Pokemon games tend to be an incredibly popular topic of discussion, no matter what, but with the dawn of a new generation, where information and unannounced Pokemon are slowly trickled out over months, or even kept secret until launch, fans were going wild with anticipation. This was especially true for Sword and Shield, which had a very contentious pre-release fervor to them. When images of the strategy guide for Pokemon Sword and Shield appeared on the internet, weeks prior to the games' official release, which was on November 15th, they went viral, as users posted them to every nook and cranny of social media and message board. Nintendo themselves even tried to get many sites to take those pictures down, citing the DMCA, to mild success. But by then, everyone had already saved the images and had distributed them even further across the internet.

To mitigate damage caused by the Defendants' leaks, TPCi submitted hundreds of takedown requests to platforms to remove the leaked images.

The content of the leaked strategy guide, which was slated to release a week after Sword and Shield themselves, on November 22nd, included pictures of Gigantamax Pokemon, the entirety of the Galar region's Pokedex (and all of its cuts, which turned into a dramatic hashtag campaign on Twitter), all of the new Pokemon and their Galarian forms, and more.

The Pokemon Company International believes that this leak of information has caused "irreparable damages", and by sharing stolen trade secrets, they threatened the value of both major Pokemon titles. A lawsuit has been filed with Perkins Coie LLP, where TPCi is looking to seek compensation for "wrongful conduct", and monetary relief for the damages caused by said leaks. The legal document shows posts from anonymous individuals on 4chan and Discord sharing dozens of screenshots from the guidebook, and though TPCi currently does not know who these four John/Jane Does are, they're actively searching to find out who was behind the Discord account providing the screenshots. Currently, TPCi is looking to issue a subpoena to Discord, in order to get more information on the accounts.

TPCi seeks leave to subpoena Discord, 4chan, and the individual who used the [specified] Discord handle, for identifying information associated with the users that posted the leaked images. TPCi will seek identifying information associated with the images, IP address, email address, secondary or recovery email address, records of session times and duration, and any other identifying information.

Source

Tags: [GAME=/game/pok-mon-sword.37382]Pokémon Sword[/GAME] [GAME=/game/pok-mon-shield.115653]Pokémon Shield[/GAME] [COMPANY=/company/the-pokemon-company-international]The Pokémon Company International[/COMPANY]

 

[Deleted-236924]

If the leaked images were from a strategy guide, they most probably were. You usually wouldn't get your hands on such a piece of publication of you're not working on it; and if you're working on it, you're probably under an NDA. It's how most things work in this industry as you can't just trust people to have goodwill anymore. This is the internet; stuff leaks like an old pipe.

For instance - I know of some games who are under development that haven't even been announced yet, but that's because I got friends in the industry. I'm not under an NDA, but people who are working on said games are. I'm not going to spill out the beans because I'm not an asshole and that could put some friends of mine in hot water and ruin the publisher's/devs plans of announcing this. I actually could do this and perhaps run away hands-free, as I've got no empirical evidence to back it up and perhaps it could be dismissed as a rumour altogether. However, if I did have photos, and facts, and evidence, it was proof I was much closer involved with the property than I was supposed to be - and it that case, it would probably be a breach of contract, and I'd be in deep trouble. So yeah, there are rules, as there are trade secrets, and this stuff is meant to be taken seriously as it's still a business after all.

The assumption that the Discord and/or 4chan users who leaked pictures were under an NDA is just that, an assumption. We don't know if the people who took pictures and/or posted them online were under NDAs, or if it was simply someone who got a hold of the book because of a store breaking street dates.

I'd rather wait until more info comes.

In your example, you are not under an NDA, your friends are. If you leak information, your friends are in trouble, not you.

 

[DuoForce]

>Make shit game
>Game gets (inevitably) leaked
>TPC Blames Leaker
What a world we live in

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

>Make shit game
>Some dumb guidebook gets leaked
>TPC blames the leaker for game being shit
It's TPCi's fault for the horrible reception of the game, not the leaker.

 

[YukidaruPunch]

The assumption that the Discord and/or 4chan users who leaked pictures were under an NDA is just that, an assumption. We don't know if the people who took pictures and/or posted them online were under NDAs, or if it was simply someone who got a hold of the book because of a store breaking street dates.

I'd rather wait until more info comes.

In your example, you are not under an NDA, your friends are. If you leak information, your friends are in trouble, not you.

I can't say for certain that they were under NDAs, but I think it's very probable they were - at least the first ones to leak the info. I wasn't paying attention to the game leaks but if this actually happened weeks before the game launched it's just too weird to be a coincidence. According to the original post, the guide wasn't even launched alongside the game, but a week later, probably to avoid such an occurrence.

I can't say anything for sure but I do believe in it. Yet, anyway, only time will tell of what will happen then. I do think something will come out of it, no matter how pretty this might not end up - all I know it subpoenas are no joke, and The Pokémon Co. seem to be taking this very seriously. Even if I still think they're in their rights to do so, I also hope people in the future know this is not a joking matter and it's not really worth the risk to disclose trade secrets for invisible internet points.

