Please Understand, Nintendo is the Bad Guy

[Shamus Young]

Please Understand, Nintendo is the Bad Guy

About two weeks ago, Nintendo issued copyright infringement claims against 80% of a speedrunner's videos. This makes them the bad guys. Here's why.

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[Covarr]

You could argue that maybe piracy took place when PangaeaPanga downloaded the ROMs. But this is only piracy if PangaeaPanga doesn't already own a copy of SMW, and I doubt anyone is going to suggest with a straight face that a die-hard Mario speedrunner never owned the original game.

Not quite. Technically (at least under US law) it is piracy unless you create the copy yourself from your own cartridge; even if you own the game, and despite the fact that a downloaded copy is byte-for-byte identical to a ROM you dumped yourself, that distinction is there. Not that Nintendo can prove either way from just a YouTube video.

Other than that, you are absolutely right. Nintendo really isn't gaining anything by their aggressive anti-YouTuber stances except ill-will. Alas, since they're Nintendo, it'll all roll right off them, at least for the time being.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Dalisclock]

Shamus. You had to say Nintendo sometimes does bad things. May whatever god you believe in have mercy on you, because legions of die-hard Nintendo fans won't.

I agree, it's very much a dick move, especially since you-tube videos are essentially free advertising and picking on youtubers for daring to show their games off for free(You know, the shit companies hold controlled *coughE3cought* press events to do for new games) just looks like corporations bullying the little guy.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Man, we've had thread after thread from Nintendo fans complaining about how everyone on this site is constantly dumping on Nintendo, when in actuality nobody is, and then you go and drop a deuce like this. Brilliant! XD

OT: Yeah, Nintendo is a big idiot when it comes to online. Similar to how Studio Ghibli flips its shit if you dare post any footage or music from their movies on Youtube. Seems all that delightful, pure-hearted charm comes with a major drawback. Like your kindly grandfather who tells the most wonderful tales, but who can then suddenly go on a racist rant.

 

[saxman234]

Great article. Now I have a perfect piece to link to if I ever get into another forum fight about Nintendo's bs youtube policies.

 

[warmachine]

What gets me is Nintendo fans defending Nintendo for attacking other Nintendo fans. Is there a 'game as Nintendo intended it only' faction or something?

 

[CecilT]

Well said. They don't seem to grasp the notion that these types of videos are keeping people interested in old properties. Meanwhile smaller companies are begging Lets Players and such to stream their games because they get how free publicity works.

 

[Guffe]

I am a fan of Nintendo, I own a WiiU.
I think this article is pretty good and explanatory.
I always thought the Youtube thing was weird, it brings free publicity to them, so why stop that?
They were afraid they might sell more WiiU:s? because that marketing campaign sure as hell sucked.

How were they even allowed to take the vids down in the first place?
Because people were able to make money from their product? I think I read something like that back when this started...

 

[Bad Player]

I'm a die-hard Nintendo fan (they're the only consoles I get), and yeah, Nintendo's policies in this case are pretty atrocious. The worst part about it is that there really can't be any positive side to this; youtube videos of discontinued games can't hurt their bottom line, and bad press from this sort of thing certainly can.

Not to try to mitigate Nintendo's blame or anything (multiple people/things can be at fault, after all!) but a big part of it is the way the DMCA and content take-down is set up. It's just way too easy to abuse. And for content hosters like YouTube, since the guy demanding the take-down is likely a huge corporate entity spending oodles and oodles of money on lawyers and the guy whose thing being taken down is just an average joe making videos for fun, it's clear whose side they're going to take (just to save their own hides). The decision in the Lenz case (that Shamus linked in his article) is a huge step in the right direction.

Hopefully Nintendo will wake up soon and stop with these idiotic practices.

 

[Davroth]

TAS are still promoting the use of ROMs and ROM hacks. Why should they look favourable on ROMs when it very nearly killed one of their handhelds in the past? They have any right to crack down on that.

 

[Xeorm]

TAS are still promoting the use of ROMs and ROM hacks. Why should they look favourable on ROMs when it very nearly killed one of their handhelds in the past? They have any right to crack down on that.

