Can a brand be too big to be damaged? Just ask Pokémon
A data breach can often be a death knell for brands, but when the brand in question is pop culture and profit-inducing juggernaut Pokémon, it can be easy to say the rules don’t apply. But, talking to Mumbrella, Adam Fischer – head of APAC at gametech and gaming marketing organisation, Livewire – said this isn’t necessarily the case.
Earlier this month, as reported by the BBC, significant amounts of data from Pokémon’s Japanese game developer, Game Freak, made its way onto the internet due to a data breach that had occurred in August.
A statement from the developer revealed that 2,606 items were impacted, specifically the email addresses and names of present, contract and ex-employees.
“We have already rebuilt and inspected the server, and will strive to prevent recurrence by further strengthening our security measures,” the statement reads.
On top of the employee information, the breach reportedly unearthed details relating to past and future projects for the franchise – scrapped Pokémon designs, information on television and film projects, the next main entries in the games’ series, an alleged online multiplayer game that’s being developed with another studio – and even brought to light the codename being used for Nintendo’s next console.
