It’s kind of hilarious that Nintendo believes people won’t share information about the ongoing NSO playtest. Having started just yesterday, October 23rd, 2024, and running for a whole week, there is no possible way that someone with access to the internet wasn’t going to share something about this application. Whenever companies try to keep “big” things a secret, that just fuels people’s desire to find out more.
We don’t even need to look into the distant past to see this with video games. Earlier this year, Valve was running an invite-only beta for its hero shooter Deadlock that technically didn’t have a NDA. There was an EULA that stated you couldn’t share screenshots or any details about the game, but it was possible to not agree and still play. It didn’t take long for a mainstream gaming news outlet to showcase what the game was, much to the chagrin of Valve and a subset of brainwashed fans. What ultimately happened? Valve publicly announced the game and then pretended it didn’t just ban access to the title from one writer.
The NSO Playtest, however, is a bit different. Participants had to sign some type of NDA that prevented them from speaking on the game when signing up, but then there isn’t any legal action Nintendo can take. We all know how litigious the company has become, but even with the Nintendo Ninjas at ready, no one is going to get sued over this. Many people are willing to risk an account or console ban and that’s exactly what we’ll likely be hearing about soon. Why, you ask?
Because I know what the NSO Playtest is and I didn’t even get in.
Now, I’m not going to detail what this Playtest entails because I care about Nintendo Wire and the writers here. There is no reason for me to sink this ship just so I can have my name attached to revealing this NSO Playtest. Even still, I didn’t have to look very long to discover information on it. Hell, I found out over the weekend before the test even began.
While it is entirely possible for companies and corporations to keep secrets in 2024, when you put something out into the wild, there is no way you can honestly believe everyone will stay silent. I’m sure Nintendo has plenty of devoted fans who would surgically seal their mouths for the chance to try out a new Switch feature, but most people aren’t like that. For however many zealots a company might have, there are possibly five times as many people who just want internet clout or who simply want to stick it to the man. This NSO Playtest was going to leak no matter how airtight the NDA or EULA was.
As a side thing, I do writing and commentary tracks for various boutique Blu-ray labels and you’d be surprised by how often entire stacks of films get leaked. There are social media accounts dedicated to finding legal filings and website updates that reveal upcoming movie releases. With humanity being firmly in the digital age, it’s basically impossible to conduct business without there being a public record somewhere. Nintendo had to have known the NSO Playtest would fall into the same category, right?
Whether or not Nintendo ever acknowledges this Playtest in an official capacity is up in the air right now. Still, if you want to know what it is, it’s not difficult to track down. Nintendo probably should have just leaned into that instead of attempting to play it off like there is a secret club of Switch players.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
