List of leaks
A leak is a revelation of information about a game that has been released prematurely, especially without prior permission to release such information. While game developers go through great lengths to prevents leaks from occurring, it is very common for games to have important information leaked out before being officially revealed.
Smash 64 and Melee leaks
Due to the lack of a developed infrastructure in the Internet prior to their releases, neither Super Smash Bros. nor Super Smash Bros. Melee had leaks of notable proportions prior to their release.
Brawl leaks
The significantly more developed Internet of 2007, however, made supposed leaks for Super Smash Bros. Brawl more common, particularly in the pre-release hype. The reliability of leaks, however, were invariably sketchy, with supposed contents of leaks sometimes being radically different than what the game actually contained. Despite the massive amount of fake "leaks" though, there were a few legitimate leaks, from both slipups from those directly involved in Brawl and from people who managed to obtain information about the game. Upon Brawl's release in Japan in late January 2008, leaks could then cross-checked with the actual game; in addition, actual screenshots and videos of the game provided considerable information to players outside of Japan, most of which had not yet been revealed by the DOJO!!.
ChaosZero leak
ChaosZero was a user on GameFAQs that obtained information about Brawl from an unknown source, and posted what he knew on GameFAQs on October 2007. His information leaked the following:
- Lucario, Wolf, and Sonic being newcomers.
- Falco, Ness, Captain Falcon, and Ganondorf returning as playable characters. He also leaked Sheik returning as a transformation of Zelda.
- Mewtwo being cut.
- The Stage Builder being in the game.
- The Dragoon being an item, and how it works.
- Final Destination returning as a stage.
Despite leaking 100% correct information, ChaosZero was treated as a troll, and was largely derided by GameFAQs users and disbelieved in general.
NyaseNya leak
NyaseNya was a user on Smashboards, with an infamous reputation as a troll obsessed with Peach. Despite his reputation however, he obtained legitimate inside information of Brawl, and posted it in a thread on Smashboards. His information leaked the following:
- Brawl having 35 playable characters (counting Pokemon Trainer, Samus/Zero Suit Samus, and Zelda/Sheik as a single character each).
- Olimar and Toon Link being newcomers.
- Captain Falcon, Ness, and Mr. Game & Watch returning as playable characters.
- Mega Man and Ridley not being playable characters despite being heavily speculated.
- Brawl being delayed again.
- Brawl being on a dual-layered disc.
NyaseNya also leaked Sonic and the exact date he would be revealed on. However, like ChaosZero above, he too was treated as a troll giving false information, despite having leaked Sonic's exact reveal date. Even the moderators of Smashboards treated him as such, with Gimpyfish locking the thread and editing his original post to claim he was a liar.
ShadowXOR leak
ShadowXOR was another Smashboards user, who actually got to test a build of Brawl firsthand, that included yet to be revealed characters. He leaked the following:
ShadowXOR was treated like the users above, but his information in particular was treated as absolutely false, since almost everyone believed R.O.B. to be a disconfirmed character after being shown as a Subspace enemy.
Lucario/Jigglypuff/Ness leak
On January 21, 2008, a promotional video for Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the official Wii website was posted, that accidentally leaked from the hidden characters in the game. At one point in the video, a Groudon sticker is highlighted and the faces of Pikachu, Pokémon Trainer, Lucario, and Jigglypuff can be seen in the lower right corner, signifying which characters the sticker can be used to power-up in the Subspace Emissary. At another point in the video, a Claus sticker is highlighted, that showed Ness' head alongside Lucas'. This was essentially confirmation that these characters would be playable ([1]). Upon realising their mistake though, the video would be taken down from the website.
David Hayter leaking Jigglypuff
During October 2007, David Hayter, the voice actor of Snake, was interviewed. During the interview, he was asked which Brawl character he would most like to beat up, he replied Jigglypuff, inadvertently leaking it being playable in the game. While a thread on Neoseeker covers it, the video with the interview in question is no longer up.
Smash 4 leaks
Leaks were particularly common in the pre-release of Smash 4, with fake leaks being extremely common. The most notorious leak was the Gematsu leak, which thousands of followers believed in its entirety before it was proven inaccurate by the inclusion of Robin and Lucina, and disconfirmation of Chrom, as playable characters. Other 'leaks' proved popular, such as a supposed leak showing Palutena as a playable character, the veracity of which is unclear.
In July 2014, a supposed email from Australian classification boards, OFLC, have supposedly indirectly leaked Wario as a playable character due to his use of flatulence contributing towards the game's rating.
