The video game industry is secretive, with projects remaining under wraps for years upon years before being officially unveiled. This has led to an influx of “leakers” who pride themselves on gaining notoriety by releasing secretive information early — even if it’s wrong. This happened recently with the supposed “leak” of a so-called PS Vita 2, which was subsequently squashed by a reputable insider. But even though this leak was denied, gaming Twitter totally misunderstood the insider’s claim and ran with the idea that a new mobile PlayStation console was in the works. This is just one of many times gaming Twitter has spread misinformation and taken a “leak” as fact.
“Take it with a grain of salt”
The claim was that the PS Vita 2 will be revealed at an upcoming Sony hardware showcase that makes no mention of PlayStation products in the YouTube description. You don’t need to be an insider to know that this event will almost certainly not feature the reveal of new PlayStation hardware, let alone a PS Vita 2.
Then, when reputable insider The Snitch said the “Sony Showcase won’t show anything related to” a PS Vita 2, gaming Twitter still didn’t want to believe it. One user retweeted The Snitch’s response, with the caption “did The Snitch low-key confirm [the] existence of a PS Vita 2?”
No. No, they didn’t.
The Snitch then replied, denying they confirmed the existence of a PS Vita 2, but that likely won’t dissuade many Twitter users from still assuming the handheld is in the works — because they want to believe it so badly.
This has happened time and time again, as gaming Twitter just can’t take no for an answer when it comes to certain highly-requested products.
A little research goes a long way
Another recent example was when a Twitter user by the name of A1, posed as the reputable Nibel, and stated that a Bloodborne remaster would come to PS5 and PC in the coming months.
This tweet was shared thousands of times and even tricked trusted games journalists (who we won’t throw under the bus here). A Bloodborne remaster is something many gamers want desperately, so they’re willing to skip over doing research to confirm if a source should be trusted before sharing misinformation.
Now, this was clearly just a joke that even Nibel chimed in on. However, the fact that it fooled so many people proves that gaming Twitter has a serious issue with believing every leak that pops up. Sure, many Twitter users caught the lie, but far too many instantly believed it to be true.
Bamboozled again!
Another one that absolutely bamboozled many Twitter users was one from a fake Atlus account, announcing a Persona 5 Royal port for Nintendo Switch.
Yeah, right.
This one fooled a lot of people, too, especially on the heels of news that Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal would all make their way to Xbox and PC by 2023.
Oftentimes, even a small passionate crowd can be enough to cause a topic to trend on Twitter, despite being based on a false claim like the one above.
That’s why it’s always important to check sources, and make sure Twitter accounts labeled as “official” are verified, before retweeting fake news as facts. Many of us want a PS Vita 2, a Bloodborne remaster, and all the Persona games to come to Nintendo Switch, too, we just won’t share any old tweet that pops up simply because it’s something we want to be true.
