Nintendo Goes to Court; Wants Discord to Identify Zelda Leaker
Nintendo wants to punish an „anonymous” perpetrator who illegally published an 200-page artbook from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The case has gone to court.
The recent data leak of the latest Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom, has lived to see a response from Nintendo. The Japanese publisher has asked the court to issue a subpoena to force Discord to reveal the identity of the leaker.
Leaker wanted
The document, which the Japanese giant submitted to the District Court of Northern California (DMCA) on April 4, this year, is available to read here (PDF file).
- The case concerns leaked contents of a 204-page artbook from the collector's edition of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which took place this February.
- Nintendo wants to force Discord to reveal the identity of the perpetrator of the leak (known by the handle Julian#2743), including: first name, last name, phone number and home address.
Background of the case
The data leak took place on February 20 on a fan-run Discord server called "Tears of the Kingdom Official Discord Server." A day later, Nintendo sent a notification to Discord about the copyright infringement. The platform's owner promptly began removing comments from the server that violated the terms and conditions, and the next day sent a warning to the server's owner - who presumably removed it (it no longer appears in Discord's database). Both parties, Nintendo and Discord, have not commented on the matter.
Nintendo keeps its cool
Data leaks are a dangerous blow to developers and publishers, who meticulously plan marketing and release activities. The leaked artbook did not contain significant spoilers - fans got to know "only" the game's content, i.e.: a list of weapons and monsters, a description of new mechanics or drawings of the game's landscapes. It does not include a description of the plot or characters, information whose disclosure could spoil the experience for fans and force Nintendo to postpone the release date.
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released on Nintendo Switch on May 12, this year. The title is a continuation of Link's adventures and an expansion of gameplay from the previous installment in the series - Breath of the Wild.
