Nintendo is known for its popular video game titles like Mario, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, etc. and for legendary consoles like the NES, Game Boy, and SNES. When they are not busy working on the next big thing, they are usually going after people/organizations who create anything remotely derived from their work, both current and past.
I get that they have to defend their intellectual property (IP), and I am not advocating piracy here. But every so often, they cross the limits of what's acceptable in my opinion.
The way Nintendo goes after developers and hobbyists is unlike any organization out there. Along the years, I have seen news of many emulators crop up, then swiftly taken down because they contained illegal code, and that's fine.
But, even the ones that don't infringe upon Nintendo's IP, like Ryujinx, got shut down recently after the corporation offered “an agreement” to its creator (read lots of money, or lawsuit). What gives?
Now, it seems Nintendo doesn't even like content creators featuring any of their work.
Trampling On Others Work: Nintendo Needs To Chill
Retro Game Corps is a well-known website and YouTube channel run by Russ Crandall that focuses on being a one-stop shop for all things retro gaming and emulation.
Just a few days ago, the YouTube channel was hit with a copyright strike by Nintendo regarding a recent Wii U video Russ did which showed a Nintendo game in action.
Even though the video was solely for educational purposes and many similar videos with Nintendo games being showcased exist on the channel, Retro Game Corps was still served a strike.
Of course, this is not the first time the channel has experienced this situation. This is, in fact, the channel's second time being copyright struck by Nintendo. The first time was when Retro Game Corps showed off a device that allowed transfer of Switch games to a computer.
If a channel were to accrue three copyright strikes in a matter of 90 days, well, then you know what happens next. The channel, along with its content, would be removed from YouTube.
To avoid that scenario, Retro Game Corps is going to file a counter-claim under fair use, and going forward, the channel will not show any Nintendo games on-screen. Russ is also working on censoring any existing videos with such content to avoid any future strikes.
A Worrying Pattern
If companies like Nintendo are left unchecked, and allowed to go after anyone they deem offending, even for things that don't really qualify as offensive, what kind of freedom will people have to discus/using their owned Nintendo products?
💬 Do you own a Nintendo device or game? What are your thoughts on this situation?
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