
Nintendo released an official statement earlier today asking fans to refrain from giving the company free promotion by showcasing their games online, creating derivative fan works, or running any sort of events centered around Nintendo owned intellectual property.
The company has a history of taking a hardline stance on copyright protection, having previously started a campaign to remove any YouTube videos containing footage of Nintendo games and requiring video creators to go through the Nintendo Creators Program, where Nintendo would retain a significant portion of any potential revenue. Strangely, the strategy of issuing takedowns against fans and forcing them towards a worse alternative somehow did not pan out, with the program being shut down after only a few short years.
Nintendo is now going one step further announcing new guidelines requesting that fans avoid posting, creating, or even indirectly promoting any kind of Nintendo property whatsoever.
“In order to ensure the integrity of Nintendo intellectual property, any unauthorized use of Nintendo related imagery or materials is strictly forbidden,” read an excerpt in Nintendo’s statement. “We have spent years building up our brand image of a traditionalist company stuck in the past and unable to grasp the concept of modern media platforms that we cannot risk allowing third parties to potentially change that perception.”
The statement goes on to clarify certain acts that fans should not engage in such as sharing media materials online with others in order to create a sense of community centered around Nintendo franchises, downloading ROMs of older titles that haven’t been sold in decades in order to appreciate the history of long-running series, or developing fan games of Nintendo properties that might have the potential of generating new interest in certain franchises and driving sales for future official releases.
Fans should also especially make sure not to develop netcode that is better than Nintendo’s own official online service and, if such netcode were to be created by amateur volunteer programmers, definitely not distribute it in a free project in order to support the community of an older game title.
“We don’t need any help making our online service seem like more of joke than it already is,” stated Nintendo.
As of press time, fans had initially responded angrily to the announcement but quickly changed tone at the suggestion of a new Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel.
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