If Pokemon Uranium was anything to go by, Nintendo hasn't had the best past in regards to fan games using its intellectual properties. In a jarring but not so surprising turn, the company has sent a takedown notice to a Pokemon fan game maker tool, Pokemon Essentials. This tool, an add-on script to RPG Maker, originally released in 2007, was particularly popular in the community of fan game creators, as it allowed users to easily create area maps thanks to its included graphical assets, which offered tilesets, music, sprites, and more. These very same included assets are reportedly why Nintendo issued the notice, as it has copyrighted graphical assets within the program. Nintendo went so far as to also delete Pokemon Essential's wiki, taking out the largest repository of guides and information on how to use the program. Maruno, the developer of Essentials was given a DMCA notice, issued from Nintendo's legal team, to which he obeyed, and took down all things regarding the tool. Essentials is no longer allowed to be distributed on many sites, though many know the dark recesses of the internet to be an immortal repository, especially when it comes to such cases like these.

Source: Pokecommunity

 

[KHEOPS]

yes on sega genesis after pier solar and look at me ca paprium

I know that they are original games, assets that are not under copyright, I am independent developer I know what I am talking about, but cut the grass under the foot of aspiring future creator, these software construct, construct2 , rpg maker etc ... allow people without great knowledge of code to create, which allows more time for assets, the rapid prototyping of construct2 for example is exemplary I understand that an independent colleague has developed on switch with that, is it not penelope? a racing game seen from above, he had started the dev on rpgmaker, I advised him construct2, I think he finished the dev in short, never broke the dreams of humans, as in the movie equilibrium on do not walk on my dreams with impunity.

 

[Skeet1983]

here is a nice video about the whole thing:


(so would the bayonetta devs since big n saves the series, but hey big n is all bad)

Hey, I know the guy in that video!

 

[KHEOPS]

good news thank you.
I rectify above the colleague started with game maker (engine used on rampage city? I think) not RPG maker, and he switched to construct2 shader and fx simpler and better rendering than game maker.

 

[Subtle Demise]

actually, the correct terms would be trademark (worldwide), patent (more like local legal scope, falls under the copyright section, invention), copyright(worldwide, expression of an idea, such as artistic work) and software licenses(worldwide) being entirely different from these.

(these points have been acknowledged by real life lawyers btw)

there are two infringements in the DMCA case:

1) a software license that you the consumer do not have to use/redistribute the product. You infringe that because you can't license work that does not belong to you. (the infraction raises in their software license, from the game it originally comes from, and you are subject to its clauses, which IIRC does not allow you to tamper with any form of the code at all, nor redistribute it).

2) the work belongs to the IP of Pokemon Company and Nintendo. So there's a copyright infringement. Different would be, if you were to use their logo in your personal work, that would also raise a trademark infraction if they didn't allow that. (such as youtube channels), and there is permissive licenses such as this one from USA (that enables you, a citicen to apply to 2) point), being:

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use"

What I'm saying is that a copyright is automatically applied upon creation of a work and is valid for I believe 100 years after the creator's death. It needs no active protection to remain valid. You can choose to allow people to freely distribute a copyrighted work for 30 years and suddenly decide to start enforcing the copyright on it without penalty. Trademarks are different and require owners to be proactive in protecting it.

 

[CaptainSodaPop]

lets u face it, google doesnt really checks the games like apple does. the only thing they do is check automaticly checks for viruses thats it.
and google being american results in it being taken down sooner or later, mostlikely later due ad money which google gets a precentage off

Sorry, just realised I missed one of your posts on the first page. I posted just right after you. lol I'm aware of how Google works don't worry, what I'm trying to say is that's exactly the problem. Why there's no automated control? But discussion on this seems irrelevant anymore since that about American laws obviously isn't the problem here. It's a shame because developers who made this made it strictly for the fun of it, there was no intention to earn money from it. But if it bothers them, it's their right of course. Impact will be the opposite of what they're trying to do though and my predictions are they will be in for a surprise when people start answering with their wallets if they release something like "Pokemon Maker". Not that they don't deserve money for their respective ownerships, but if they do it in a situation like this it won't be another AM2R coincidence. I repeat, no money was made and they don't recognize TRUE INTENTIONS behind creating such things. Piracy is not the 1st world problem, it's a big issue but that's on hardware creators and developers to blame. Look at Steam and what Gabe did. That's the real deal. People who pirate on PC today are really in the niche category and probably don't play much video games anyway. Don't get me started about the paid online play and DLC-s. Something clearly has to change about the prices you pay and what you get for it but that would be another topic.

 

[Xabring]

Dang it, Didn't even know it existed and now I can't use it now that I know. shame.

 

[osaka35]

You can blame copyright laws (and related) for this.

The more popular a thing is, the more these steps are required. The reason why some companies allow fan projects, to a limited degree, is to drum up support and interest, but it must be closely watched and there is a thin line. Pokemon requires no such support, and allowing fan stuff creates precedence that could ultimately hurt the pokemon franchise. Why? because copyright (and others) is broken. And the pokemon company definitely errs on the side of caution with such things, which is a bummer.

