To the surprise of few, Nintendo has caused the death of another fan game based on one of its properties. Prime 2D, a reimagining of Metroid Prime, but in a classic 2D style, which first appeared on the internet back in April 2021, and has received multiple updates since, has been shut down. The developers behind the fan project, Team SCU, posted an update to their website, saying that "for legal reasons" they have removed the link to the demo of the game that they had been working on, along with the soundtrack, which consisted of original music composed specifically for it. Team SCU had been working on and off Prime 2D since 2004, meaning it took a handful of months for lawyers to kill a fan game that had been in the making for well over a decade.

This bit of news follows the shutdown of the Project+ bracket at this year's Riptide tournament, while also ironically occurring during the same week as Sonic Amateur Games Expo, in which SEGA actively encourages fans to create fan-made romhacks and even full games based on their properties.

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[Jacobh]

I don't think bound is an appropriate word, there are others that have the same legal grounds but actively encourage fans to produce stuff.

The previous poster is correct. If they don’t attempt to stop things like this, then they are going to have trouble stopping other infringement that is more problematic. They can lose any Metroid related trademarks if they don’t attempt to protect them. This is different than copyright protection. With new Metroid games still coming out they will want to protect their trademarks and prevent other people from using them. To do that unfortunately they have to go after games like this.

 

[Deleted member 546149]

The previous poster is correct. If they don’t attempt to stop things like this, then they are going to have trouble stopping other infringement that is more problematic. They can lose any Metroid related trademarks if they don’t attempt to protect them. This is different than copyright protection. With new Metroid games still coming out they will want to protect their trademarks and prevent other people from using them. To do that unfortunately they have to go after games like this.

Well, fan games promote the game, as when people play this fan made game, they will want MORE

 

[SaulFabre]

That's not fair that Nintendo again stopped a great fan-made game...

They did the same with N64 fan-game TLOZ: The Missing Link time ago...

 

[Deleted member 546149]

That's not fair that Nintendo again stopped a great fan-made game...

They did the same with N64 fan-game TLOZ: The Missing Link time ago...

They do this all the time
I remember back in 2014 a kid made a SM64 HD remaster and it was banned
Pretty horrible how copyright gives so much power to companies

 

[Foxi4]

The previous poster is correct. If they don’t attempt to stop things like this, then they are going to have trouble stopping other infringement that is more problematic. They can lose any Metroid related trademarks if they don’t attempt to protect them. This is different than copyright protection. With new Metroid games still coming out they will want to protect their trademarks and prevent other people from using them. To do that unfortunately they have to go after games like this.

There are different ways to go about it. Let's be real here, there are boatloads of fan games out there, and out of all of the companies in the industry Nintendo is easily the most litigious when it comes to shutting them down. It's very obvious to me that they're not just defending the trademark, they're also concerned that fan games of sufficient quality will affect the sales of their own products. A2MR didn't receive a C&D for no reason whatsoever - that project got canned because Nintendo had Samus Returns up their sleeve which released a year after their legal team got involved. I presume this is a similar move considering Metroid Dread is on the horizon.

 

[Clydefrosch]

Meanwhile Sega hires the best and brightest modders and fan game creators, throws money at them and creates Sonic Mania, the best thing since S3&K. Good job, Nintendo. Bass-ackwards approach to the fan base as usual.

which is all fine and dandy until microsoft decides to take a chance and just release a sonic game of their own, then argue in court that with the way sega is handling the sonic ip, they've basically released him and everything related to him into public domain.

 

[Exidous]

This bit of news follows the shutdown of the Project+ bracket at this year's Riptide tournament, while also ironically occurring during the same week as Sonic Amateur Games Expo, in which SEGA actively encourages fans to create fan-made romhacks and even full games based on their properties.

Look, I'm all for unlimited piracy forever, but this is NOT a good way to persuade Nintendo.

Sega is endlessly prostituted, spent slag in terms of intellectual property, they barely honored their properties while they were a console hardware manufacturer. At this point Sega is purely mismanagement and lazy cash ins, after such mismanagement led to them getting eaten by a pachinko company. Pointing Nintendo to them is likely to ward them away from any identified thing Sega does, especially in the realm of IP.

Fun fact: that controlling share in Sega, which Sammy (the pachinko company) bought? $1 billion, ~15 years ago. Some (probably several) cell phone game company is worth ten times that.

EDIT re fun fact: Nintendo also has ten times that in cash on hand, and consistently has done so since the Wii launched.

 

[XDel]

rename it

 

[Foxi4]

which is all fine and dandy until microsoft decides to take a chance and just release a sonic game of their own, then argue in court that with the way sega is handling the sonic ip, they've basically released him and everything related to him into public domain.

See above. Sonic fan games are celebrated and plentiful, to the point that they get an occasional mention on their official channels. It's not as if I get to draw a Mickey Mouse and as long as Disney doesn't respond, their trademark is now invalid - my drawing would have to demonstrably undercut their business, it doesn't just "happen".

