Unsurprisingly, Nintendo of America has gone after the Link's Awakening DX HD fan project, less than a day after the fangame gained publicity online. Once hosted on Itch.io, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX HD has been removed from the platform, following a DMCA takedown from Nintendo. The notice, shown below, cites copyright infringement for uploading a fully playable version of a Nintendo game. The Link's Awakening fangame was uploaded only after it was completed, though, meaning a backup likely still lurks somewhere on the internet.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am an authorized representative of Nintendo of America Inc., owner of the following copyrighted material:

PA0002212311 (The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening) and PA0000772666 (Legend of Zelda : Link's awakening (Game Boy version).

It has come to our attention that the following game, https://linksawakeningdxhd.itch.io/links-awakening-dx-hd, offered on Itch.io infringes and makes unauthorized use of Nintendo’s copyrights in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening video game.

For additional information visit Nintendo’s website at the following URLs:

https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/game-boy-nintendo-switch-online-switc...

https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-legend-of-zelda-links-awakening-s...

Please act expeditiously to remove the download and information page for the infringing game.

I have a good faith belief that the material is not authorized by the intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law. The information provided in the notice is accurate, and I swear under penalty of perjury that I am authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the intellectual property owner.

Sincerely,

Nintendo Legal

Nintendo of America Inc.

Source

 

[PacBunnyXV07]

Except we now have multiple examples of this mindset not only being wrong but hurtful to the bottom line.

When RE3 & REVC came out there was a huge spike in players buying the old games so they could use the assets to play the games in a new way. Heck that was almost certainly the entire reason R* did the demastered versions.

A fan made sonic game literally spawned an entirely new series, it was so good Sega bought the team on to create the new series.

When Mega Maker released we had the old guard trying to capitalise on its boost in popularity (and utterly failing) with mighty number 9.

Fan projects don't hurt IP, they help them. Nintendo is just stuck in the stone age and refuses to accept the reality of 2023. Streamers sell games and fans keep them alive long after they die officially, almost everyone has realised this.

Alive or oversaturated?

 

[raxadian]

Doesn't surprise me, good thing I was able to nab it before it was gone.

A shame there isn't some kind of web archive that has the game and even if it existed I wouldn't be able to link it here.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Your post, to me at least, came across as someone thinking 'old' Nintendo wouldn't do something ****y like this, but the truth is they've always been an a***hole company.

TBH I haven't watched a Direct in a long time, although granted I just think of Iwata holding a bunch of bananas without knowing the context.

Nintendo have always been very protective of their IP. That in itself isn't "being an asshole company"
It's the lengths they go to these days, like shutting down a Smash tournament when they had to resort to emulator online play because in-person tournaments weren't possible because of COVID. Combined with how cash grabby they have gotten. They used to put out quality title after quality title. These days, half of their releases are lazy cash grabs, or worse, microtransaction laden pay to win games (even if they aren't developed by Nintendo, they're officially licensed so Nintendo think it's worth putting their name on)
Nintendo have gone downhill, as much as I hate to admit it. They've gotten greedy. They used to be one of the few companies that cared more about putting out quality releases than their bottom line. They always went the extra mile, beyond what was needed to sell their games.

 

[Jacobh]

Except we now have multiple examples of this mindset not only being wrong but hurtful to the bottom line.

When RE3 & REVC came out there was a huge spike in players buying the old games so they could use the assets to play the games in a new way. Heck that was almost certainly the entire reason R* did the demastered versions.

A fan made sonic game literally spawned an entirely new series, it was so good Sega bought the team on to create the new series.

When Mega Maker released we had the old guard trying to capitalise on its boost in popularity (and utterly failing) with mighty number 9.

Fan projects don't hurt IP, they help them. Nintendo is just stuck in the stone age and refuses to accept the reality of 2023. Streamers sell games and fans keep them alive long after they die officially, almost everyone has realised this.

I don’t think you understood what I wrote.

I respect a wide variety of opinions in the conversation about a a company engaging with their fan community and the value it creates for their business. I don’t think there is one answer for all businesses, and I probably agree with you more than you think that Nintendo doesn’t do this well.

That does not mean Nintendo is doing anything legally, ethically, or morally wrong. With respect to this specific case the legal issues are pretty black and white and IP law requires that you can demonstrate taking actions to protect your IP if you know people are violating it.

