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Nintendo is back again with their classic copyright shenanigans, and this time it's once again against YouTube content creators.
The modding community for Breath of the Wild has been a popular topic and a new way to play the game ever since the release of the original back in 2017, from some meandering but funny mods like adding Waluigi as a model for Link, to mods adding entirely new content in the form of fanmade DLC "Second Wind", the game is being kept very much alive and fresh even 6 years after its original release.

However, Nintendo seems to think otherwise, and they don't like it when people play the game in forms they don't force intend you to, so in their usual grasp and abuse of the copyright system, and taking advantage of YouTube's awful system to dealing with copyright stuff, they blocked several videos of YouTube content creators that dared to showcase any kind of mods regarding Breath of the Wild (and some that also showcased other games, like Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) in this past week. Some creators not only got their videos blocked, but they also started receiving copyright strikes on a handful of their videos, to which, for those unaware, accumulating 3 copyright strikes means the immediate termination of the entire YouTube channel, and having one's entire YT channel at risk is something of great concern.

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This isn't the first time Nintendo does something like this, and most certainly (and sadly), this won't be the last time neither, as Nintendo is well known for their tyrannical use of the copyright system to bend their will, even when both modding and emulation are known to be completely legal as long as there's no direct piracy involved to run the games, and more so since the videos are of a transformative nature and fall under the legal "fair use" term.
These recent attacks from Nintendo to BotW modders seems to be related to the upcoming release of the BotW sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, releasing less than a month away in May 12th, so it seems to be a tactic of sorts to "protect" their IP brand from undesirable usage by them.

Some content creators, like PointCrow, have started to counter-claim these copyright claims by Nintendo, as stated directly through Twitter:

Update: I have appealed these claims. As of now, they are still visible for you to watch -- however, they are not monetized. Hopefully Nintendo releases these claims, as I significantly transform their work and my videos are under fair use.

While the counter-claim can liberate the videos to be watched, they can still be claimed yet again by Nintendo, but this time with a lawsuit in hand, so it remains to be seen if Nintendo will actually continue pursuing this rather abusive use of the copyright system in their favour.

 

[Noctosphere]

The content is borrowed, meaning we apparently have no legal right to share or record this content. Let alone modifying it to add or change mechanics. According to Nintendo anyway…

Ok, but isn't this japanese laws?
As in, it's a real juridic question I'm asking.
The console is japanese, does that mean that japanese laws applies on whoever buys their consoles wherever they are?

 

[Kioku]

Ok, but isn't this japanese laws?
As in, it's a real juridic question I'm asking.
The console is japanese, does that mean that japanese laws applies on whoever buys their consoles wherever they are?

Can’t say for sure. It’s just weird that it even matters.

 

[Noctosphere]

Can’t say for sure. It’s just weird that it even matters.

I mean, in most country, modding is legal, emulation is legal
I know modding is not legal in Japan, can't say for sure about emulation

 

[xtrem3x]

Nintendo being like this is exactly why I don't understand people on these forums when they say "I don't support piracy"... Nintendo deserve to have the Switch security broken wide open and all their games pirated by everybody. They're such a selfish and hateful company, happily putting Youtuber's livelihoods at risk for things that have no negative impact on them at all.

I'm glad I have an OG Switch so I can play Tears of the Kingdom without giving them a fucking penny

 

[ut2k4master]

Nintendo being like this is exactly why I don't understand people on these forums when they say "I don't support piracy"... Nintendo deserve to have the Switch security broken wide open and all their games pirated by everybody. They're such a selfish and hateful company, happily putting Youtuber's livelihoods at risk for things that have no negative impact on them at all.

its funny that you dont see the irony in your comment

 

[Noctosphere]

Nintendo being like this is exactly why I don't understand people on these forums when they say "I don't support piracy"... Nintendo deserve to have the Switch security broken wide open and all their games pirated by everybody. They're such a selfish and hateful company, happily putting Youtuber's livelihoods at risk for things that have no negative impact on them at all.

hum... yea... no...
I mean, I understand why people pirate their game
But still, we still need to buy them, because if nobody does, then there would not be any more games/consoles...

 

[xtrem3x]

its funny that you dont see the irony in your comment

Nope, they reap what they sow.
I've bought hundreds of games and have always supported devs who value their community

Nintendo treating their customers and fans like this just grinds me the wrong way.

 

[Bladexdsl]

But still, we still need to buy them, because if nobody does, then there would not be any more games/consoles...

from nintendo? GOOD they can sell all their ips to someone who knows what to actually do with them instead of making the same fucking games over and over

 

[Kioku]

hum... yea... no...
I mean, I understand why people pirate their game
But still, we still need to buy them, because if nobody does, then there would not be any more games/consoles...

