In addition to taking down popular Nintendo Switch emulator Ryujinx, the house of Mario is also issuing copyright strikes against YouTube creators. Nintendo seems to once again be taking action against YouTube channels that showcase its games running on emulators, having issued copyright strikes against creators like Retro Game Corps (via Time Extension).
Retro Game Corps is a channel that focuses on previewing and reviewing devices that are able to emulate older consoles such as the SNES, Game Boy, and even the Wii U. Host of the Retro Game Corps, Russ, shared through various social channels that he received another copyright strike from Nintendo. the latest strike was for a recent video where Russ was "demonstrating a Wii U emulator."
Hi friends, well it does appear that my worst fears are true, and that I am being specifically targeted by Nintendo. 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. I am still considering a counter claim under fair use, as 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). 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.
At the very least this means I am going to change how I approach future videos. I will no longer show any Nintendo games on-screen, which is a shame because I love using those games for my hardware demonstrations. I don't know how that will play out when it comes to showing things like ESDE frontend themes that contain Nintendo characters, but for now I am going to focus on actual gameplay. I am also going through the videos I am working on and blurring out any Nintendo game content as a precaution, even innocuous content like NES games. Unfortunately this is going to delay some video releases -- my latest video should be up right now, but instead I have to re-edit and re-upload the video first.
I know this is disappointing news, but with now two strikes on my channel, I don't really have any other choice except to adjust accordingly. Thanks for your understanding.
At the very least this means I am going to change how I approach future videos. I will no longer show any Nintendo games on-screen, which is a shame because I love using those games for my hardware demonstrations. I don't know how that will play out when it comes to showing things like ESDE frontend themes that contain Nintendo characters, but for now I am going to focus on actual gameplay. I am also going through the videos I am working on and blurring out any Nintendo game content as a precaution, even innocuous content like NES games. Unfortunately this is going to delay some video releases -- my latest video should be up right now, but instead I have to re-edit and re-upload the video first.
I know this is disappointing news, but with now two strikes on my channel, I don't really have any other choice except to adjust accordingly. Thanks for your understanding.
Nintendo has always been notoriously over protective of their IPs when it comes to user created content such as YouTube videos, Twitch streams, and mods for other games. It's usually a matter of when not if you will get a copyright claim from Nintendo if you make any public-facing content involving Nintendo's IPs.
