Hideki Kamiya is known for not mincing words, and today he posted on X mincing them even less than usual while talking about the increasingly common “leakers” that spoil gaming announcements and reveals, including today’s about the Nintendo Switch 2.
Kamiya-san’s tweets are hilariously on-point on their own, so I’ll do my best to translate them closely instead of paraphrasing. That wouldn’t do them justice.
Here’s what he said:
“All those who leaked the Switch 2 and those who were involved in the leaking should be cursed for the rest of their lives to always have sh*t on the soles of their shoes when they get back home…
… Now that I’ve enjoyed the surprise of Okami’s announcement together with all the users, I truly believe this… All of those damn leakers should be cursed…
Shi*ty leakers only act for the sake of their own pleasure and self-satisfaction. Not only their actions don’t benefit anyone, but they also cause all sorts of opportunity loss. They have nothing to be proud of because they’re the scum of the scum.
They should just be covered completely in sh*t and flung out of the atmosphere… to lose consciousness and wander forever…
These shit*y leakers are in a position of responsibility knowing information that only a few have access to. What they do is nothing more than expressing their filthy desire for approval. They’re shameful people.
We shouldn’t blame the manufacturers whose secrets were exposed, but these pieces of sh*t . We need to crush them as soon as possible…”
I will admit that when I read this I almost spit my coffee. Yet, Kamiya-san certainly has a point.
Leakers don’t spill confidential information about video games to achieve any sort of journalistic intent. Knowing this kind of information ahead of time does not really benefit the reader in any way, while it actually spoils the surprise for most users, who would likely enjoy it more without any leaks.
On top of that, this kind of leak takes away from developers and creators the possibility of announcing the fruit of their hard work on their own terms, forcing them to watch as someone else on the internet literally steals their thunder for entirely selfish reasons.
When you’re tempted to provide leakers with attention and the clout they desire, perhaps you should remember Hideki Kamiya’s words. He certainly doesn’t hold back, but there is wisdom in the points he makes.
If you’re unfamiliar with Hideki Kamiya, he’s a veteran Japanese developer known as the creator of many beloved games like Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, Bayonetta, and many more.
He recently became the Studio head of Clovers after leaving PlatinumGames, and he’s currently working on a sequel of Okami announced at The Game Awards 2024.
