.

What was strange was that the contents didn’t leak in advance.

Up until this week, a social-media account named Pyoro had spent the last year popping up ahead of Nintendo’s marketing events to tell fans what was coming. Sometimes the account would post obscure teases. Other times they would specify that the company was about to announce a new remake or Donkey Kong game. Ahead of each Nintendo Direct, Pyoro would share just about everything that was going to be revealed.


In the buttoned-up, video-game industry, where companies stick to strict marketing plans, leakers develop their own cults of personality by penetrating the opacity. Nobody knew Pyoro’s identity or how they got information, but as the account continued to predict new announcements with a perfect track record, they attracted a huge audience. The account gained more than 100,000 followers on X and inspired a series of threads on the large, gaming forum ResetEra. (“Pyoro Leaks Switch Game Announcements. Part 4”)

But Pyoro was uncharacteristically quiet ahead of this week’s Nintendo Direct, saying that they didn’t expect many big announcements. They were subsequently proven wrong when the company showed off new Mario, Zelda and Metroid games. People wondered: how could an account with a perfect batting average suddenly get things so wrong?

Then came a twist. Several observers — led by a ResetEra poster called dgamemaster — began to realize that in contrast to previous announcements, these new surprises did not have pre-seeded webpages on Nintendo’s store. They followed the bread crumbs and realized that Pyoro’s previous leaks had all involved games that were set to go live on Nintendo’s website as soon as they were announced. Games that were only put up on the store after the Nintendo Direct were not leaked by Pyoro in advance.

It appeared that Pyoro had access to Nintendo’s web backend, and the account’s information was limited to what was available there.

I reached out to Pyoro to try to get clarity on this. Over direct messages, they told me that their source works for Nintendo of Japan, “but I’m unsure how they obtain their information” and that the “backend theory is a reasonable guess.”

Pyoro is just the latest mysterious rumormonger to get knocked off a pedestal in recent weeks. Another X user, who went by the handle Midori, had claimed to be a Japanese woman with inside access to companies such as Square Enix Holdings Co. and Sega. Last week, the accountholder confessed that he was neither Japanese, nor a woman, and was actually a different rumormonger with a shadier reputation.


Accounts such as Midori often build up a reputation by getting one or two things right, then either sticking to vague or unprovable predictions or going off the rails entirely. One ostensible leaker, who went by the handle Silknigth, cultivated a following after predicting when the PlayStation game Ghost of Tsushima would arrive on PC. They subsequently made a bunch of claims about companies such as Sony Group Corp., but none were true, as I pointed out later in a post debunking their rumors. Shortly after my post, Silknigth deleted their account.


I’ve long been fascinated by anonymous video-game rumormongers, and I’ve had interactions with some wild ones. In 2014, one account that garnered a fair amount of attention told me that they were a prophet. “When my intuition kicks in I see flashes of what will happen, like pictures,” they said.

In 2022, a popular account called “The Real Insider” turned out to be a YouTuber who was briefed by companies such as Ubisoft Entertainment SA in advance and then simply used this alternate account to break his embargoes.

But recently, thanks to backend leaks on Nintendo’s eShop and even YouTube, the rumormongering culture has been particularly wild — and leakers are dropping like flies.

Of course, there will always be new ones to take their place.

Shortly after the Nintendo Direct finished and Pyoro was called out, posters on ResetEra noticed something strange. The night before, an account named AdaWong wrote: “I’m betting on a top down LoZ game starring Zelda and a new Mario and Luigi title... their Brothership is too iconic y’know” — a message that seemed prescient after the announcements of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, starring Zelda, and Mario & Luigi: Brothership.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Then came a twist. Several observers — led by a ResetEra poster called dgamemaster — began to realizethat in contrast to previous announcements, these new surprises did not have pre-seeded webpages on Nintendo’s store. They followed the bread crumbs and realized that Pyoro’s previous leaks had all involved games that were set to go live on Nintendo’s website as soon as they were announced. Games that were only put up on the store after the Nintendo Direct were not leaked by Pyoro in advance.

It appeared that Pyoro had access to Nintendo’s web backend, and the account’s information was limited to what was available there.

