Why Did MMO-Champion Leak Cataclysm?

[Unholyground]

There's a big difference between datamining and posting confidential information of an expansion before the official reveal. You'd think this site wouldve been sued?

They make too much money off of mmo-champion, all the debating on this site creates a lot of hubbub.

[Wilian]

There's a big difference between datamining and posting confidential information of an expansion before the official reveal. You'd think this site wouldve been sued?

It's what brought this website to bigger public fame during WotLK alpha. Cataclysm was just continuation of that but then in act of cowardice they ceased doing real leaks, having sold out to the money.

[Molis]

Wow we must really be in an end of the expansion lul if we are discussing shit from 9 years ago

[Grusalugg]

OP is not on the same page with the thread spam of leaked expansions just before every official reveal season.
/s

[Cthulhu fhtagn]

It didn't seem to me that mmoc and blizzard had anything to do with each other back then. Now it's completely different, a lot of the "exclusive interviews" and class previews and whatever come at very specific dates to promote something in exchange for that info. At least that's how it looked like to me when all the 4 allied races had previews one after another (but not at the same time) just before they became live. Same with one of the recent "interviews" that just completely looked like some info blizzard wanted to be out there and thought this was the best place to put it.
I think the major difference nowdays is that the news and datamines about the game are secondary rather than of the utmost importance.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

MMO-C back in its earlier days felt a lot less restricted from Blizzars grasp. Thats a lot different now these days.

In fact the Cata leak is likely why Blizzard has paid more attention to this site. Well that and being obtained by Curse.

[The Stormbringer]

It's what brought this website to bigger public fame during WotLK alpha. Cataclysm was just continuation of that but then in act of cowardice they ceased doing real leaks, having sold out to the money.

When you've got almost nothing, it's easy to bet it all. When you've finally got a lot of something, taking the risk that you'll lose it all is something most people won't do. It makes sense to me why they stopped, especially considering this place is a job for several people, at least.

[ArkantosChampion]

Bad boys mmo-champions, bad boys mmo-champions,
Watcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do
When they leak confidential information for you
(c)

[Lochton]

Because they could, no NDA

[durrtygoodz]

Because back then, they actually knew stuff. These days they either don't know, you can't say.

[dacoolist]

You mean when MMO-C.com through up a screenshot of Chris Metzen in front of a pre-recorded video with CATACLYSM behind him

Fam, you must be joking LOLO, mmo-c.com hasn't leaked a gdamn expansion in it's life, and never will

[oplawlz]

But I liked the start of Cataclysm It was only after they "fixed" the dungeons that I didn't like it any more, which.. Was half a patch in or something.
(It was one of my favourite Holy Priest iterations)

To each their own, but it was the first expansion to disappoint me. The dungeons really didn't factor into it for me, I enjoyed them before the nerfs and imo the nerfs just kept them in line for the time spent on the rewards later in the expac. The changes to gameplay systems were, in my opinion, for the worst.

[Nyel]

To warn players of the horrors to come. If only we'd listened!

Cataclysm until Dragon Soul was an amazing expansion. I enjoyed it maybe the most of all expansions (at least the first weeks until the nerfs came).

[Deleted]

They should have postponed the world changes and put in the abyssal raid.

[Aktavite]

So recently I've been watching old WoW content and I suddenly remembered something that happened here almost 9 years ago while watch Blue Plz. Back then, Mmo-Champion decided to leak the Cataclysm expansion to the public before it was officially revealed. I never understood why they did this. Did they not realize how badly it would burn the bridges between them and Blizzard? Does anyone have any idea why they leaked it? Were they trying to spite Blizzard for something they did? Who's fault was it? And what measures are taken nowadays to prevent major, High profile leaks?

Also, how is the relationship between MMO-Champion and Blizzard nowadays? Is Blizzard still sour about the leak? Do they get along with MMO-Champion? I'm interested in finding out.

