Which One Of You Told Nintendo About These Things?
Last week we pointed out over 100 issues of Nintendo Power were available to virtually leaf through at the Internet Archive. At the time we were among the first to point it out, and sensing a viral wave of reports was about to hit (and it did) we made it a point that the magazine scans were NOT from Nintendo and were uploaded by a volunteer last February. We also wondered how long it would take before one of these uploads was caught. Not long!
Within two days every major website with a video game interest had reported on the existence of the scans. It got Nintendo’s attention, and their lawyers send a C&D to the Archive, resulting in the scans disappearing.
At the same time, a fan-created remake of Metroid 2: Return of Samus called AM2R was also making waves and getting reports. It was almost like the media was testing Nintendo to see how much the company would tolerate. If they had problems with a bunch of old magazine issues they can’t profit from anymore, they REALLY wouldn’t appreciate a brand-new remake of a game they own starring a character they own.
AM2R lived above ground for about two days, and now survives in the torrent-lands. It’s a pity, since Metroid 2 is a game that really needs a remake — it’s bland and confusing by modern standards. So was Metroid 1, but Nintendo already took care of that one with the amazing Zero Mission in 2004.
We’ve learned that if we want to enjoy our fandom, we’d best do it quietly. Or….maybe it’s going to take a few more hard knocks. A team of hobbyists picked NOW of all times to announce the completed version of Pokemon Uranium, the first 100% fan-created unofficial Pokemon game, with 150 new creatures and support for online battling. The work took nine years. And Kotaku will topple it in ten minutes. Get it before you can’t!
Jeffrey Harris
August 10, 2016 @ 10:00 pm
This headline is a bit confusing. Why are you upset at news outlets for reporting on these projects when they get formally announced and put out there by the makers of this content with trailers or their own dedicated websites?
Not to mention you are reporting on them here as well? If you are actually upset about this, it seems you are also contributing to the problem you are not happy about.