Gamers owning themselves as usual.

 

[Skifi28]

This is good, I miss the times where a show would surprise me. These days pretty much everything is being leaked in advance.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

This is good, I miss the times where a show would surprise me. These days pretty much everything is being leaked in advance.

Where is that “will someone defend a multinational corporation” picture?

Want to avoid leaks? Communicate clearly and stop teasing every little shit.

 

[Embearded]

Cboat is the true king of leaks.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Cboat is the true king of leaks.

Whatever happened to cboat?

 

[Punished Miku]

Anything that's just leaked from a web store listing or a youtube video is about to be unveiled in a showcase and shouldn't be leaked anyway.

 

[hemo memo]

This is good, I miss the times where a show would surprise me. These days pretty much everything is being leaked in advance.

This is a problem with gamers acting like babies and less about leakers. Should Disney not reveal that Avatar 4 coming in 2029 so people “get surprised”?

 

[Embearded]

Whatever happened to cboat?

Hasn't posted anything for 4 years and i I think he didn't leak anything big for a long time before that.

 

[Skifi28]

Where is that “will someone defend a multinational corporation” picture?

Want to avoid leaks? Communicate clearly and stop teasing every little shit.

How was I defending corporations? Screw the corporations, these people are ruining things for gamers. With everything leaked in advance everyone is constantly jaded and miserable. Whenever we get a show with announcements, all I see is "there was nothing exciting" and of course there wasn't since we had the list in advance. Might as well not even bother watching any show.

 

[Loomy]

Cboat is the true king of leaks.

God damn that brought me back

 

[hemo memo]

How was I defending corporations? Screw the corporations, these people are ruining things for gamers. With everything leaked in advance everyone is constantly jaded and miserable. Whenever we get a show with announcements, all I see is "there was nothing exciting" and of course there wasn't since we had the list in advance. Might as well not even bother watching any show.

Leaks don’t ruin excitement – look at movies. They announce way in advance, and people still get hyped. Same with TV shows and books. Early info builds anticipation and keeps the buzz alive. Without leaks or announcements, we’d have nothing to speculate over. It’s not about spoiling surprises, it’s about keeping us engaged. If anything, controlled leaks manage our expectations and stop us from getting disappointed by unrealistic hype. It’s about recognizing that a steady flow of info keeps us excited and makes the wait more fun. What are we going to discuss on here if game companies don’t announce their schedules in advance and we don’t get leaks?

 

[Zheph]

Where is that “will someone defend a multinational corporation” picture?

Want to avoid leaks? Communicate clearly and stop teasing every little shit.

How is wanting to be surprised by a show close to defending a multicorp? This is insane

 

[Miles708]

Would someone please think of the marketing and ads department!

 

[Calverz]

Jason Shiller.

 

[StereoVsn]

Where is that “will someone defend a multinational corporation” picture?

Want to avoid leaks? Communicate clearly and stop teasing every little shit.

Here you go!

And yeah, stanning for corpos is a constant thing here.

 

[RCU005]

I’ve noticed that people have judged a presentation (whether Sony, Nintendo or Sony) based on the fact that the game leaked or rumored game was shown.

It is a weirdly paradoxical since they themselves say a presentation sucks because there were no surprises, but also want to know all the information beforehand because they can’t wait.

I like more general leaks than specific ones. For me is good to read that a new Zelda might be announced, than letting people tell me exactly what it is, with every detail (like the person saying there would be a Mario & Luigi game and Zelda with playable Zelda.

 

[CamHostage]

This is a problem with gamers acting like babies and less about leakers. Should Disney not reveal that Avatar 4 coming in 2029 so people “get surprised”?

I mean, I don't disagree that fussy, cranky gamers have made it impossible to get an honest overview of the game development landscape (and those of us who appreciate the lost side of gaming history have been punished by studios remaining silent on canceled projects, but games aren't movies though.

Movies have a faster production timeline, and they have a physical shooting process which involves talent, stages, and production staff; also theatrical schedules must be blocked out. Even if the production is secretive, there's no way to hide that a film has been staffed up.

