Leaks happen in gaming all the time. There may be fewer than in, say, movies, but the people who follow games care way more about them than people tend to in other media. Nintendo’s an especially interesting case because so little of the Japanese company’s internal plans and workings are made public and the leaks that do happen are usually the result of physical materials that accidentally get shipped out ahead of release.
So NateTheHate, who solidified his “tier 1” leaker status by correctly sharing the Switch 2 reveal plans ahead of time, poses an unusual dilemma for Nintendo after he recently leaked another batch of alleged Switch 2 plans. Big ones. They include a new Star Fox game, an Ocarina of Time remake coming later this year, and the notion that a new 3D Mario won’t arrive until 2027. That’s the kind of rumor that can move markets and is almost designed in a lab to maximally peeve off a company that prides itself on delivering surprises that delight fans.
“Nintendo has a huge problem with leaks they don’t seem to be able to fix,” former Nintendo of America marketer Kit Ellis said in a recent video. “I can promise you that Nintendo is absolutely furious.”
“This isn’t just somebody cryptically tweeting out a few things 24 hours before a Nintendo Direct. This is somebody who has laid out their entire lineup for the rest of this year and part of next year’s,” he added. “For a company like Nintendo whose approach to marketing is propped up by the element of surprise, it’s a big problem.”
Nintendo isn’t shy about taking legal action against Discords, YouTube livestreams, and anywhere else its content leaks before it was meant to be shared with the world. Remember Pyoro? The company’s Directs were routinely leaking in advance just a few years ago, seemingly due to someone with access to the backend of various store pages tipping people off ahead of time. Once Nintendo plugged that hole, the leaks stopped.
But so far, the Mario maker has been unable to stop NateTheHate, whose identity remains a secret and whose sources appear to be much more diversified than a potential loophole in the company’s website data security. The leaker’s info drops every so often have provided the corroboration some sites have needed to back up rumors they’ve heard themselves, and have also led to additional claims like there being a Zelda-themed special edition Switch 2 that will launch later this year alongside the remake.
Even if Nintendo’s attempts to plug the leaks never filter down to the podcaster directly, the company is no doubt diligently checking the chain of custody for its internal release and marketing plans and trying to figure out which partners that info could be coming from. The Switch 2 may have been a wake-up call for the hyper-secretive company, but so far NateTheHate still seems one step ahead.