Post automatically merged: Dec 15, 2023

Nintendo have always been very protective of their IP. That in itself isn't "being an asshole company"
It's the lengths they go to these days, like shutting down a Smash tournament when they had to resort to emulator online play because in-person tournaments weren't possible because of COVID. Combined with how cash grabby they have gotten. They used to put out quality title after quality title. These days, half of their releases are lazy cash grabs, or worse, microtransaction laden pay to win games (even if they aren't developed by Nintendo, they're officially licensed so Nintendo think it's worth putting their name on)
Nintendo have gone downhill, as much as I hate to admit it. They've gotten greedy. They used to be one of the few companies that cared more about putting out quality releases than their bottom line. They always went the extra mile, beyond what was needed to sell their games.

Sounds like you are not familiar with the “Nintendo Seal of Approval” and the lengths they went to in preventing companies from making NES / Famicom games without license. Super Mario 2 in the US was them slapping Mario characters on an unrelated game. Cash grabs and caring about the bottom line are nothing new and they still care more about putting out quality releases for the marquee products than MS and Sony.

 

[Darth Meteos]

yeah, i figured, this game has a current version on switch, they'd see it as direct competition
the creator was smart, though, created the game, openly released it, then even when hit with the dmca, the work lives forever on the internet like am2r and pokemon uranium

 

[WG481]

Good luck, Nintendo, it’s everywhere already.

 

[JuanMena]

Simple: Dont support Nintendo for next console system and games in the future. Let them bankrupted then. That's why I sold Nintendo Switch 1 Generation system. Nintendo is done! They are cruel company! Hello Sony and Microsoft!

Nintendo can not sell anything for the next 50 years and they wouldn't go bankrupt until then.
What kind of delusional world do you live in?
"Huuuur Nintendo bad will go bankrupt because I won't buy next console."

 

[tech3475]

Nintendo have always been very protective of their IP. That in itself isn't "being an asshole company"
It's the lengths they go to these days, like shutting down a Smash tournament when they had to resort to emulator online play because in-person tournaments weren't possible because of COVID. Combined with how cash grabby they have gotten. They used to put out quality title after quality title. These days, half of their releases are lazy cash grabs, or worse, microtransaction laden pay to win games (even if they aren't developed by Nintendo, they're officially licensed so Nintendo think it's worth putting their name on)
Nintendo have gone downhill, as much as I hate to admit it. They've gotten greedy. They used to be one of the few companies that cared more about putting out quality releases than their bottom line. They always went the extra mile, beyond what was needed to sell their games.

I wasn't talking about things like piracy, rom hacks, fan games, etc. but more things like their attack on game genie, rentals and IIRC they also restricted what third parties could release on other consoles, which was later declared illegal.

I do wonder how Nintendo will handle releases on the 'Switch 2, because quite a few releases on the Switch were re-releases of Wii U games (or at least it felt like that).

 

[DarkCoffe64]

What hurts the most is that with the take down, author of the HD Remake won't be able to improve it further, effectively killing any chances of seeing a better version than the one that's already been saved by thousands of enthusiasts.

I wonder, would just, like, updating the game but only providing files that contain only the engine updates or something technically go against shittendo's YMCA?
Like, they're butthurt 'cus the game uses the assets from their game, but updating the code that contains no such thing, would they have any legal grounds for that?
Tho I suppose, since it's still related to the project they striked, I suppose yeah, mh. Just speculating a lil.

How to make Nintendo fangames:

1- Make your game load the resources externally.
2- Post the source on github without said resources, but name the game rom one might use to extract them and compile the game.
3- Done, that's it. You've made a fangame Nintendo can't touch.

It's been this way for years, yet people still make the novice mistake of releasing the game with the copyrighted assets, just to receive the inevitable C&D shortly thereafter.

Another way you could do it is just make your own like "bootleg".
"No, this isn't Zelda, this is, uh, The Crystals of Ghingheldoof!"
As long as you don't actually use their assets, you could basically copy their games, change the graphics and you're more or less fine. Like, am simplifying it, but that's how it kind of works, afaik.

 

[eternal]

What hurts the most is that with the take down, author of the HD Remake won't be able to improve it further, effectively killing any chances of seeing a better version than the one that's already been saved by thousands of enthusiasts.

The original upload has the source code. So maybe someone ballsy enough will update it fixing any bugs, then upload it somewhere again on the interwebz.

