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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[smf]

My argument is that as a practical matter, Nintendo should be weighing the fame/goodwill/advertising benefits of (good) fan games against the actual sales cannibalization risk from such good fan games

You can't prove those, in the same way that you say nintendo can't show a loss. You want your bread buttered on both sides.

Either the game is so insignificant that it doesn't hurt nintendo, or it's so significant it some how gives them some kind of benefit. It can't be both. And any benefit is subjective and could be seen as harming nintendo.

Not taking trademark violators on, could dilute their trademark.

If the game was any good then it will stand on it's own, it's getting free advertising by their actions and they should pay $$$ for that. Nintendo have a very good case & I think it's legally and morally correct.

If instead they want to make a metroid game and pass it around a handful of people underground, then sure they can do that & nintendo (along with the rest of the world) would never hear about it.

 

[Boydy86]

Will the game get released with IP removed?

 

[Exidous]

You can't prove those, in the same way that you say nintendo can't show a loss.

You can't control for them but it's ridiculous to think that Nintendo can't get a decent, non-contorted-by-legal-posturing estimate both of what they get in goodwill out of successful fan games in one of their franchises, and also what they lose in sales for first party titles via cannibalization owing to that same title.

You want your bread buttered on both sides.

I didn't attempt to quantify them. You're attacking the concept of calculation.

Either the game is so insignificant that it doesn't hurt nintendo, or it's so significant it some how gives them some kind of benefit. It can't be both.

They're not mutually exclusive, but these two things are also not the distinction I'm making (significant/insignificant).

If there is a bad fan game that cheapens the brand, it generates only negative goodwill, and any cannibalization is pure downside for Nintendo.

If there is a very good fan game that boosts the interest of fans in a largely-defunct Nintendo franchise (yknow, like 2d Metroid) that drops in a valley, years between first party releases, it's very plausible that the franchise goodwill generated by the fan game would increase Nintendo's first party Metroid game sales in excess of the rate of cannibalization owing to that game.

If there is a fantastic, awesome, leagues better than anything Nintendo ever made fan game, then it very well could be the other way around - more cannibalization than sales increase.

The net profit effect for Nintendo is not a monotonic function of fan game significance.

And any benefit is subjective and could be seen as harming nintendo.

Perhaps the only nice thing about accounting is that it's an attempt to quantify and make objective such things...

Not taking trademark violators on, could dilute their trademark.

That's just an argument for licensing fan games, it doesn't bear on the business decision of whether to suppress one, let alone them all/entirely.

If the game was any good then it will stand on it's own, it's getting free advertising by their actions and they should pay $$$ for that. Nintendo have a very good case & I think it's legally and morally correct.

Ok? Did you ignore that part where I said I'm not talking about a court case?

 

[thehawksfuckingdead7]

Nintendo clearly loves ruining all the effort done by the devs and composers and artists.

 

[Plazorn]

Nintendo always crushes peoples ideas, as do many other companies…

 

[owoLinksu]

I've never understood why they shut them down when instead they could just support the endeavor and pay some small amount of money for the work then presto a lil nintendo spit shine on it release it for the console only.

like why just kill off a game that you could monopolize on, it's basically done and they'd just need to bring on the team maybe as temps to work with their guys to port it to the console, especially being a 2d game should be doable for professionals.

 

[Hambrew]

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.​

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Doesn't that make Prime 2D an even longer-going project than Black Mesa?

 

[MetoMeto]

I'm assuming that metroid prime 2d was going to be distributed.
So it would be like you making millions of t coca cola t-shirts and giving them away but also putting your company name on the t-shirt as well. Which would be trading on the consumers good will of coca cola in a massive trademark violation.

if it was gonna be sold, thats a different matter alltogether, if thats what you mean by distributed.

anyways, all im saying is that nintendo is a dick. thats it.
They actually got that reputation over the years, its nothing new, im just saying it.

 

[RedBlueGreen]

Upsetting to say, but people should stop wasting time making fan-made Nintendo games. Clearly, they don't fucking like them.

Right? Just make a similar game that's an original IP. You'll get just as much experience without a C&D or lawsuit.

 

[Fangal_Airbag]

U gotta love nintendo!