 

[Deleted-236924]

I can't say for certain that they were under NDAs, but I think it's very probable they were - at least the first ones to leak the info. I wasn't paying attention to the game leaks but if this actually happened weeks before the game launched it's just too weird to be a coincidence. According to the original post, the guide wasn't even launched alongside the game, but a week later, probably to avoid such an occurrence.

I can't say anything for sure but I do believe in it. Yet, anyway, only time will tell of what will happen then. I do think something will come out of it, no matter how pretty this might not end up - all I know it subpoenas are no joke, and The Pokémon Co. seem to be taking this very seriously.

If the users in question were not under NDA, it's still possible that finding them may help them find the origin of the leak, who may be under an NDA. So I guess we'll see.

I think if someone who was under an NDA leaked something, then they definitely should face repercussions. I just don't really want to assume until more info is out.

 

[Tac 21]

The game probably didn't meet their projections....

if selling 5 million within 3 days doesn't met projections then they can go fuck themselves jesus christ big corporate how greedy can you get?

 

[the_randomizer]

Man, glad I like Digimon more than Pokemon

 

[Deleted User]

didn't the game become one of the fastest selling switch games and out-do Let's Go by, i recall, "a lot"? sounds like damage to me for sure...

coudl've sold more had they not fucked up

 

[GbaNober]

Pokemon co. is becoming the master of suers.

 

[DarthDub]

If anything, the leaks ended up getting them more sales.

 

[Justinde75]

Good. I hate spoilers. This is what should happen to those who spoil surprises for other people

Though I'm curious. If someone was to get a book through no fault of intention of their own, and are under no obligation or contract to withold the information, CAN they be sued? I mean, what infringement are they suing for? I'm guessing they'd have to go after someone at the company where they had a "no telling" contract? The company which allowed it to happen?

If you consider series features like all pokemon being cut as spoilers then I dont know what to say

 

[DANTENDO]

Leakers are geekers

 

[osaka35]

If you consider series features like all pokemon being cut as spoilers then I dont know what to say

More of what the new pokemon looked like, evolutions, story details, that sort of thing. any details really. It was a far more enjoyable experience, going into the game blind. Reminded me of playing the original game, which is getting harder and harder to do.

Them cutting pokemon isn't anything terribly new, though the circumstances now are slightly different. The more pokemon we get, the more it makes sense to cut deeply, though. Personally, I would have liked to have seen at least one new game with only new pokemon and none of the old. Though that would have require them to hold off on their release of that pokehome thing.

I value being surprised and coming into an experience cold, learning as I go. So anytime I can play a game, watch a movie, listen to music, etc. with zero expectations, I usually have a better experience. Or I can better articulate what I didn't like about an experience, without looking at all those flaws others have pointed out. Can still be an amazing experience, but it tends to resonate if it comes at me without pre-conception. or, to put it more bluntly: me no likey spoilers

 

[Darth Meteos]

Go ahead! It's about time the hacker known as 4chan faced justice!

 

[leerpsp]

I don't think that they will track anyone down who used 4chan because most people that leak stuff use a vpn or something along the lines of that, But as for discord yes they can/unless they used a vpn.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

The leaks ruined the launch for me. I was trying hard to avoid them but people kept posting them everywhere.
I hope people will learn from this not to ruin game launches.

That is why I stayed off this form and 4chan, facebook and twitter tell the game come out. I hate it when a game is ruined for me with leaks.

 

[pacguy64]

Funnily enough, I actually wanted to go into this gen completely blind. I was planning to go in for a blind nuzlocke for the first time. But after Masuda infamously announced that the feature I'd been using for over 15 years was going to be dropped for graphical reasons, I had to give that up. The reason I liked nintendo and their flag ship games is that they always seemed to prioritize gameplay and player enjoyment over all else, and to have that all dropped for "better models and animations" was a huge, scary red flag.

I'm frankly glad it was leaked. I could've potentially lived with just dexit on it's own, but getting absolutely nothing in return for it AND getting an ugly, unpolished, and mildly insulting game on top of it was ridiculous. They need to hire more staff, the vast majority of these problems can be easily fixed by that alone. No need to lie, no need to hide anything, no need to pull out your lawyers and keep your marketing insanely vague. Just get more devs so you can safely hit the deadline and release a quality game. No need to crunch a tiny team into making multiple switch titles at the same time, holy crap! I shudder to think of whats going on back there, especially with things like the mouse in the credits (I can only imagine that they either did that at 1-3am and just wanted to go home, or were so ridiculously crushed for time that they had to immediately move on to the next task after compiling the video; what a nightmare ;w...

This whole mess has finally made me completely disenfranchised with major games in general. Pokemon was the one franchise I had left that I just blindly got because it did what I wanted, and having what I perceived to be the heart and soul of the series ripped out, plus constantly being lied about and danced around was the final straw. I don't like to be bleak, but I can't get hyped anymore; I'd always go in expecting the bare minimum for a series based on it's prior entries, but now I know that's too high; anything can be removed if they think it'd be cheaper or "monetizable"

I plan to get the game used solely so I can get to know the new pokemon (which will likely be removed in the next games if what Masuda said is true, but with all the lies going around TPC I have no fucking clue anymore), and hack my switch later to get the features they removed from the modding community. I initially was dedicated to keeping my first switch vanilla, but now that my respect for Nintendo has waned (alongside Mario Kart tour and Animal Crossing mobile, which are just so gross), I'm very excited to hack it open, and play all the virtual console games I've waited 2 years to buy...

