Once again, several news publications have taken a vague rumor by a random Twitter account and reported it as news. The account (which now claims it’s a parody) stated that Sony has acquired the rights to a popular Konami IP. Obviously, that set off speculations that Metal Gear or Silent Hill would grace the PS5 soon.Why are the leaks about PlayStation acquiring a Konami IP false?The “leaker” quickly admitted they made the whole thing up. However, several publications wrote multiple articles before that based on these “predictions.” When we report on leaks, we vet the source, but apparently, that step was skipped this time around.Of course, it would have been obvious from the beginning that these leaks are fake for most people. Rumors like this typically take the form of wish fulfillment, and Sony getting access to make a new Metal Gear, Silent Hill, or Castlevania game is something that fans have wanted for years. However, unlike the normal clout-chasers that make logical leaps to guess industry news and then delete what they got wrong, @VGnewsinsider only had a single tweet before several video game news sites swooped in to cover its claims. Even now, after it’s gained some renown, the account is hovering around 1,500 followers.I was never meant to be a scooper. this account was meant to be essentially The Onion for game leaks. I started by posting an extremely vague rumour and posted it on reddit thinking i’ll maybe get 80 followers or something but it blew up (1/3) https://t.co/a6dbulcJll— JOURNALISTS DONT FACT CHECK (@VGnewsinsider) March 7, 2022The big takeaway from this situation is that everyone should remain skeptical of any purported leaks. Even reliable leakers have gotten major predictions wrong. Those that make a living as a leaker almost inevitably become less and less reliable as their growing audience demands more info.Opinion: Leakers are a detriment to the industryWe report on (substantiated) rumors and leaks because they’re big news. After all, if a major game leaks, we’d be doing our audience a disservice not to cover it. However, leaks are usually the equivalent of reading the last page of a book first. You know what’s coming, but there’s no fanfare or presentation to it. It seems like almost every video game announcement is leaked well in advance these days, and it completely ruins the surprise. I’d much rather have a trailer pop up in showcase and dazzle me than have a clout chaser on Twitter emotionlessly type out some lower-case text and point me to their Patreon.
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