Kotaku
Yesterday a tiny little Brazilian gaming site called Blogeek run by Douglas Pereia stumbled upon some new information and screens of Capcom's Street Fighter IV, which were due to be revealed in the next issue of EGM, which will surely grace bathroom floors across the country when it comes out. Gaming websites around the world - including Kotaku - picked up the story and ran with it. Douglas received the information from an anonymous source, but it all looks and feels legit. Well now said information has been confirmed in the form of a threatening e-mail to Douglas from André Forastieri, the boss of Futuro Comunicação, the publisher of the Brazilian EGM.
"The content you posted in the site blogeek is property of Ziff Davis, given from Capcom only to Ziff Davis and EGM issues, with embargo for the publications. Your publication of this subject is theft of intellectual property and should have immediate legal consequences. Ziff Davis and Futuro want you to cut off the content form your site immediately."
Pereia informed me that a follow up email informed him that Ziff Davis and Capcom lawyers were working to see what they could do to him, and that sales of the Street Fighter IV issue of EGM would suffer from the leak and he was responsible. Pressure is being put on Pereia to reveal his source as well, though Douglas refuses to do so.
He has, however, removed the post from Blogeek and taken the site down, posting a message on the front page apologizing for the leaked information.
IT WAS NOT OUR INTENTION TO MESS WITH ANYONE. LIKE EVERY NEWS SITE AND BLOG, WE JUST WANTED TO PASS INFORMATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE INTEREST FOR ANY SUBJECT.JUST TO CLARIFY, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY NDA, AND FAR LESS WE WOULD HACK ANYTHING FROM ZIFF DAVIS. A SOURCE CAME TO US AND PASSED SOME INFOS AND THE TWO PICTURES, AND WE PUBLISHED THEM.
ALTHOUGH WE STILL DON'T THINK WE SHOULD, WE REALLY WANT TO APOLOGIZE TO ANYONE WHO GOT HURT WITH THE INCIDENT.
ZIFF DAVIS WAS THREATENING US, AND WE ARE REALLY AFRAID, OF COURSE.
The poor guy is terrified. He's been threatened with police visits, lawsuits, and the very wrath of Ziff Davis, all because information that would have eventually been all over the internet wound up all over the internet. While I can understand the frustration of having a major story plastered across every gaming site in creation before the issue hits stands, they really need to focus on dealing with their own security issues instead of closing the barn door after the cows are all gone.
Why pick on Douglas Pereia and Blogeek? Because they know they can. A small site without a very large fan base is much easier to fool with threats than a large website with untold numbers of regular readers. The main gist of this is they want to know his source, and they're trying to strong-arm him into giving it. Just sad.
As of this writing, Kotaku has received no similar threats, despite the pictures and information being available for all to view, right here.
UPDATE: Please see this post for comment from Ziff-Davis via EGM editor in chief Dan Hsu.
Comments
I am incapable of reading caps... well. So I tried.
I don't see what the big deal is. Poor guys are just doing their job. :(
lol that's right fahey! Stick it to the man!!
Tch. The little guys deserve better than to be picked on like this. I hope he gets out of this okay.
Ziff Davis? What the hell kinda name is that? And he says it over and over "ZIFF DAVIS will make you his bitch! ZIFF DAVIS!"
More proof of the obsolescence of the pulped tree infused with liquid dye medium I suppose. Oh, and corporations being asshats.
Good on you guys for keeping it up.
Just another reason not to like anything Ziff Davis. Game Informer is the only gaming magazine that doesn't deserve to go IN the toilet.
I can see where they're coming from. Exclusives like this are a vital part of keeping printed media alive. They can't have leaks like this.
He hasnt broken any laws that I can think of.
Fuck EGM and 1up.
I'd rather they were in Gamespot's shoes right now.
Come on Ziff Davis, you don't need to do this. I love 1up and don't want something like this to tarnish that feeling. Besides, the amount of people who would read that tiny blog or even something like Kotaku that links to it has very little overlap with people who still buy EGM.
Brazil will probably send them a care package of Ladyboys and that will be the end of it.
First Gamespot and now this...are all the gaming news media gonna do something retarded to draw the hatred of the public?
