The leaks of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate worry fans

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will not be launched until December 7, but it is already in the hands of some players. Hackers have extracted and downloaded files from a copy over the weekend and, as is often the case with pre-launch leaks, previously undisclosed information is multiplying online – and neither do fans neither Nintendo has them.

The company quickly issues takedown notices to YouTubers who have downloaded footage or music clips, but what is more important to the community is that these details remain in the wild. This caused a slew of spoiler warnings on Twitter, Reddit and Discord, combined with users expressing their disgust and outrage at anyone who would dare to spoil the early experience for anyone, not to mention them.

But this aversion to spoilers is not unique to this flight. For many fans, regarding Smash Bros., all information is sacred, they must be transmitted directly from Masahiro Sakurai and Nintendo. And as many fans of Super Smash Bros. say. and members of these communities, shouting "Spoilers!" For a fighting game whose full list and other details have been officially unveiled, the pre-launch is not overkill – it's a respectful response.

"A spoiler to the average person who followed Smash Bros. Ultimate is probably different from other games, "said stealthy, a self-proclaimed "super fan of Nintendo" who has been actively tweeting in protest of sharing information leaks Nintendo themselves let us know where the stadiums and the composition were, because these are huge selling points, but many aspects of the game were left hidden for us to discover at the time of the game. out of the game. "

These include how and when to unlock playable characters, as well as the total number of music tracks and spirits in the game. More importantly, hackers have leaked details about World of Light's Adventure Mode. This is the closest thing that Super Smash Bros has had in a story since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and fans want to enter with a clean slate.

Leaks, however, make it difficult.

"It's been over 10 years since Smash has a history, and it's something players want to enjoy on their own," said Soulseer, moderator of the Super Smash Bros. server. Discord and competitive player of Smash. "They want all the experience to be preserved and that they discover things as they go along, and when this is ruined, many of them feel that we have stole an experience that they were potentially waiting for a decade. "

"Angry people usually want most of the game to be a new experience," added Aedan "Azantix" Payne, another moderator. "I've heard that it's like comparing to reading the last page of a book before you start, it" ruins "all reading.

The Discord is full of "angry people" just like Twitter and forum discussions, especially when people rush to drop these tellers. A Smash fan on the ResetEra forum, posted on Monday after pirated copies went live, described the release of news as "disgusting" and tried to prevent story tellers from being "completely exhausting."

World of Light, however, is a much lighter story mode than Brawl's subspace emissary. Thus, while the cinematic scenes that would have been a good surprise in the game hit YouTube without context, it can be difficult for foreigners to feel sympathetic to the gaming community. This is all the more so true when Sakurai and his team revealed each fighter, the majority of stages and many modes in advance.

Even news from Nintendo Direct's presentations can be considered "spoilers" by some fans, and that's not going at all, said Soulseer.

"It's weird when we try to avoid information about a game that comes from an official source, especially fighting games where it's important to get as much information as possible out of the story for really know if you want to buy the game. I guess some people want to be surprised by all aspects of the game, but I do not really think it's fair, because no one can discuss the game around you without stepping on the rope. steep. "

But the frustration exceeds the desire to enter the blind part. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate This is another time-consuming project for Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the franchise, who has often explained how much his life was devoted to game development. In the following interviews UltimateSakurai spoke of his aversion to leaks and his gratitude for the fact that nothing of the latest Smash Bros. did not leave earlier.

Sakurai enthusiasts make up a large number of members of the spoiler-obverse community, according to fans.

"It is true that this game could sell millions and millions of copies, and the loss of sales due to this early hacking might not have too much of an impact," Stealth said. "I believe that the love of fans for Sakurai and his team, the very idea that people do not support this work legitimately, are actively trying to spoil the game for those of us who are waiting to the buy it on the 12/7 – it's rather discouraging. "

"Another thought that people think is about the people who play the game, who spend so much time developing it and revealing it slowly, to excite people," Azantix said. "When there is a leak, everything is lost, I would say."

Is this a waste? The idea of ​​spoilers when it comes to media is so heavy – does knowing which music tracks are in a game before you read it down experience? Or, more importantly, the story of a single player campaign in a multiplayer combat game?

Syskin of the popular Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Twitter account News do not think so.

"I like to think that, like other fighting games, Super Smash Bros. is a gaming experience that is not really embarrassed or negatively affected by spoilers," they said. "At the end of the day, most people will end up playing and enjoying this game for the gameplay and the large number of iconic video game characters it contains. I believe that one of the central elements of Super Smash Bros. has always been having fun competing with friends and family, and I do not think it can be a real mess. "