 

[Clydefrosch]

Well, fan games promote the game, as when people play this fan made game, they will want MORE

except honestly, there is not much proof for or against that and reality is probably a lot more 50/50 with some people not buying that switch for dread because they got their fill and some passing the game till it's cheaper.

 

[Axido]

Oof.
All the effort going to waste. I am currently making my own game that could be considered a fangame. Yet I do program everything with a plan B in mind that might even allow me to sell it in case I'm not able to license the IP properly. Dear devs, please always think ahead in this regard.

 

[The Catboy]

Sega: Loves fan games, helps by sponsoring them, holds fan game events, hires homebrew devs.
Nintendo: Will DMCA your thoughts if you even think about their games.

 

[Clydefrosch]

See above. Sonic fan games are celebrated and plentiful, to the point that they get an occasional mention on their official channels. It's not as if I get to draw a Mickey Mouse and as long as Disney doesn't respond, their trademark is now invalid - my drawing would have to demonstrably undercut their business, it doesn't just "happen".

no, it's a bit more complicated than that and you would have no grounds to argue that disney isn't protecting its ip.
meanwhile, sega is kinda pretty far out there, actively encouraging and rewarding ip violation. which most companies wouldn't risk taking advantage of, but they pretty much could.

 

[Foxi4]

except honestly, there is not much proof for or against that and reality is probably a lot more 50/50 with some people not buying that switch for dread because they got their fill and some passing the game till it's cheaper.

Well then maybe Nintendo should get off their asses and actually finish Metroid Prime 4 which I originally preordered... *checks calendar* 4 years ago, before rolling the order over onto a game that actually did come out on schedule. Did that as soon as they announced that they scrapped the whole thing and started over.

no, it's a bit more complicated than that and you would have no grounds to argue that disney isn't protecting its ip.
meanwhile, sega is kinda pretty far out there, actively encouraging and rewarding ip violation. which most companies wouldn't risk taking advantage of, but they pretty much could.

Seems to have done wonders in terms of keeping the IP alive despite a string of trash fire releases. For all intents and purposes the Sonic brand should be dead by now, and would be if not for dedicated fans.

 

[Edgarska]

Obviously I think this is dumb on Nintendo's part, but it's even dumber on the part of the developers.

How fucking stupid do you have to be to announce your fan made game based on a Nintendo IP before it's completed?

 

[Foxi4]

Obviously I think this is dumb on Nintendo's part, but it's even dumber on the part of the developers.

How fucking stupid do you have to be to announce your fan made game based on a Nintendo IP before it's completed?

Be careful, better check your inbox, you might have a C&D waiting for you in regards to that illegal avatar you've got over there. Someone might confuse that with a genuine Nintendo product, we can't have that.

 

[stanleyopar2000]

Two rules of making a Nintendo IP fangame

1)Never sell it for profit *of course*
2) NEVER ANNOUNCE IT TO THE PUBLIC UNTILL ITS FINISHED

Man I was looking forward to this one

3. SHUT THE FUCK UP

 

[Clydefrosch]

Well then maybe Nintendo should get off their asses and actually finish Metroid Prime 4 which I originally preordered... *checks calendar* 4 years ago, before rolling the order over onto a game that actually did come out on schedule. Did that as soon as they announced that they scrapped the whole thing and started over.

Seems to have done wonders in terms of keeping the IP alive despite a string of trash fire releases. For all intents and purposes the Sonic brand should be dead by now, and would be if not for dedicated fans.

maybe next time don't preorder just because some dumb retailer gets twitchy fingers based on a fucking title reveal.
nintendo didn't ask you to earmark your money in advance.

also, yes, keeping ip alive is great, but not if you don't hold the legal rights to it anymore.
that's why disney is literally paying off the world to edit copyright laws every few decades so they can keep holding copyrights over rehashed ips they could only create because their original copyrights ran out.

again, the second someone tries this route with the sonic ip, sega is gonna have a hard time arguing that... only they can do and profit of sonic. it'd be unprofessional and it has to be someone who can throw a couple bucks towards lawyers for a bit. but they could do it

 

[ov3rkill]

The previous poster is correct. If they don’t attempt to stop things like this, then they are going to have trouble stopping other infringement that is more problematic. They can lose any Metroid related trademarks if they don’t attempt to protect them. This is different than copyright protection. With new Metroid games still coming out they will want to protect their trademarks and prevent other people from using them. To do that unfortunately they have to go after games like this.

Agree. Or Nintendo could also approach this type of situation like what Sega did especially if it is a really good one - absorb it or hire the guys behind the development. Not sure if it would pass up to Nintendo's standard or quality but whatever it is, making an enemy especially of the fans and community isn't the right move. I totally get they are just protecting their intellectual properties and it is within their rights, but usually people who painstakingly spend a lot of time making fan-made games on some of their franchises have passion, which also says a lot of the developer. Nintendo should not alienate their user base.

 

[Edgarska]

Be careful, better check your inbox, you might have a C&D waiting for you in regards to that illegal avatar you've got over there. Someone might confuse that with a genuine Nintendo product, we can't have that.

What do you mean? This is clearly a drawing of an actor with an "M" for Machete on it.