Spring is the time of year when the sun seems to shine a little brighter, the trees begin to regrow their fallen foliage, and rain becomes a welcomed event (especially after the relentless snow storms we have here in Minnesota). With that rain comes the revelation of leaks in one's house, and in the case of the game industry, leaks of information. It may seem like a stretch of an analogy but in the months prior to E3, information that publishers want to keep on the down-low flood out like a river when the snow melts.
This season is no different than any other in past years. Already, a month before the big event in LA, we've been made privy to some big news including a new console, sequels to huge franchises, as well as countless other details. These aren't just rumors but full blown details with screenshots, audio files, or videos along for the ride. Last week alone a Titanic-sized load of Modern Warfare 3 information and media drenched the interwebs, and not to mention a little over a month ago sources brought the new Nintendo console to Game Informer's attention. With all of this news hitting before it's planned unveiling, some of the magic of the E3 I knew growing up has been spoiled. There's nothing like the bombshell of announcing a new home Nintendo console at the company's annual press conference. I love knowing things ahead of time and usually before anyone else, but it looks like developers and publishers just can't keep a secret anymore.
In an age where companies can use announcements for anticipated games or consoles to affect the price of their stocks, you would think that keeping your mouth shut on something as important as a Wii 2 or a MW3 is common sense. Sure, word will eventually get out, but actual media from a game being released well ahead a planned unveiling is ridiculous. If you frequented gaming websites over the weekend you would have read the supposed plot points of MW3 and watched multiple videos that at the time had not been offered by its publisher or developer. When companies like Activision want to make a bigger splash with games that are supposed to revitalize franchises starting to wear out their welcome, secrecy should be a higher priority. Once information like this gets out, there tends to be much more that comes after. As the old idiom goes, "when it rains, it pours".