They leaked TBC days ahead of the announcement.

Although they did get a few things wrong. They had Draenei as playable Eradar.

You mean when MMO-C.com through up a screenshot of Chris Metzen in front of a pre-recorded video with CATACLYSM behind him

Fam, you must be joking LOLO, mmo-c.com hasn't leaked a gdamn expansion in it's life, and never will

Incorrect.

[Sting]

That was Warlords.

Every expansion up to Legion was leaked ahead of time, in one way or another, often purely as a result of oversights on the part of Blizzard.

Trademark filings used to be the big ones, but assets slipping into PTR builds were also common. I remember that a Northrend model directory with Howling Fjord assets (trees and rocks) leaked during a late Burning Crusade PTR build, and of course the famous goblin and worgen halloween masks slipped into a PTR build well ahead of Cataclysm's announcement, followed by the massive leaks on MMOC.

Mists was mainly the trademark filing, but there was a lot of debate about what it was right up to Blizzcon. I recall the SCII portraits from the Blizzcon goody bag were some of the earliest things people deliberated on.

Warlords also had the trademark filing, but there was some question about whether it would be the WoW expansion, or a Hearthstone expansion. The real leak happened due to the oversight with that interview you mentioned. There were also those Chinese leaks leading up to it, but nobody knew if they were fake or not. I think the entire concept actually got fully leaked and people didn't believe it.

Legion and BFA were pretty much kept completely secret until their respective announcements at Gamescom 2015 and Blizzcon 2017.

This sums it up pretty accurately. BfA wasn't really leaked but we did have the Kul Tiras armor sets sneaking into a build somewhere that were a pretty big hint as to where we were going next.

[Primemrip]

There's a big difference between datamining and posting confidential information of an expansion before the official reveal. You'd think this site wouldve been sued?

Is it confidential if anyone can access it if they know how. If it was put in the actual game finders and data miners found it, why wouldn't they announce it.

[arr0gance]

I remember the day as if it were yesterday.

I had just poured my morning coffee. The perspiration from the mug was still wet upon my hands as my computer began to whir to life.

"Ah, just another day on the internet," I thought to myself. Boy, was I wrong. Hopelessly wrong.

As I entered my user name and password I was pleasantly greeted by the Windows XP start-up chime.

"Yeah, this is the life. Nothing could possibly go wrong today," I recalled.

Somehow, I had a hunch I would be proven incorrect. I couldn't quite place it, but there was something primordial I felt that day. See, back then I was an avid World of Warcraft player, so I wanted to make sure I had the latest news. I was pretty savvy, too, so I'd often hop on the internet and read things. I remember hearing one of my guild mates mention something about this site, "MMO Champion," or something on Ventrilo during our 23rd clear of Black Temple that week. He said it was a really cool place to hang out. (Who "hangs out" on a website? Ugh.) I thought he was full of shit, but I decided to visit the website anyway.

To my utter dismay and horror, what loaded on my computer screen that day cannot be repeated. Well, maybe it can but I'll spare the gory details.

It was a little something like this: Imagine your entire reality being bent in the fraction of a second. I couldn't believe what I was viewing. There was a gargantuan, throbbing... spoiler. All over my screen.

I didn't want to know about the next expansion. How dare the team at MMO-C make such a profoundl...






...you know what, nevermind. This thread is fucking stupid.

[yetgdhfgh]

I remember that too LOL

Back then MMO champ wasnt owned by curse it was just a website owned by a Cat called Boubouille who sadly we dont see much of these days.

[Cracked]

i didnt actually know this. Nowadays everyone is under NDA.

???? If you work on the game, you are most likely under NDA. Just like we would be able to publish freely whatever someone sends us about the expansion after BfA, so was MMO-Champion at the time. Things have only changed in the regard that certain companies are more protective of corporate secrets and have better control over who has what information. In the end it's pretty easy to track the source of the information and people don't usually want to lose their jobs over it.