Cognition Dissemination: Ending Worldwide Releases Will Not Stop Leaks
Video games are frequently leaked before release, and several of those who acquire early copies through whatever means they can are happy to provide details about certain games that weren’t revealed by the developers and publishers beforehand. This undoubtedly irks those who work in companies responsible for the games and others who try their best to remain in the dark, but it happens enough that it’s no longer a surprise when you have to dodge spoilers for yet another game. The gaming community has learned to live with it, and they know the results won’t be good if companies start taking steps to curtail it.
Kingdom Hearts III, however, might have set a record with how early it leaked before its official release date. Games tend to leak around one to two weeks before release, but this title was somehow in the wild six weeks before its intended arrival. It lent credence to rumors that it was originally planned for release during the fall holiday season, but was delayed until late January so Square Enix could launch it in every major territory simultaneously worldwide. To no surprise, several fans and the publisher themselves were incensed. A translated response from director Tetsuya Nomura was posted on the game’s Twitter account, where he apologized and confirmed that the secret movie would be patched into the game afterward. This, of course, upset anyone who was hoping all the content would be on disc, but it’s not too big of an omission.
There’s a chance Square Enix could take more drastic measures in the future — perhaps to a ridiculous degree. In an interview with Japan’s Famitsu magazine helpfully translated by Siliconera, Nomura confirmed that the leak consisted of four copies distributed from a single source. He claimed this is making him reconsider release methods for future titles, which might include getting rid of worldwide releases for physical games. Nomura’s upset about a game he and the development team at Square Enix Osaka slaved over for more than half a decade is understandable, but this “solution” wouldn’t solve a damned thing; it’s as nonsensical a suggestion as Kingdom Hearts’ overall story, in fact.
(I apologize for not being able to resist this low-hanging fruit, but I don’t regret it.)
This logic suggests that games don’t leak in Japan, which is, of course, nonsense. Just because this has never happened to any of Nomura’s games doesn’t mean it’s not an occurrence. There are frequent stories about players receiving early copies from independent stores in Japan, or through convenience stores thanks to establishment owners who can spot them an early copy. It’s true that no game has ever leaked as early as KH3 in Japan, but it’s also a rare case in any other country.
Not to mention ending worldwide releases would exchange a nonexistent can of worms for an actual one, because Square Enix’s fanbase would be pissed off at this trend suddenly stopping. It would show blatant favoritism towards the Japanese fanbase, and make it even tougher for westerners to dodge spoilers, since players in the company’s home territory would be free to post videos and discuss plot details for these games. You can tell who he’s really concerned about here, though.
There’s a chance someone within Square Enix could talk to him and explain how this would be an unwise decision for their western fanbase, but that’s no guarantee given the company. Square Enix makes better decisions now compared to the darker days of the last console generation, but they’re still far from perfect. For example, I’m not sure which audience it served to remove the original version of The Last Remnant from Steam and replace it with absolutely nothing, while a remastered version released exclusively for PlayStation 4. You’d think the remastered version would also release on Steam alongside the console version, but nope.
We’ll find out if Nomura goes through with this with his next title. Unless there’s another game he’s heavily involved with due for release soon, which is unlikely, his next game will be Final Fantasy VII Remake. This project was announced at E3 2015 nearly four years ago, but hasn’t been shown since PlayStation Experience in December 2015. Its development was at least semi-rebooted when the project was shifted from CyberConnect2 to an internal Square Enix studio in 2017, and as far as we know, it’s still planned to be released in episodes. It will be a while before we find out if Nomura was serious here, and who knows if he’ll even remember this suggestion by then.
Kingdom Hearts III will release in western territories on Tuesday, following its Japanese release past Friday. Give yourself a pat on the back if you’ve dodged all the spoilers up until now, because as some fans have been careless with them, there are always internet trolls who thrive on making others miserable by ruining surprises. In the meantime, let’s hope Nomura and Square Enix don’t do anything silly to make dodging them even harder in the future.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