Hey, doesn't this remind you of something... about Kotaku passing on information about something called "Home"? Wonder how that one turned out...
Seriously, it's about tim,e pelple realize that if they didnt make any fuss, people would be in doubt, thus not considering it to be 100% true. When they pull this sort of action, its is obvisouly 100 legit, and even if they take it down... who cares? I have them on my games blog as well! Im doint more good then bad to Capcom!
Besides, the INTERNET killed the written print! Live with it. Even so, I buy EDGE and Hype! every single month.
I hope you guys give him some good advice on how not to get run over by the corporate MAN.
The odd thing is I just sent you guys a email about this after I tried to look at Kens Hurricane kick. Freaky. lol
But this really is sad.I like 1up and EGM,but for them to pick on this guy and his site is just wrong.
@Moonshadow101: But this guy wasn't the problem. Someone else obtained the material and passed it along to him. As he stated in his statement, he never agreed to any NDA.
Ziff Davis is the publisher of EGM.
I think it's disgusting that they are doing this. It's not like the government can go after the Washington Post after they posted information leaked to them via Deepthroat, so this company shouldn't be able to go after he leaked information to them about the Watergate scandal.
And the information isn't stolen like they claim, rather it was GIVEN to him. You can't blame the press for posting information they have when they have signed nothing stating they won't be posting it.
Frankly I hope EGM sales ARE hurt. Not because he posted the screens, but because they are trying to throw their weight around and control the free press.
I was entirely pleased to get pictures of Street Fighter IV that I could show to friends and family without having to worry about the BULGE. Seriously, that was the worst picture Ziff could've chosen to release. Once you see it, you can't look at Ryu the same way again.
It...disurbs me.
@Chrysalis: What? A magazine linked to a retail chain and pushed upon the unsuspecting is better than an organization that fights for integrity? huh?
@Sabre_Justice: The publisher formerly known as Ziff Davis
Ok that first paragraph didn't make any sense as I went to go do the dishes in the middle of it. But you get the idea.
@chainlink13: Agreed. Dougles could probably use a rundown of how the whole PS-HOME scenerio went down here. I am sure it would help to calm him and perhaps protect his "source" from being sued.
I hardly think leaked pictures would affect sales that much... not as much as, say, big corporate lawyers threatening small-time bloggers.
I don't think the title is at the junior high level Kotaku was puported to be. "Ziff Davis butt rapes the little guy over leaked SF4 pics" is what it should be called.
@7ucky: Precisely. And in today's day and age did they really think they could threaten him and he wouldn't post that threat on the net? Companies need to be more mindful of their threats because more often than not it ends up backfiring and hurting them more.
Luckily Sony wised up in time and came to an amicable end with Kotaku.
Funny that Ziff says this will hurt EGM's sales, because in my opinion EGM slimming down to the length of a tourist pamphlet probably hasn't helped in the sales department either.
Hello Ziff Davis, if you don't want things leaking out, you should closer vet your staff, and get them up to speed with information security and awareness. It sure beats looking like a fucking jackass.
@7ucky: I don't think this has hurt its sales at all.
[en.wikipedia.org]
Okay, so it's just a conjoined name.
William Ziff + Bernard Davis + Fusion Dance = ZIFF DAVIS
Ziff Davis still sounds like some terrible 50's comic book hero...
Because leaked info has never, ever happened in the past. Give me a break.
I agree with Mike. Ziff should really be worried about THIER security. Sure they may lose sales over this, but threatening Blogeek isn't going to prevent it from happening again.
Go ask Crescente, he'll tell you that you are supposed to get permission to reproduce an image. Just because the internet is full of amateur journalists doesn't change the copyright laws. All they asked was for him to take it down, it's no different than how youtube work.
@Kiden4911:
No first CNet then Ziff Davis those two companys have nothing to do with the gaming sites they own.
.....other than owning them. I'm sure its not them that want the content down its the suits that do.
Who even reads print media anymore anyway? Why should I wait for information when I can have it injected into my viens via kotaku?
I think it's funny they're accusing him of hurting EGM sales. I think the fact that they gave away a ton of free subscriptions (I got one!) cut into their sales a bit more than a couple screenshots on a Brazilian blog.
