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Leaks in the games industry are out of control

Draugoth

Gold Member
Corporate Secrets is a sieve when it comes to the game's industry,

95% of the PlayStation Showcase leaked 18 hours before

Half of the Games in Summer Game Fest 2024 already leaked

Now the Xbox Showcase is leaking by the hour, we already know the runtime, some of the games and content of the postshow...

It's funny how Rumors nowdays are very different from 20 years ago, back then it most of them were fake and perpetuated in schools and magazines.

Kinda crazy that you can know the contents of a 2 hour showcase without needing to watch it.

Anyone think it's bad how game leaks?
 
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IFireflyl

Gold Member
We all know that companies are leaking their own information to get people on a hype train. If companies truly wanted to crack down on leaks, it wouldn't be difficult.

phil-spencer-xbox.gif
 
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Pejo

Gold Member
Well the old saying goes "you're only as strong as your weakest link". Just like when physical copies got out early due to walmart stockboys and stuff, you have recent news like the YouTube employees finding stuff on the back end and leaking it that way. I wouldn't be surprised if a janitor walking by an open door to a board room got a leak or two. When you think about most AAA games having hundreds of people involved, who probably tell hundreds of their close friends about it, then those close friends feeling far enough removed to tell others about it, it's no wonder stuff gets leaked these days.

Some companies do an excellent job of combatting leaks, but you never hear anything about them because there's no news. I doubt an article called, "Company successfully releases surprise trailer for their new game wihtout it being leaked first!" would get many clicks.
 

Gambit2483

Member
Not surprising considering how stagnant the flow of information has become. We are in E3 season and yet it feels incredibly dry and boring as far as new information and hype.

They all now rely on the Nintendo Direct formula but their execution of it has been largely crap.
 
I literally stopped looking at gaming GAF earlier this week because of the avalanche of leaks that I felt might happen. I want the showcases to feel fresh and fun. I truly don't even know what the threads are on the first page of gaming, I just stay in off-topic and then use search for recent conferences to see if someone made a thread.

The only reason I'm even in this thread is because it was in my related section to the Guerilla Showcase thread.

I agree with the OP, now back to not looking at anything.
 

Optimus Lime

(L3) + (R3) | Spartan rage activated
They aren't really 'leaks'. If you seriously think that information is 'leaking' out of places like Microsoft, you're on drugs. This is all PR, and it's all very, very deliberate. You're being played. They're trying to build viral buzz by pretending that OMG THE LIST LEAKED so that you watch their bullshit presentations. That's it.
 

Draugoth

Gold Member
I do.
I feel really fucking bad for the developers, and leaks are boring to me.

I'm not saying I don't engage with some of them, mind you. There's an hypocrisy there, from me.

It's a bitter sweet feeling. I would much rather be surprised.

Not really players fault that the information leaks, it's on the leaker.

They aren't really 'leaks'. If you seriously think that information is 'leaking' out of places like Microsoft, you're on drugs. This is all PR, and it's all very, very deliberate. You're being played. They're trying to build viral buzz by pretending that OMG THE LIST LEAKED so that you watch their bullshit presentations. That's it.

Most of the time it isn't, the GTA VI and Starfield for PlayStation 5 are good examples.
 

Optimus Lime

(L3) + (R3) | Spartan rage activated
Most of the time it isn't, the GTA VI and Starfield for PlayStation 5 are good examples.
They really aren't. They are very, very different examples when compared to what the OP is referring to. Data theft and ransoming is not the same as a 'leak'.
 

Holammer

Member
We all know that companies are leaking their own information to get people on a hype train. If companies truly wanted to crack down on leaks, it wouldn't be difficult.

phil-spencer-xbox.gif
It's free marketing that everyone gobbles up. If IGN writes a fluff piece for you, there an obvious expectation to buy advertising.
 

Quantum253

Gold Member
Not surprising considering how stagnant the flow of information has become. We are in E3 season and yet it feels incredibly dry and boring as far as new information and hype.

They all now rely on the Nintendo Direct formula but their execution of it has been largely crap.
It's felt like that since 2019/2020. Everything is broken up and piecemeal. You usually know almost everything before it's shown and most isn't worth watching to begin with. There are still some gems to come out, but are fewer these days. It reminds me of the Wii shovelware days where you get 1 banger and the rest vapor.
 

FeralEcho

Member
Well how else will we get announcements. It's not like the industry talks to the fans.

There's so much secrecy in this stupid industry that finding out the location of the Holy Graal is more likely than getting info from some of these companies. It's pathetic.

I'm glad the leaks happen and fuck over all their plans,they reap what they sew when they buried E3.
 

nush

Member
Just like when physical copies got out early due to walmart stockboys
It was promo copies and review copies actually. Blaming stockboys was hiding an uncomfortable truth. Helped by the fact that they would show off on social media.
 

Robb

Gold Member
Yeah, it sucks. It’s always nicer to get a surprise. But it’s also fun to get rumors/leaks to speculate on. Really depends on how revealing the leak is.

The Nvidia/Geforce leak has been kind of fun, since it was so widespread and you never really know when, or if, a game in the list would/will show up.
 

Pejo

Gold Member
It was promo copies and review copies actually. Blaming stockboys was hiding an uncomfortable truth. Helped by the fact that they would show off on social media.
I don't know which example specifically you're talking about, but it's not like I made it up.
 
The industry would be better if it worked like the movie industry: make the game public when it enters pre-production. They would hire people faster. They wouldn't have to pay the Doritos Pope that much money for reveals. The employees won't be tangled in a web of NDAs. There won't be complaints about early CGI and logo trailers.
Remember when id used to announce their next game in the current game's manual, or as a tech demo in a random Apple conference? Are Battlefield and COD selling less because everyone knows they're coming?


Only the grifters and the people who make threads about drinks and snacks for a goddamn marketing conference have something to gain through this secrecy.
 
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