 

[Subtle Demise]

With respect to this specific case the legal issues are pretty black and white and IP law requires that you can demonstrate taking actions to protect your IP if you know people are violating it.

That only applies to trademarks.

 

[DJPlace]

should of saw this coming....

 

[Wolfy]

I have already downloaded it, and enjoy it I shall, if only N would actually hire the people who make these fan-made ports and just let them finish it and get a tidy sum before N started selling it.

 

[Topaz95]

I should count how many fan project's Nintendo takes down all throughout 2024.

 

[KelSolaar]

Boycott Nintendo!

Post automatically merged: Dec 16, 2023

Nintendo allowed for its development and took the game down after release. It isn't as bad as people make it to be.

What the heck are you talking about? They didn’t allow jack shit. The guy developed it himself and put it out. And as soon as they found out they were on him with a lawsuit.

 

[PrincessLisette]

What the heck are you talking about? They didn’t allow jack shit. The guy developed it himself and put it out. And as soon as they found out they were on him with a lawsuit.

Nintendo usually leaves fan content alone so long as they don't deem it a direct risk to their profits nor clashes with their own internal plans (AM2R).

but sometimes it's due to fans trying to make money off Nintendo IP even if just to cover ad revenue (like with SMBX).

Then you get rare situations like Link's Awakening PC, where fans embarrasses them by (argubly) providing a superior version of their own games on platforms they'll never officially support.

On a more general note, this mod's release further shows that it's always best to shadowdrop major Nintendo mods like Links Awakening PC so Nintendo cannot scrub it from the internet forever. The developer likely anticipated a DMCA for this port, so kept it very low profile prior to release.

 

[KidIce]

I will give Nintendo this, they do keep repackaging my childhood and trying to resell it to me. What I mean is, at least they aren't issuing DMCA complaints and C&D orders for things they don't or will never sell again.

I always thought it was a dick move to go after abandon-ware/rom sites for hosting games that are no longer sold, supported and have no plans to ever have any more development of the franchise.

It's like leaving a perfectly working game console in your garbage pick-up and filing charges against a dumpster diver for "stealing" out of your trash bin.

 

[ertaboy356b]

You mean some game developer infringing copyright got taken down? Color me surprised .

Post automatically merged: Dec 16, 2023

Nintendo usually leaves fan content alone so long as they don't deem it a direct risk to their profits nor clashes with their own internal plans (AM2R).

but sometimes it's due to fans trying to make money off Nintendo IP even if just to cover ad revenue (like with SMBX).

Then you get rare situations like Link's Awakening PC, where fans embarrasses them by (argubly) providing a superior version of their own games on platforms they'll never officially support.

On a more general note, this mod's release further shows that it's always best to shadowdrop major Nintendo mods like Links Awakening PC so Nintendo cannot scrub it from the internet forever. The developer likely anticipated a DMCA for this port, so kept it very low profile prior to release.

AM2R got taken down too btw.

Post automatically merged: Dec 16, 2023

Well if you're working on a project knowing you're not gonna make any money off it in the first place, then a DMCA takedown was never gonna deter you.

Ever wondered how other fan remakes or decompilation survived? It's because they don't have any "Nintendo" stuff in them. The Links Awakening game should have easily not include the assets and instead generate it from a rom. I know that the guy redrew the assets for the game but I think a compromise should have been done so the project can't be shut down. The same reason Dolphin almost got shutdown because it has Nintendo private keys embedded within the code. They have since removed it.

Post automatically merged: Dec 16, 2023

Also can someone maybe take the time to port this to Linux ? Wine is just not liking it lol

I think it's made with XNA so probably not. Try proton since I've seen people running it with Steam Deck.

 

[Xdqwerty]

What hurts the most is that with the take down, author of the HD Remake won't be able to improve it further, effectively killing any chances of seeing a better version than the one that's already been saved by thousands of enthusiasts.

Unless they still have it on their pc.

 

[bobmcjr]

The same reason Dolphin almost got shutdown because it has Nintendo private keys embedded within the code. They have since removed it.

Dolphin never got a DMCA. Valve pretty much asked Nintendo if they had any objections to Dolphin releasing on Steam, and they said they could potentially attempt a DMCA takedown on those grounds.

Dolphin has not removed anything. Specifically, there is no legally tested precedent in this area of the DMCA.