Ads skipped

Nintendo Lawyers vs Pokemon Fan Games

323K views · Sep 7, 2024 · Gaming

DidYouKnowGaming

2.4M subscribers

Comments · 1.5K

@DidYouKnowGamin · 2 years ago · pinned
Note to viewers: Every fan game in this video had its creators interviewed, and they proofread the script to make sure everything was accurate, and they're okay with this information being presented in a DYKG video (this is the case for almost all interviewees in all DYKG videos). The only exceptions were Sky (from Flora Sky) and Dragon (the Pokemon FPS guy), who we couldn't get in touch with. Note to video game news sites (Kotaku, IGN, etc): please do not write an article about this video (as you sometimes do with DYKG videos). Pokemon and Nintendo lawyers have Google Alerts set up so they'll see your articles almost immediately, because they'll likely contain numerous terms that'll trigger the alerts. We always appreciate your support, but we're happy to miss out on those extra views this time. Google Alerts don't work on YouTube videos though, so as long as this video doesn't get summarized into a news article, unwanted attention shouldn't be drawn.
1.4K
@tsunderecat413 · 2 years ago
this video went from "oh okay, that's understandable. still sucks, but i get it." to "the future of copyright law is not looking good, and if artificial intelligence truly is the future in this regard, then i am very afraid."
1.3K
@diebesgrab · 2 years ago
“AI-driven DMCA” God, if ever there was a wake up call that we need to change copyright law, this is it.
1.3K
@GameboyLuke · 2 years ago
“footage by gameboyluke” on the first clip got me feeling like that one spongebob meme
950
@JamesJacksonKFPHaatonPrisuner · 2 years ago
11 days after this video was published, Nintendo sued Palworld.
204
@Trowelhands · 2 years ago
Reminder to shut up, develop in secret, dump your game and disappear before they tell you to stop.
1.2K
@Infindox · 2 years ago
Have a bad feeling IGN is not gonna listen to that pinned comment. Time to start collecting some fan works or making sure places have it that don't have many eyes on it, i guess.
175
@linkex2 · 2 years ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtwa8ffkxJs&t=169">2:49</a> - Even outside his own channel, Moonie cannot escape Brazil.
389
@epicponedge1177 · 2 years ago
The use of AI to fill DMCA's is horrifying.  There is no thought or logic behind it, it'll just decide "Eh, your game's title is close enough to the real thing, shut it down."  That explains why the four games with Giratina/Distortion World ideas and Relic Castle were shut down.
340
@safebox36 · 2 years ago (edited)
I'm a modder for Morrowind but I started out romhacking with Pokemon. Something I remember the Pokecommunity (and Relic Castle before it got taken down) discovering slowly over the years was that Nintendo's policy towards fan content seems to be with regards to misrepresentation by general audiences who might not know any better. This would include: - using official assets - naming the game Pokemon - selling the final product - distribution of a finish ROM - significant media coverage and attention It's that first and last point in particular that we think has their lawyers go after Pokemon Essentials and Pokemon Uranium respectively, while leaving other projects alone for the most part. Another significant factor that saved Pokecommunity from a full takedown that Relic Castle didn't heed the warning of was that romhacks are only allowed to share a patch now and the tools to update the ROMs. But sharing the ROMs itself are a guaranteed death sentence for a project, as there is almost none that survive for long once advertised. No fangame is guaranteed to be safe from DMCA, of course. But Pokecommunity (and romhacking communities for other Nintendo games) seem to have figured out the unofficial policy of Nintendo's lawyers; keep your head low and don't allow the product to be confused for the real thing. Edit: One of my mods for Morrowind is actually a Zelda-themes one which adds the Master Cycle. And I've managed to skirt Nintendo's legal team by proving that the asset didn't come from the game itself and was custom made, and that the only mention of the phrase "Zelda" is in relation to the mod's inspiration. It's still up to this day, thankfully.
453
@DrLavaYT · 2 years ago (edited)
I'm the guy who wrote this video. Some YT comments are saying this video shouldn't've been made, because the fan game creators don't want attention. I understand the inclination, but I interviewed about a dozen fan devs over several months, for almost every game (a couple were MIA, see this video's pinned comment). They all helped with, and approved the final wording of the script. Many of them were thrilled to have their stories told, and see this video get made. They don't wanna be invisible, never to be acknowledged even in a YT video. A lot of em spent years making these fan games. That said, a couple fan game creators preferred not to have their games mentioned, so them and their games weren't inckuded in the video (that's stated towards the end of the video).
934
@FatherOfGray · 2 years ago
If you're developing a fan game or thinking about doing so: shut up and tell absolutely nobody that doesn't need to know until the game is 110% finished... Then be as loud as you can and dump it in as many places as possible so that when the DMCA/C&D comes, the game is already in as many hands as possible and the fans can do the legwork of peer to peer distribution for you.
204