I am surprised they did not threatened to send Ryu to his house to kick his ass >.> ZIFF DAVIS = lame
Everytime I hear the name Ziff Davis I can't help but think of Artie Ziff (Jon Lovitz) from the Simpsons... some rich dweeb somewhere trying to show how badass he in because he can crush the little guy under a mountain of lawyers and threats.
I think you guys are all being a little harsh on EGM. They need to be worried about things like this happening because of course, print is dying. They had this exclusive lined up to sell magazines. Some rat got a hold of it and passed it on. Thus Blogeek got all the credit and all the diggs yesterday for doing absolutely no work whatsoever.
I doubt they will actually take legal action against him, so he can stop pissing himself already.
More than anything, they're probably just trying to find out who leaked the photos so they can prevent this from happening in the future.
I admit it... I leaked the information to the press.
My real name is Karl Rove.
@hobo-1: that's right! if kotaku can hold up against sony, lil ol' capcom will not dare try. i say to Pereia, put that shit back up! do what crecente did with sony~
Dear Ziff Davis,
SHOVE IT UP YOUR UGLY ASS.
You heard me right:
SHOVE IT UP YOUR UGLY ASS.
I hardly visit 1Up as it is (I pretty much get all my gaming news from blogs like Kotaku and Joystiq), and only time I got EGM was when they did those free subscriptions a while back.
But had I paid for a subscription, I'd cancel it immediately. This is ridiculous.
ii wouldn't fuk with capcom they'll send plagas at you
I never visit 1up. The nearest I came to 1up was gamevideos.com and the videos on that site rarely ever play, so I'm all over gametrailers now.
The poor lil' Brazilian dude has been scared shitless! He should've just left the pictures up.
3d, but cell shaded to the point of looking 2d....
that's putting processing power to good use :)
lol... i guess we'll see how it turns out... let's hope it has great animations.
I'm not an anarchist so I'll have to disagree with Fahey on this one. Capcom and Ziff had the agreement and no one else so this just boils down to a criminal act and those who defend them are defending criminals.
3d huh...why couldent we have some really awesome hand drawn work? OH THATS RIGHT 3D IS BETTER AND ITS MADE IN AMERICA THIS TIME!
don't get me wrong, i def wat to pick up the jan issue on the 18th, but damn.... its not like i wasnt going to pick up the mag cause more images leaked. what the fuck, those were the only images egm were going to put up? for a story cover? if it is that is pathetic. and btw tighten up your security you immature bunch of asswipes. if it wasnt for the SF4 cover story i wouldnt buy the stupid mag anyway.
i read an earlier comment on here about how egm has been losing alot of weight in its mag, sad to say it is in the "anorexic era" in terms of content. after it gets to rockbottom hopefully it will go through rehab and become the mag it once was in the 90's.
and btw i been reading egm since 90 so im not some egm basher, its just im tired of the bullshit wit the mag , and now this..
BOO ZIFF DAVIS!!! (who?)
I don´t know why Blogeek is scared. US laws don´t apply on Brazil. What would EGM do? Send marines to knock on his door?
And btw, does anybody buys game magazines anymore?
"Ziff Davis and Futuro want you to cut off the content form your site immediately"
There! Problem solved.
@BPMΩ: You'd cancel a subscription over something as impossibly trivial as this. That's ridiculous.
I hate these exclusives. Forcing fans to buy a magazine for the latest news on your product is doing them a disservice. For fans in other countries with no feasible means to get the magazine, it's even more of a disservice. In this day and age, all this stuff should be released on the company's official website.
All that aside, EGM are well within their rights here. I'm glad I got to see some of this stuff though.
Somebody tell The Man that wants his money to go fuck himself.
This is just insane. There's absolutely no need to strong arm the guy like this, he's not the one who leaked the info. Serious over reaction here from ZD.
As much as I am loving the SF4 coverage, I HATE ZIFF-DAVIS. They are LEGENDARY spammers, and ignore all requests and communications to remove you from their mailing lists. They deserve this, in my opinion, and this Brazillian site should stand up for themselves and frankly ignore them, just like they do to everyone else who complains to them.
ZIFF DAVIS SUCKS. THEY ARE SPAMMERS. Just Google "Ziff-Davis Spam" and see for yourselves.