Gamers also have expectations of how they are included in the product marketing. When they find out about a product in development, they have been conditioned to be shown a slice of gameplay as soon as possible, and if that showing takes longer than expected, it's usually considered a bad omen (and sometimes is.) Those slices meanwhile need to be more and more polished and perfected, given that they live forever to be scrutinized on the internet, even though they are very early samples of a work still very much in development and in flux.

In your example, Metroid Prime 4 was announced in 2017, 10 months after James Cameron announced that Avatar sequels were finally on the front burner (and 7 years after Cameron announced that there for sure would be sequels.) Now, MP has never sold a billion dollars in tickets, and nothing in Hollywood is made like Avatar, but the way the two projects have been concern-trolled by fans and press is different in ways that are indicative of their industries.

Compared to other tech industries (and a lot of consumer industries in general,) games aren't that special in terms of what we know is coming when. We don't have Apple's catalog of 2024/2025 computer or phone releases; we don't have release dates for the next 18 months of Nike shoes. Gamers are maybe more exciteable when they get to know things early (although are they? ask Gawker about that...) and may be more susceptible to cooling off if they're overhyped too early, thus PR is more careful to plot an optimized timeline for each product, but every industry closes its doors to the public until it is ready with its new thing to show.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Jason has "my wife is probably going to go dark," vibes, himself...

 

[FeralEcho]

This is good, I miss the times where a show would surprise me. These days pretty much everything is being leaked in advance.

How can you be surprised by anything when shows these days are basically this lol

Here you go, this is the gaming landscape per news of the big companies outside the leaks and rumours....sorry to spoil it for you but there ain't any news.


Oitside of Nintendo Directs and one once in a decade Xbox showcase these shows are so few and far between nowadays that we're stuck on just rumors and speculation for years. Sony has been the worst in this regard since the PS5 gen started. They started out strong with that big showcase in 2020 and everything since then has been drip feeding in the worst pacing possible.

Companies nowadays have countdowns for announcements of trailer announcements. Teasing the teases at this point.

So no,bring on every leak they can get for all I care. They brought this on themselves by having so much unnecessary secrecy.Fuck them.

It's a bunch of videogame ads ffs,you ain't protecting the Holy Grail.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Only good rumours was that old Fleetwood Mac album.

 

[IntentionalPun]

The “has access to marketing materials right before a marketing presentation” leakers have always been insanely lame. What in the world is the point? Lol

 

[diffusionx]

I only trust leaks from the companies themselves, like Nvidia and Insomniac.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Whatever happened to cboat?

He was probably trying to sneak some hints for us into this new games title, Planetenabwehrkanonenkommandant or something, before the Polish Sauna Wizards can get him.

 

[cireza]

Leakers should put on their baby diapers and go back to bed, we don't need them.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

It's ready hilarious that the side that wants to be advertised to as soon as possible and wants to spend years talking about advertising thinks they are the anti-corporation side.

Wahhhh the giant corporation won't try to sell me something how dare they oh btw totally anti-corpo, I just want to be advertised to a whole lot.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Leakers take a lot of the fun out of things, so I see this as a good thing. I've worked with a lot of devs/publishers over the years and while I've been privy to plenty of tantalizing announcements, I've always felt like it's not my place to steal their thunder. Vaguely hinting at stuff is fine, of course, but why ruin it?

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Where is that “will someone defend a multinational corporation” picture?

Want to avoid leaks? Communicate clearly and stop teasing every little shit.

This makes no sense... so they should just release a PDF with a list of every project or even deal/partnership they are or may be working on for the next 5 years? Because they want you to feel better?

They don't owe anyone that kinda transparency, and considering the stakes, well-timed announcements and reveals are an integral part of the marketing of any game.

If you were talking about CGI trailers, announcements of announcements, or logo trailers? Then yeah, I am all in with you.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Leakers take a lot of the fun out of things, so I see this as a good thing. I've worked with a lot of devs/publishers over the years and while I've been privy to plenty of tantalizing announcements, I've always felt like it's not my place to steal their thunder. Vaguely hinting at stuff is fine, of course, but why ruin it?

