A statement that was published by both Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, said that they have finally found out who is behind the leaks of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.
The leaks showed new and unannounced Pokemon, including the starters and their evolution stages. These leaks sparked feuds that labeled Game Freak, the developer, as a liar for not using something new. Fast forward to this month, Nintendo revealed that a reviewer for a Nintendo-focused Portuguese publication (FNintendo) was behind all of this. The website and the writer were both blacklisted.
FNintendo then published a statement in which they apologize for the leaks and the problems they have caused and have cut ties with the culprit.
You can find both Nintendo and FNintendo statements below.
Nintendo statement:
These Pokemon were leaked by a reviewer for the Portugues website FNintendo, who had received an early copy of the game for review purposes. Both he and FNintyendo failed to handle confidential material, resulting in a clear breach of the confidentiality agreement between Nintendo and the media outlet. As a result, Nintendo will no longer work with FNintendo. Nintendo will always protect its intellectual property and brands. Leaks hurt not just Nintendo, but the thousands of employees who work hard to bring games to market, and the millions of fans around the world who look forward to news and surprises.
FNintendo statement:
At the beginning of November, a series of off-screen photographs leaked multiple new and unannounced Pokémon from Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. We want to take this opportunity to openly admit to our readers that FNintendo was responsible for leaking some of these photos. Nintendo offered us a copy of the game for review purposes, with clear embargo guidelines, to which we agreed. This copy was then sent to one of our reviewers, who leaked the information. Following the investigation, FNintendo severed its relationship with this reviewer.
Our relationship with Nintendo Portugal dates back 11 years, but our part in this leak is a clear breach of the confidentiality agreement between us, and, as a result, a total breach of trust with Nintendo.
We recognize it is impermissible to break embargo guidelines and we failed to handle the review materials with sufficient care. We fully respect Nintendo’s decision to cancel the confidentiality agreement between our companies as a result of this breach of trust and accept that we will no longer receive products from Nintendo, nor will we be invited to attend their events.
We want to apologize to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and to our readers for letting them down.
