Rise of the Ronin is PlayStation’s take on the Soulslike genre that features Japan in an era where violence is at an all-time high. Team Ninja and their history with the genre has proven beneficial for their latest project and previous promos and advertisements have reached their objective by attracting fans. However, Sony might have jumped the gun a little too far and ventured into spoiler territory.
Nobody likes to be spoiled especially if it is related to something they are looking forward to. Spoilers can do two things: increase the hype but at the cost of ruining the surprise and tarnishing the whole experience entirely. Rise of the Ronin just came out a few days ago and some were already finished but had the good sense to keep the major reveals to themselves while Sony didn’t get the memo.
PlayStation Is Spoiling Rise Of The Ronin And Fans Unhappy About It
Secrets exist for a reason, and it greatly depends on why certain details are confidential. Team Ninja thought it would be an interesting easter egg to include a character from their previous game Nioh in the Rise of the Ronin.
Thanks for spoiling your own game Sony truly genius
— ゴゴG0dgraveゴゴ (@G0dgrave) March 31, 2024
William’s guest appearance may not be a crucial part of the story but fans would have preferred to keep it a secret and a surprise for them. Sony’s excitement is its downfall and rather than safeguarding the characters from being spoiled, the company showed them outright.
"Yeah let's post a giant spoiler for a game we pushed out a week ago, I'm sure everyone will love it and nothing will go wrong :D"
— 🏴☠️N7 commander Fireføx🏴☠️ (@PolskaLeyming) March 31, 2024
It would appear that PlayStation’s strategy backfired at a spectacular scale that even fans were not impressed. Rise of the Ronin just came out and Sony giving away something to look forward to. Perhaps underestimating the community’s desire for discovery and exploration was a mistake.
PlayStation may have had good intentions in revealing William’s brief appearance in the game, but players would have preferred to discover the easter egg themselves while exploring at their own pace.
Nioh Fans Have Mixed Feelings With The Surprise Appearance In Rise Of The Ronin After PlayStation Spoiled It
Player choices mean very little in Team Ninja’s latest Japanese-inspired adventure, the outcome will still be as the developers intended it. The illusion of having complete agency and total freedom will only be felt as players explore certain regions and engage in optional fights like with William.
Fans of the developers would feel even more accomplished and satisfied if they happened to stumble on William’s cave with blind luck and catch the easter egg. Despite what game developers think, players refuse to have their handheld in the adventure and prefer to be in total control. Even with all the incredible time-saving features that were implemented, true freedom brings a better experience.
William’s guest appearance in Rise of the Ronin was a treat for Nioh fans but PlayStation and Sony’s attempts to promote the game now gave it away for the world to see. Spoiling brings more negative feedback than positive, other more popular games have experienced the backlash of leaks and did their best to carry on while PlayStation leaked it themselves is a no-brainer strategy.
What are your thoughts about PlayStation’s ridiculous moves to promote their game? Let us know in the comments section below!