The problem with vaguely hinting at stuff people get mad at you for even that telling you to spill it all or shut up

I love to drop very vague hints of stuff I have heard and most times but don't pick up what I was trying to tease, maybe I should up my game

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Only good rumours was that old Fleetwood Mac album.

THUNDER ONLY HAPPENS WHEN I'M GAMING

PLAYERS ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU'RE WOKE

YOU'RE ~WOoOOOoKE

 

[Lunarorbit]

One leaker getting caught doesn't mean a reckoning

 

[Yoboman]

Good fuck leakers

 

[DonF]

The “has access to marketing materials right before a marketing presentation” leakers have always been insanely lame. What in the world is the point? Lol

my thought exactly, besides, they have like, at most, one week notice. A real leaker would be interesting if could leak something pre production. Useless leaks. Just for some internet fame

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

THUNDER ONLY HAPPENS WHEN I'M GAMING

PLAYERS ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU'RE WOKE

YOU'RE ~WOoOOOoKE

 

[StueyDuck]

I'm pretty ok with less gaming rumors.

I'd rather we got meaty ones every now and then from really trustworthy sources than the old jezzy doo doo or speshal boy farting out absolute crap that's bullshit and everyone freaks out about it

 

[majorgamer10]

There are over 8 billion people on the planet, and it's expected secrets will hold water...

 

[*Nightwing]

 

[BbMajor7th]

Risking your job is not worth ten minutes of internet clout. Reading wild rumours from internet forum posters while knowing the (often painfully mundane) reality is great sport though - and much less risky. What's even more entertaining is when people are square on the money and you wonder if they might be on the inside too.

 

[MrRenegade]

The question is: what happens in the basement with Pyoro?

And who will save him from Zed's gimp?

 

[March Climber]

Where is that “will someone defend a multinational corporation” picture?

Want to avoid leaks? Communicate clearly and stop teasing every little shit.

Here you go!

And yeah, stanning for corpos is a constant thing here.

Let's toss aside the pro-corpo/anti-corpo talk here for a minute because I have a question for you both: If you were running a business, would you want your internal business dealings on constant public display even before any concrete plans or changes are put into motion?

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I'm riffing on that.

 

[lmimmfn]

What a total wanker, where does he get his "scoops"?

I absolutely detest yhat idiot Schreier

 

[jshackles]

The only leakers worth their salt is the guy you sit next to on a long international flight

 

[StereoVsn]

Let's toss aside the pro-corpo/anti-corpo talk here for a minute because I have a question for you both: If you were running a business, would you want your internal business dealings on constant public display even before any concrete plans or changes are put into motion?

That’s irrelevant to me as a gamer though, isn’t it? Leaks don’t really harm the company and I won’t shed a tear for the corpo marketing departments. Especially so as they keep firing people as they take in great profit (admittedly Nintendo is better vs most others here).

This whole crazy secrecy is kind of nuts in the first place. So yeah, defending these multi-billion $ corpos is dumb. Well, ok, sometimes it’s defending multi-trillion $ corpos.

 

[March Climber]

That’s irrelevant to me as a gamer though, isn’t it?

It is, but it seems like there's no way for me to convince you of the fact that having a leaky ship could present a ton of problems for both the crew and the passengers alike(in this case company and consumer), without you thinking I'm pro-corpo by bringing up said analogy. Am I correct in this assumption?

 

[Shits_McGiggles]

That’s right kids, only Jason fucking Schreier is allowed to report on rumors and leaks on the internet. Hell, he may even keep them a secret for shits and giggles like the alleged Activision Blizzard sex scandals!

 

[bitbydeath]

Hopefully Jason’s days are numbered then.

 

[Jesb]

Whatever will duskgolem do, on suicide watch now.

 

[Valedix]

Yeah also screw this prick for spoiling the GTA 6 announcement date.

 

[StereoVsn]

It is, but it seems like there's no way for me to convince you of the fact that having a leaky ship could present a ton of problems for both the crew and the passengers alike(in this case company and consumer), without you thinking I'm pro-corpo by bringing up said analogy. Am I correct in this assumption?

Unless you show some receipts on how leaks are harmful to gamers and customers with these large corporations.