Maybe I'm misremembering, but Pokemon leaks are usually from Japan or Asia, aren't they? They tend to be cases of someone early in the supply/retail chain grabbing a copy, not a reviewer with an official code leaking it. Nintendo has much more control over the latter, and they do not like it when someone they have a business relationship with leaks something.
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Report: Nintendo of America Clamps Down on Review Copies Following Mario & Luigi Supe
- Thread starter Theswweet
- Start date
Maybe I'm misremembering, but Pokemon leaks are usually from Japan or Asia, aren't they? They tend to be cases of someone early in the supply/retail chain grabbing a copy, not a reviewer with an official code leaking it. Nintendo has much more control over the latter, and they do not like it when someone they have a business relationship with leaks something.
From what I've heard Odyssey might be the toughest NDA in Nintendo's history. This Mario Luigi incident could be the reason for that.
Seems like they want to clamped down on this and be more selective on who gets review copies and who doesn't.
Seriously though leaking review copy is kinda scummy and I can't really blame Nintendo too much in taking measure to prevent from happening again, even if they are being a tad bit heavy handed.
Now that you said it, I remember being upset about Youtube recommendation "all bosses" and stuff about 2 weeks before release, as I never finished the game I tried to avoid spoilers as much as possible.
Otherwise I didn't know the game leaked.
Jaded Alyx
Member
I don't think reviewers get sent cartridges/discs...
Tom Nook Sawyer
Member
I've seen a lot of unboxings for pre-release 3DS games. Would be a bit tough to do for a digitize copy
It won't happen with Odyssey. Nintendo probably has top-tier lawyers on standby prepping for launch next week.
Big sites (IGN, Gamespot) as well as Europe based sites are still gonna get review copies, so there will be reviews, no worries
The article makes this sound like a temporary reprimanding, though I imagine that NDAs for that game will be a lot tighter than they would have been normally. Wouldn't even surprise me if there are additional restrictions in place for Doom and Skyrim, even though Nintendo is just distributing those.
Nintendo has sent physical review copies, even recently. Plenty of companies still send test discs/carts as well.
Personally, my Super Bomberman R review was based off a retail copy Konami sent me.
OrbitalBeard
Member
Or later. Wouldn't be surprised at all if Odyssey reviews don't drop until the day before launch.
Again, it varies per game and publisher. Nintendo (of Canada) is unique in that it's one of the only companies i've seen that does provide physical copies, though whether a reviewer keeps it is another story entirely; I recall having to return my copy of Bravely Default after the "evaluation period" (not returning it would result in having to pay the MSRP of the game) when I was given the opportunity to review that game.
Jawbreaker
Member
Nintendo's cracking that nut with a sledgehammer, eh?
Ultimately I feel like this was inevitable to some extent. Nintendo is known for running a tight ship when it comes to PR and leaks, and I imagine they've been struggling a bit with the rise of "influencers" and so many smaller outlets looking for review copies. It's pretty in line with their behavior for them to pull back so sharply after something like this.
Granted, every publisher (indie or major) has to deal with this sort of issue these days. See the thread a few days back about one GAF dev having to deal with fake YT channels/etc. trying to get Steam keys to sell.
Granted, every publisher (indie or major) has to deal with this sort of issue these days. See the thread a few days back about one GAF dev having to deal with fake YT channels/etc. trying to get Steam keys to sell.
I don't blame them, and I think they have been lenient on spoilers for too long now. The number of times I've seen "Final Boss + Ending" videos for unreleased games in my Youtube recommendations is crazy. I had part of Splatoon 2 spoiled because of a thumbnail I saw.
I do feel bad for the people who have to put up with this now, since not having reviews out before the launch of a game like Odyssey has to sting.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
lol remember when all of yall wanted the BOTW demo to leak and said its a good thing lol
ramoisdead
Member
Blacklisted? That's the least of their worries...especially if you did it to a company like Nintendo.
Tom Nook Sawyer
Member
I am soooo curious as to who was stupid enough to leak it
That's always been something that's surprised me about Nintendo, honestly. It seems like they're pretty loose on info embargos beyond "nothing public until day X".
Probably nobody at a major site. More likely to be a freelancer or someone with a small YT channel/site, or potentially someone leaking a ROM sent to them privately by a reviewer.
Taking down this one particular leaker doesn't mean future leaks are automatically avoided.
We'll probably hear about it eventually.
Yeah, exactly. The fact that they can catch this individual person is more of a fluke than anything else (they didn't scrub the ROM properly.) This is more of a question to Nintendo going forward about what size media outlets they're willing to play ball with.
Seth Enosh
Member
I dont get why this should affect Switch games. 3DS is a different story since piracy is easy there.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Astral Dog
Member
Supe what!? 😣
Article's title was too long, Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga 3DS leak.
Astral Dog
Member
Those leaks. I didn't knew the 3DS was so leaked
Like others have said, with hacked 3DSs being so prevalent nowadays its trivial to make backups for games. This one idiot decided to do just that and put the game online weeks before launch.
Shadowhaxor
Member
Wow, I did not know about this. This would explain a lot. We were told we'd get a Fire Emblem and Mario Odyssey, a while ago. Now it seems that we might not get them at all.
And why is everyone being punished if they know who did it? That's all sorts of messed up.
And why is everyone being punished if they know who did it? That's all sorts of messed up.
lol fuck that. When I was at the paper I finally just stopped dealing with Nintendo entirely. Sony, MS, Activision, etc... Literally every other publisher had no issue providing review copy, hardware...whatever.
Nintendo would provide - grudgingly - one copy of a game, with a one-week period before I had to return it. Put up with it for a while, then just stopped requesting lol
<Cynical> Excuse for Nintendo to target those who they believe will pass along the right message to "influence" sales and reach the highest amount of people. </Cynical>
Spyder_Monkey
Banned
Are you sure it's because they don't have any confidence in Fire Emblem Warriors.
Not75Drops
Member
Not sure if you're joking but that makes no sense because the game is already out in Japan and European codes have gone out.
Odyssey seems to have been hit by this as well.
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
It's incredibly drastic.
SinCityAssassin
Member
Yes, because the codes are already out for everyone but most of North America.
Cloud_Hidden
Member
My review copy of M&L SS was a cartridge.
I got that one with weeks to spare. Now I'm worried that I won't see Odyssey until right before launch, or at launch, and I won't even be able to enjoy the damn game because I'll feel pressured to power through it and get a review up while people still give a damn. This really blows... =/