Nintendo’s Latest Move to Combat Leaks: A Shift in Security Strategy

The recent Nintendo Direct has left fans buzzing with excitement, but behind the scenes, the company is working to beef up its security measures to prevent future leaks. The move comes after reports of major announcements being scrapped from YouTube’s backend ahead of major Directs, and the video game industry leaker scene is still reeling from the drama.

Nintendo is taking steps to curb internal information from being exposed by outside actors.

During its annual shareholder meeting, Nintendo acknowledged the reports and said the company was using outside security firms, new security system measures, and employee training to address the issues around leaks. While the company didn’t go into specifics, fans have been speculating about what steps Nintendo is taking to plug the leaks.

One of the most surprising revelations was the implosion of online gaming leaker Pyoro, who seemed to have solid sources of information but came up surprisingly dry ahead of the big June Nintendo Direct. The news dump contradicted Pyoro’s vague expectation-setting ahead of time, and seemed to expose them as out of information.

Pyoro’s leak of their own source to Bloomberg raised eyebrows.

As Bloomberg reported at the time, fans quickly realized that unlike previous Nintendo Directs, many of the games announced didn’t immediately have store pages go live on the eShop, suggesting that perhaps backend data from those listings was part of how Pyoro had been getting their information. The leaker then took the incredibly odd step of leaking their own source to Bloomberg, stating that source was a Nintendo employee in Japan and that the “backend theory is a reasonable guess” about where that person got their information from.

Store pages for the games announced last week have only recently started going live, including the one revealing the unexpected $60 premium for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. It’s possible that this is one of the steps Nintendo is taking to crack down on leaks, alongside potentially shifting how it engages with video hosting services like YouTube.

The unexpected $60 premium for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has raised eyebrows.

In the meantime, the video game leaking scene is still in shambles. Midori, another mysterious leaker, was recently revealed to be a well-known male Persona fan posing as a mysterious Japanese woman. Until a new hero rises up, super fans will just have to wait for the eventual press releases like everyone else.

The video game leaking scene is still reeling from the drama.