 

[smf]

if it was gonna be sold, thats a different matter alltogether, if thats what you mean by distributed.

Putting it on the internet for free is distributing it.

 

[Russellgro]

This is why i hate Nintendo and stopped supporting them years ago. Even worse than them, their hardcore defenders, bald, fat, and ugly 30 years old virgins on the internet. Literal dogshit of a company.

Inb4: I won't reply to any fat bastard saying "it's copyright, they're right!!".

Tbh, I have a Love-Hate thing for Nintendo. Rejecting fan-games is the MOST thing I hate about them. I mean, they aren't doing it for the money. They only do them to show support for the original games. Well, that's how I look at the fan-games that Nintendo rejects.

 

[MetoMeto]

Putting it on the internet for free is distributing it.

they are fan games, not sold for profit.
its like you making a game on your PC and share it with us to have fun and mod them ourself.

point is nintendo doesnt need to do this, but they do. People like this guy harm no one or nintendo,
if nothing they promote and spread love for a franchise.

As i said, nintendo is not impacted by this at all, they do it cause they can. classic bully behavior.
Thy actaully loose something not gain.
I for example pre ordered metroid dread cause i love metroid. Downloading homebrew game wont stop me from buying what is good lol.
If i think or hear that game sucks i wont bother buying, and not cause someone made an unofficial game.
so it has nothing to do with people sharing interest ad love and having fun in their rooms.

I still think fans do a better job than nintendo in any way shape or form, like AM2R, but i still went on and bought return of samus.
Its literally 2 different universes, official and fan game.

As i said, nintendo does this cause they can not cause they gain or need to. As long as distributing doesnt mean making money off of it.

Im actually glad people pirate their shit, cause they are dicks andshould feel salty and act irationally to show their true face.
As for creators there, they are the only thing holding them, like miyamoto and such... once they are gone (cause poeple dont live forever or can work forever and be heealthy all the time) nintendo is no more and whats left is bad reputation...
But i dont care for a nintendo as a company, i care from gamers perspective, cause that will impact me as a gamer and games i love to play cause nintendo has one of best games out there.

Simply put, they should fire whoever make decisions at nintendo, and teach from sega how to treat fans who love their IP.

 

[smf]

they are fan games, not sold for profit.
its like you making a game on your PC and share it with us to have fun and mod them ourself.

If you can only have fun when violating trademark and copyright, then making games and releasing them is probably not for you.

As i said, nintendo is not impacted by this at all, they do it cause they can. classic bully behavior.

They are doing it because they legally entitled to and it would dilute their trademark.

The bullies are the ones criticizing and threatening nintendo.

Classic bully behavior, downplaying your own actions and making a big deal about those trying to defend themselves.

 

[CoolMe]

Why the don't make their OWN game instead? It's the same amount of work with just a little bit added, to make character designs and story.. They'll work on the game without the need of any secrecy, shame/guilt or being bullied by Nintendo, or any company for that matter, treating them like thieves/pirates or whatever..

 

[daemonspudguy]

thats not whats important here.

Yes it is. I completely disagree with Nintendo's actions here, but as the fan game in question was violating Nintendo's copyrights, they have the legal right to take it down, regardless of whether or not it's a "commerical" project.

 

[White_Raven_X]

Why not just change the characters appearance and his ship? Then your not scrapping a hell of alot of work.

 

[MetoMeto]

Yes it is. I completely disagree with Nintendo's actions here, but as the fan game in question was violating Nintendo's copyrights, they have the legal right to take it down, regardless of whether or not it's a "commerical" project.

are you a nintendos lawyer or a gamer? that should clarify what i meant.

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Why not just change the characters appearance and his ship? Then your not scrapping a hell of alot of work.

because than its not a metroid....duh

 

[daemonspudguy]

are you a nintendos lawyer or a gamer? that should clarify what i meant.

No. That just confuses me further. I am not a lawyer, but I am a massive politics nerd. Even so, anyone with a basic understanding of US copyright law would know that commercial intent doesn't determine if a work is infringing someone else's copyright.

 

[Jacobh]

because than its not a metroid....duh

If you would have less interest in this game if it wasn’t a Metroid game, that would seem to strengthen Nintendo’s position.