 

[NoNAND]

Salty salty~
Wait until bad karma gets back to them

Eh, you know the cycle, how things go.

 

[TankedThomas]

Fuck Nintendo and fuck Game Freak. Those idiots can't make a good game. They lied multiple times to their customers and were finally exposed with hard evidence (which some morons still deny). They're only suing to try to prevent the bad reputation they've been accumulating over the past few weeks - a reputation they fully deserve and have only earnt because they themselves are lazy and worthless, thinking for years that they could just ride the coattails of their successful IP.

And as for "spoilers", I typically hate them, but it's not impossible to avoid them. More over, this is the first time in about a decade that they haven't just revealed everything before release, so to say that there is irreparable damage is to neglect their own marketing for years prior.
Not to mention the fact that we've had Pokemon leaks for almost two decades (potentially longer) and they've never sued anyone before, so why now? Because their reputation is on the line, after they fumbled badly and falsely advertised to their customers (which is illegal, by the way, so they're probably suing other people before a class action or something is hopefully brought against them, though I'm not hopeful that enough people will care to actually make that happen).

Also, fuck anyone who supports Nintendo still. They're just as shit a company as all the rest, and they're certainly not your friend. I can't wait to see them settle that Joy-Con drift lawsuit and pay everyone affected (only US citizens, of course, since that's where the lawsuit is) a measly $5 or something dumb as compensation. People shouldn't have bought that poorly cobbled-together hardware to begin with. I'm glad I no longer have to deal with the one I was holding onto.

 

[Justinde75]

More of what the new pokemon looked like, evolutions, story details, that sort of thing. any details really. It was a far more enjoyable experience, going into the game blind. Reminded me of playing the original game, which is getting harder and harder to do.

Them cutting pokemon isn't anything terribly new, though the circumstances now are slightly different. The more pokemon we get, the more it makes sense to cut deeply, though. Personally, I would have liked to have seen at least one new game with only new pokemon and none of the old. Though that would have require them to hold off on their release of that pokehome thing.

I value being surprised and coming into an experience cold, learning as I go. So anytime I can play a game, watch a movie, listen to music, etc. with zero expectations, I usually have a better experience. Or I can better articulate what I didn't like about an experience, without looking at all those flaws others have pointed out. Can still be an amazing experience, but it tends to resonate if it comes at me without pre-conception. or, to put it more bluntly: me no likey spoilers

I get not liking spoilers, but you should know what you are buying before you buy it. If it lacks features you really want why should you buy it?

 

[kurtdouglas]

Imagine being in legal trouble over a pokemon picture.

 

[chartube12]

Spawn wave has a good video from just before the release date. He talks about how gamefreak has a very bad pr problem. How if gamefreak was up front from the beginning and honest about everything, the negatives wouldn’t be highlighted so much.

from my POV it all started with the tree house event during e3 covering the games. If Gamefreak didn’t say anything during the live events about Pokémon being cut. Waited instead a few days til the release date, they could have prepared a proper explanation.

Trying to fix mistranslations from media coverage wouldn’t have been nessasary if they released the information using Nintendo’s own translation members.

Also we where told in 2013, that the 3ds Pokémon models were designed to be future proof already. now if there were some kind of coding issues with the models and they had to make some changes for the switch and couldn’t get it all done in time, they should of just said that. I think many fans would have accepted that and moved on from the cut issue.

Here’s another thing. Everyone knows data mining happens even with the best and biggest companies. It may be way game freak decided to say something during the treehouse. Data mining is wat you have to more honest about the state of your games.

there is overwhelming about of data to show they created the games’ originally for the New Nintendo 3/2DS systems. More than likely they were given a mandatory amount of time to port the games to the Nintendo Switch by there bosses at the very last minute. We already the Switch originally was going to be programmed to use cyanogen mod of android but they turned down the deal Nintendo offered. Instead the system using a modified port of the OS of the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo probably thought gamefreak would have it easy porting the games to the switch. however due to gamefreak remaining indie developer team member size and a mandatory release date they didn’t get a change to do it properly. Making the game world’s textures suffer.

My finale statement is this. A well known youtuber slipped during one of his videos and said he knew hacking & data miners found the complete data sheets for the missing Pokémon. The only thing missing is their models and they were easily able to add them in without problems and be fully tradable between games. Now he hasn’t said anything about this since and I have yet to see a patch doing exactly like he said. His videos since than, act like he never said anything about it. Making me wonder if he knew people working on a patch and wasn’t supposed to say anything. I can’t even find the video anymore. I was stupid and didn’t save it to a watch list.

At rate geamefreak shouldn’t be blaming fans for the bad press. If anything they should be looking at management and say, ‘you guys throw us under a bus and now want fans to pay the price, don’t go down this road and take responsibility Instead. Your disrespecting not only us but the fan base’.