They do have the right to crack down on any illegal activity regarding their property, including downloading ROMs. The big problem, though, is that the video of them doing something (even if that something is illegal) is not itself illegal or an infringement on their property. I'd have zero problems with Nintendo using the videos as evidence that the user in question has illegal software or has done something illegal. (At least legally. I'd probably say that it's in their best interests to let it continue, but that's their choice, not mine)

By focusing on targeting innocent youtube video makers and using a badly made system to bully them into submission, Nintendo has earned their evil title.

 

[Thyunda]

I never trusted Nintendo. I always found them far too colourful and happy.

I feel somewhat vindicated.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

Shamus. You had to say Nintendo sometimes does bad things. May whatever god you believe in have mercy on you, because legions of die-hard Nintendo fans won't.

I agree, it's very much a dick move, especially since you-tube videos are essentially free advertising and picking on youtubers for daring to show their games off for free(You know, the shit companies hold controlled *coughE3cought* press events to do for new games) just looks like corporations bullying the little guy.

Speaking as a die hard Nintendo fan, I can argue this was a MASSIVE freaking Dick Move by the big N.

 

[Redryhno]

Shamus. You had to say Nintendo sometimes does bad things. May whatever god you believe in have mercy on you, because legions of die-hard Nintendo fans won't.

I agree, it's very much a dick move, especially since you-tube videos are essentially free advertising and picking on youtubers for daring to show their games off for free(You know, the shit companies hold controlled *coughE3cought* press events to do for new games) just looks like corporations bullying the little guy.

Speaking as a die hard Nintendo fan, I can argue this was a MASSIVE freaking Dick Move by the big N.

As another die hard Nintendo fan, everyone knows this stuff is bullshit.

Personally though, I don't have anything against them wanting to "tax" content makers that use their stuff, but it really should be alot less than the majority of the revenue...like 20% at the max if they have to do it at all...

 

[hermes]

Well, yeah... not to preach to the choir, but Nintendo has always been the Disney of videogames (in more ways than one): Happy and cuddly to the public, but you don't have to dig a lot into their business practices to notice some shit under the surface, which makes some of their management policies closer to mob families than entertainment companies...

 

[kris40k]

Meh.

Being that Nintendo is still selling copies of older games (ex. Super Mario Brothers 2 and Super Mario World shown from images in the article) on the Wii [http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/HSm4x49FByECeL-kmPsmGCzuAyB2uhkY] and WiiU [http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/6eq5TQqkuX7MT0MnGZSTXocyEQmweSe-], as well as reading over the email [http://pastebin.com/9f71Lpgd] that Nintendo sent PangaeaPanga, it really looks like they are focusing on dick-punching ROM users.

Which I don't have a problem with. They are still selling those games and they don't condone use or promotion of ROMs, which, while they do have legit uses, they are also a source of piracy.

Sucks for that dude, but I can see while he'd get a punch in the junk from them.

 

[LysanderNemoinis]

I've been saying Nintendo is evil for years, and between their YouTube policies, their "affiliate programs," and all the amiibo bullshit, I don't know how anyone can defend them. And even when it comes to their games, they're so uncreative you might as well slap a mohawk on Mario and give him a gun, because it might as well be Call of Duty for the under eight and over eighty. Nintendo is guilty of pretty much every shitty modern day practice in gaming, things that every other company is (rightly) excoriated for, and yet somehow they get away with it.

 

[CaitSeith]

Shamus. You had to say Nintendo sometimes does bad things. May whatever god you believe in have mercy on you, because legions of die-hard Nintendo fans won't.

I agree, it's very much a dick move, especially since you-tube videos are essentially free advertising and picking on youtubers for daring to show their games off for free(You know, the shit companies hold controlled *coughE3cought* press events to do for new games) just looks like corporations bullying the little guy.

I disagree in the case of this Youtuber:

1. Most people already know who Mario is.
2. He is using hacked roms. If the viewers wants to try to do what they see on the video, they can't buy the ROM from Nintendo.

I don't agree with Nintendo actions (being so aggressive gives them worst publicity than leaving the videos alone), but in this case the "free advertisement" argument doesn't fit.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Meanwhile Nintendo's official stance is that they're not even doing this. At all. They're literally straight-up lying about it, and there are legions of fans who parrot their lies to any YouTuber who complains. Fraser from Video Games Awesome had a big rant about this a while back.