Did you know that Pokémon Showdown has over 100,000 active daily users?Disagree that it's about competition (to an extent). Nintendo knows that these (admittedly niche) fan products will barely make a dent in the sales on their official releases. It's all about control. Control not just over the image of their IP, not just over the type of content associated with their IP, but about their exclusive ability to make games with their IP. Nintendo would not be 90% the company they are without their IP and their ability to create unique gameplay experiences with them. If anyone can just come in and make a Mario or Zelda game, they have no reason to exist. Their motivations, I feel, are more ideological than they are nominal (for lack of better terms). It's why they continue to be so litigious over fangames, while relaxing their restrictions for other types of content creation (e.g. their Youtube policy). While I can't agree with the way they do it, I do understand their position.
That this is now an actual selling point of Showdown says more about Gamefreak than it does about the fans.Did you know that Pokémon Showdown has over 100,000 active daily users?
I'm honestly surprised it's still going. I have my doubts it will continue after this year seeing as they're advertising having all Pokémon and will be fighting against Nintendo's paid online
That it's a text based thing that uses assets created by Game Freak and thus has less development time than the actual games where developers have to model, rig, animate hundreds of Pokémon?That this is now an actual selling point of Showdown says more about Gamefreak than it does about the fans.
You responded to a completely nonexistent argument of effort and not to the main point that this shouldn't be a selling point for a fan game in the first place.That it's a text based thing that uses assets created by Game Freak and thus has less development time than the actual games where developers have to model, rig, animate hundreds of Pokémon?
Yeah
The creator of AM2R released a basically finished game to great acclaim and then got hired by Moon Studios to work on Ori 2.I'm curious why people continue to devote time and effort when they know how it's going to end.
The creator of AM2R released a basically finished game to great acclaim and then got hired by Moon Studios to work on Ori 2.
Seems like a pretty good end to me.
Sometimes the publicity and attention are worth it. They get their name out there anyway. Probably the biggest reason to ape on Nintendo IP, more than being a fan or anything.I'm curious why people continue to devote time and effort when they know how it's going to end.
It's their property, they have the rights to do what they want with it.
Make Legend of Xelda, Nario Royale, Donkey Wong and whatever else and sleep peacefully.
Don't a few companies let people make fan games aslong as they don't sell it?
Just don't say a word to anyone and drop your stuff when its done.
Just don't say a word to anyone and drop your stuff when its done.
Yeah. Eidos/Square Enix have been allowing Tomb Raider fan games to be made and released for ages (I'm assuming fan games for other franchises, as well, but I only know about the Tomb Raider ones). They do have final say over it, of course, (I imagine if someone made a porn game featuring Lara, for example, they'd draw a line) but they've rarely ever interfered AFAIK.Don't a few companies let people make fan games aslong as they don't sell it?
And what a bullshit excuse that is. Yeah I'm not buying Breath of the Wild 2 cause of the Link to the Past ROM hack I downloaded.Nintendo said multiple times, that they always in a competition about people's time. If you play a fan game staring their property, you don't have time to play and buy there game with their property. That's why they most don't care for other form of fan media, since it isn't using up as much play time of people.
Because its way easier to put together a game with premade assets, music and code than it is to create one from scratch. Alot of fangames are made when people are still learning how to do it rather than trying to really do it for themselves. And its fun to see your favourite characters doing new stuff.I'm curious why people continue to devote time and effort when they know how it's going to end.
Yes, there absolutely is a way to handle situations like this. Dont promote it before its released, dont attatch your identity to it and for fucks sake kotaku and others, stop signal boosting it before its had a chance to breath when you know its gonna get CnD'd. These things thrive on word of mouth, not on media coverage.This whole article is asking if there's a way to handle situations like Mario Royale a little better. Maybe there's even a way to make it worthwhile for all sides?
Judging by this thread, there's a reason "Nintendo isn't your friend" needs to be reiterated again and again here.
That's no excuse, that's business and as a company, they need to make money to pay for the projects, shareholders and employees. They are in a competition with fan games and it is cost them money, so that's why there are so hard against them.
it was free to download for a long time before that.Because people still have to buy the games from Valve to get these mods.
This. No idea why some people want to shut down discussion with a quick "It's their shit, fuck off".
I don't see that anyone (this includes the Kotaku author) is even arguing that Nintendo should give away the rights to Mario & Link or that they are the only ones protecting their assets.
This whole article is asking if there's a way to handle situations like Mario Royale a little better. Maybe there's even a way to make it worthwhile for all sides?
Kotaku is wrong and fans should stop being entitled. It doesn't matter if they release their fan games for free, it's still 100% illegal.
Imagine Nintendo taking some small debeloper's IP, making a game and releasing it for free? Would that be ok? Of course not, people would be up in arms, Kotaku would probably call that behaviour disgusting and tell everyone how it fucks over the owner of the IP and why they must sue Nintendo etc.
But somehow when the roles are reversed the corportation is told "to chill" when the fans are the ones breaking the law, it annoys me so fucking much, it's Nintendo's call how chill they are and in the case of games they're simply not.
Some people live in a fantasy world.Yeah, stop protecting your copyright you assholes, how dare you!
I doubt an indie developer would see it that way if their work is suddenly perceived as someone elses game, it would be seen as what it is, theft of intellectual property.I don't think it really works the other way around; an indie developer having Nintendo make a game based off of their idea is probably somebodys wet dream. It's also an incredible signal boost to an IP and since they aren't profiting off of it, they still can themselves.
It's 100% illegal and yes, fan art, fan fiction etc. are illegal too, most IP owners just don't care enough about that. But when they do it's game over, Anne Rice famously despised fan fiction based on her works and got rid of it. Those aren't scare tactics, Nintendo has the law on their side.Are we even sure it's 100% illegal? Is fan art illegal? All we know is that nobody has the money or time to argue otherwise and that is why Nintendo's scare tactics work.
I repeat, you still have to buy the games from Valve to play these mods. CS, DOD, Black Mesa. They all required Half Life or Half Life 2 before they became standalone games. Nothing changes. If you played them for free, you have been pirating
What kind of competition lmao? About fan projects???That's no excuse, that's business and as a company, they need to make money to pay for the projects, shareholders and employees. They are in a competition with fan games and it is cost them money, so that's why there are so hard against them.
"And let me say that for the record, I want to state that Night Trap will never appear on a Nintendo system."
"Piracy devices", lolokay.MS is allowing a fan Halo, but fan Halos would at least be on PC (like the one in the article) so promotes the Microsoft OS environment. Of course all the Nintendo fan games are PC or via piracy devices, not their ecosystem.
Maybe you should read the post before them? It is a competition about people's time.
Exactly. The argument about making it harder to sell the proper games I see all the time is a straw-man, It's about protecting your IP, because you can lose the right to it if you do not protect it. It matters not that losing your IP hasn't really happened, that fact that it can if you chose not to protect it does.It's their IP at the end of the day, they can behave and act as they like in my opinion.
Anyone who is going to devout time to make something should seek the owners permission first, if you already think they're going to say no than honestly why bother?
Don't get me wrong it's amazing that people want to go to such lengths with their IPs but you can't act all pissed off when they come hunting for you with their lawyers and what not if you haven't been respectful enough to get their permission.