I mean, that’s the point. Hit them where it hurts. They either learn or they stick to their grit. The unfortunate part is that the vast majority of gamers couldn’t care less about whether or not they’re viewed as people and not consumers. They just want their fix and will pay whatever the asking price is.

 

[K3Nv2]

How did you know?

Can't wait for the praise when you post an article about a official game leak.

 

[Ruryk]

This is the kind of action that makes me have no guilty whatsoever about pirating Nintendo's stuff.

That being said, I couldn't care less for youtubers and their monetizing or whatever.

 

[halfashark]

Honestly, I'm more surprised those assholes didn't do this the nanosecond this mod was unveiled.
Well, if you know what the Streisand effect is, you know retarted moves like these just only have the opposite effect of what those idiots at craptendo want.

this isn't a streisand effect thing. nintendo isn't fighting to prevent knowledge of it getting out, they're just making an example out of them. a warning to others.
it's easier to scare people away via consequences than it is to try and bury something. it's the same reason why they will happily ban physical hardware (see: a hacked switch) but most the time leave the accounts in tact. they want you to come crawling back, having learned your "lesson".

 

[RichardTheKing]

However, Nintendo seems to think otherwise, and they don't like it when people play the game in forms they don't force intend you to

Then they should stop releasing such mediocre games - between this, Tears, Three Houses, and the Switch Pokemon games, there's very little to enjoy without significant modding and using Atmosphere cheats or utilising online third-party tools (such as maps).

 

[MariArch]

Based! Get fucked you hackers. This is what you get when you mess my sweet Nintendo. Whoever made these MODS and PIRATED these GEMS needs to be sent to the gulag. I’m tired of playing around. We need to strike back or else Nintendo won’t have any money to make their excellent, properly optimized, very worth it video games.

 

[krakenx]

It would be nice if Google put their foot down against repeat abusers of their copyright system like Nintendo. The process of appealing wastes their time and effort too. They should make organizations with frivolous claims pay damages like courts do.

 

[DarkCoffe64]

this isn't a streisand effect thing. nintendo isn't fighting to prevent knowledge of it getting out, they're just making an example out of them. a warning to others.
it's easier to scare people away via consequences than it is to try and bury something. it's the same reason why they will happily ban physical hardware (see: a hacked switch) but most the time leave the accounts in tact. they want you to come crawling back, having learned your "lesson".

A warning that does no good but get people pissed off at them. If there's something I've learned from bs of this sort, is that, rather than get people to back down or what, you just gonna have way, way more people reuploading whatever you're trying to block or what.
Eh, myself, if say I had a switch and it got banned somehow, I would rather look up for a way to circumvent it rather than "crawl back" to them. Or just switch (heh) to the switch emulator on PC or something.

 

[tpax]

I will buy two copies of TotK and throw them both away, because fuck Nintendo.

 

[chrisrlink]

this is why i only pirate switch stuff (even Sony is nicer when it comes to disclosing exploits i still view it as a wise decision to disclose fusee geele to nvidia only and not nintendo as well (I already know the resulting perm NDA if they did)

Post automatically merged: Apr 17, 2023

I will buy two copies of TotK and throw them both away, because fuck Nintendo.

dude just pirate the sh!t when it leaks your just giving them sales they don't care what you do with those copies

 

[Clydefrosch]

hasn't nintendo always made it very clear that they're at best permitting anyone to share gameplay of their ips as long as people play by their specific rules?

didn't you used to need a contract with them, that they allow you to share their videos.

entire youtubers were dropped from their supporters programs after showcasing switch hacks or mods that imply switch hacks exist.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

"their usual grasp and abuse of the copyright system"
If doing something that's entirely within their legal rights as IP holders is abuse, sure.
Trademark law is weird and if they don't take action against trademark infringement they risk losing the trademark. Maybe (probably) Nintendo don't need to go quite as hard as they do, but not taking action could be a liability that comes back to bite them later.

"taking advantage of YouTube's awful system to dealing with copyright stuff"
This is not "YouTube's system", DMCA takedowns is something every website has to comply with unless they want to get in legal trouble. Regardless of the specifics of how YouTube's particular system works, this wouldn't have been any different on any other platform.

I hate this as much as anyone, but that's just spreading misinformation.
Honestly. copyright law itself is more at fault here than Nintendo is. It's flawed to the core and Nintendo are simply following it.
I wish we lived in a world where we could have nice things without soulless corporations trying to take it away from us but the law is not designed in such a way.