Nintendo DMCAs Switch Emulation Hobbyist YouTube Channel
from the nintendon't dept
So by now, assuming you’ve spent any decent amount of time reading Techdirt, you likely know that Nintendo has a reputation for being aggressive and litigious when it comes to intellectual property enforcement. Someone makes a game that is inspired by Pokémon, but does not directly copy it? Lawsuit. Mods for that same game make use of Nintendo IP? Shut them down. YouTuber reports on a Nintendo game that was pitched but never got made? DMCA that shit. Find out your hot new Switch game got leaked early? Well, obviously you go to war with every kind of Switch emulation out there.
Now that last one might be the most relevant to this post. Nintendo recently issued a DMCA notice on a YouTube video and channel that merely reviews emulator consoles.
The channel in question, Retro Game Corps, describes itself as offering “in-depth reviews and showcases” as well as “emulation setup guides”. One of its more recent videos has received a copyright strike from Nintendo, marking a second strike for the channel.
“My Wii U video was taken down and I received another copyright strike, even though this showcase video was no different than all of the tech demos and reviews I have made on this channel previously,” Retro Game Corps owner Russ wrote in a statement on YouTube (thanks, TimeExtension).
Alright, first and foremost, I have to correct something in that quote. Nintendo did not issue any copyright strikes. It did issue a DMCA takedown notice. YouTube, as the platform, would be the one to issue the copyright strike. That being said, the bad actor in this case is still Nintendo for going after a YouTube channel simply because the company doesn’t like the content being discussed on it.
Now, notably, this was not about Switch emulation, but Wii U emulation. You know, the console that isn’t even for sale any more. So any claims that this channel is somehow any kind of threat to Nintendo’s bottom line is laughable in the extreme. And both Russ and I think he has a really good shot at making a fair use claim.
Russ is now considering filing a counterclaim as he believes the video “was for educational use, transformative in nature, and had no effect on the market”.
“It was a demonstration of a console no longer for sale (even the Wii U eShop is closed, so the company itself has no means of earning revenue from Wii U sales),” Russ said. “However, I am reluctant to open that can of worms with a multi-billion dollar corporation, as their next step would be to file legal action.”
Regardless of whether a counterclaim is filed or not, Russ has also said he’s going to alter the way he produces his videos in the future. This includes either just not using, or blurring out, any actual Nintendo gameplay content. But what’s frustrating about that is that Nintendo generally doesn’t have a huge problem with gameplay content showing up on YouTube.
Apparently it’s only if you’re discussing emulation that the company selectively enforces its “rights.”
Filed Under: copyright, dmca, emulation, emulation reviews, retro game corps, reviews, videos, wii u, wii u emulation
Companies: nintendo
Comments on “Nintendo DMCAs Switch Emulation Hobbyist YouTube Channel”
i’d be curious to see the actual claims in the notice.
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It’s times like this that I like to remember how Nintendo got it’s big break…
Making/selling Hanafuda cards with dirty pictures on them for the Yakuza.
Emulators
Nintendo also destroyed the Yuzu and Ryujinx emulator projects – arguably upsetting over 20 years of soft precedent that rendered emulation legal.
For those who think they “had it coming” because the Switch is a “current” console its not like the GameCube and Wii had playable emulation while being commercially viable products.
Oh wait…
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Bleem gave us hard precedent: Sony lost all of the lawsuits it filed against them. But, in practice, Sony kind of won, because the court costs drove Bleem out of business.
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Yuzu got destroyed because they were distributing leaked copies of Tears of the Kingdom to Patreon subscribers.
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Is there evidence of this? Some news stories, such as Polgon’s, say it was just because the emulator was able to run the leaked game, and that Yuzu did not distribute it.
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The most plausible explanation I have heard is that the Yuzu developers utilized the leaked release of TOTK to have early support in Yuzu by the time the game launched.
Regardless of what you think of Nintendo’s antics, seeing how it could be supported after launch and probably still be ok it reeks to me of irresponsibility, and not honest preservation.
Nintendo literally and bitterly hates ALL its playerbase.
They’ve discussed how to sue to stop people USING legitimate games they’ve bought, because now they have your money.
They’ve (illegally) threatened HUNDREDS of people will be sued into bankruptcy because music that vaguely sounds like mario is in the background during childrens birthday parties.
They’ve sued people who bought LICENSED posters, t-shirts etc because they appear in a video somewhere for a fraction of a second.
They’ve sued people REVIEWING games because they didn’t give the game 10/10 perfect in every sense.
They’ve sued reporters and members of the public who even slightly criticize Nintendo in any way whatsoever.
And they’ll probably try to find out who I am to sue me for this post!
I have some bad news for Nintendo...
When it comes to protecting profits from Wii U sales…
I think that ship might have sailed…
They are making it impossible for YouTubers to make videos about even older consoles that are no longer for sale that mention emulators they are willing sue their biggest fans if they are deemed to have crossed the line
I think to to they are sueing palword based on a patent they got after palword was released