I can't hold it against them for doing this, not much, but it does suck really really hard. I also personally don't see this impacting the creation of fan made stuff much at all. Just don't fool yourself into thinking it's legal to use copyrighted content without permission. I still support those kinds of projects though, folks make some really amazing stuff. I even have a few of my own in the works.

 

[Cha0tic]

Dang it, Didn't even know it existed and now I can't use it now that I know. shame.

Sure you can just because Nintendo killed it doesn't mean you won't see it floating around online.

 

[ken28]

Alas nintendo doesn mind fangame, as long as they dont use their name or assets. We see this several times

Zelda maker got a dmca for using zelda assets and the name -> name changed to legend maker and sprites totally changed to be selfmade and now its fine

Blossom Tale and oceanhorn both being cleary inspired by zelda where released on the switch

Crystal monster - a pokemon clone - was released on the dsi.

to sum it up, nintendo isnt contra Fan Games. its contra using ripped assets or trademarked chars/designs.

 

[KHEOPS]

yes nintendo closes the sites of Roms (even sega neo geo) closes if nintendo rom are there, they make the war ban and superban, the war against pokemon maker, how will it stop me from playing in my nes and supermario world 1,2, or 3? or the rom equivalent on emulator? I have the right to use a copy rom if I have the original, if I play on switch they me superban, for mario nes on retroarch? nintendo seriously? make love not war, play games, leave the past to the past, it belongs to me, it belongs to everyone, did not try to erase my childhood, I spent so much money in the video games that I could buy a house, so it's not pokemon maker, or anything supernintendo rom that will prevent you from developing the future of your console ...

 

[GhostLatte]

I knew Nintendo was a bunch of cucks but damn.

 

[KHEOPS]

Ah! Ah! Ah!
+1
the truth for my case?
that's why I bought a switch for emulators voila my channel youtube retrogaming retroarch on gpd xd, there is not a single video on switch ... I have sxospro, I have homebrew, retronx or lakka who has no sound, they can not stand the shader, or no gpu optimizations, or no dynarec (n64) short blow I end up with the sword of damocles above the head, if I play a homebrew, I risk ban, mouais ...
here is good watching if you have nothing to do, look at the games of my childhood played perfectly on android, and I dream of being able to do as well, or even better gpu x1, on android it runs the streets
a small thumb iu comment it makes me happy
https://www.youtube.com/view_all_playlists
I'm just in love with pixel art it's not my fault, and no vaccines exist, I hack all my consoles for that to each me, I'm a villain boy, who is too lazy to reconnect his amiga 500, or atari1040stf, or blown in the cartridges nes if it does not start, or the super nes, or genesis yes I still have all these machines, and the craziest thing is that it starts with a quarter turn, unlike the x360 or ps3 ... the snes is indestructible ...

here in France what can nintendo, the dream of a child, who tests his homebrew on switch

 

[koyuki38]

Will i receive a Cease and Desist if i do a fan art pokemon or a fan made video ?

Because i don't really see the difference with a fan game. That's the same intellectual property.

Edit : Jesus, that boy is far better than me

 

[Tigran]

Will i receive a Cease and Desist if i do a fan art pokemon or a fan made video ?

Because i don't really see the difference with a fan game. That's the same intellectual property.

Theoreticly, yes. Chances of it slim.

See the difference is while you are using their IP, you are at least still doing you're own drawing and in those cases actually peforming something similar to fair use.

In this case it's literally ripped assets.

 

[KHEOPS]

Jesus, that boy is far better than me
Ah ah ah!!

In France we are small seeds, another world? we have talents, wonderboy remaster on switch it's french, we do not laugh with retrogaming and homebrew

 

[Lazyboss]

Thats what will happen when you hired assholes to make changes.

 

[DarkIrata]

Is Advanced Map still around?

 

[spotanjo3]

Nintendo shut it down because the fan game creator announced it easy for Nintendo to find it out or someone runs and tell Nintendo about it. Sad.

 

[Carnelian]

And people keep defending them... Pathetic...

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Nintendo shows no mercy.

You obviously support them for that.

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i really like how people seems to think its only nintendo... if anything the peopel behind pokemon essentials should have known better.
Years ago square among others filed dmca against several back then popular games for using game rips. The stance since then in the rpg makercommunity was that you should stay aways from game rips and use user made tilesets/chars/music/etc. Most devs did so... all but the pokemon essential users (some did user self made fakemons and graphics aswell as music but those are rare) and creators. So all in all it was bound to happen and they should have known it anyways (its nintendo, and it happened before in the scene)

"It's okay when it's Nintendo"

 

[Chary]

And people keep defending them... Pathetic...

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You obviously support them for that.

That's a reach. How does me commenting on Nintendo being merciless even remotely get extrapolated to support of their actions? Maybe read further:

Especially ironic that this is occurring during SAGE 2018. This really only puts Nintendo in a bad light, regardless of how you look at it.