Nintendo Striking Down On Emulation Content

Nintendo is once again pursuing harmful copyright actions against some of its most loyal fanbase. Previously, Nintendo had issued copyright strikes when YouTube channels allowed music from Nintendo games to be heard within posted videos. Now, the video game developer has struck a channel for simply creating emulation-related content.

Nintendo’s history of product protection is long and meticulous. For instance, Gamecube disks in the early 2000s were created to be much smaller while carrying only a fraction of the data other disks of that generation could hold, thus giving the console a built-in anti-piracy feature.

This newest action by Nintendo doesn’t involve the actual sale of emulators, but rather an attack against an emulation channel for simply displaying emulated gameplay. Considering that much of the emulated content for most of their consoles has little to no effect on Nintendo’s financial gains and losses, this decision to hurt their most dedicated fans has not gone over well with gamers.

As the channel Retro Game Corps describes in their latest Twitter and YouTube community posts, Nintendo has struck a recent video of them covering Wii U emulation.

Copyright Strikes Can Force The Removal Of A YouTube Channel

The copyright strike opens a massive can of worms for the channel’s future. In the online space for content creators, having strikes on your channel threatens your livelihood. Three strikes in any calendar year will lead to a channel’s removal from YouTube. Retro Game Corps already has two strikes on their channel, which means they’re now forced to proactively check their content and censor gameplay at risk of suspension or outright removal.

Although the copy strike system is intended to give people legal rights over content, it has seemingly become a space for corporations to strike down whatever content they want to remove, leading creators like Retro Game Corps to be cautious about fighting back in fear of further legal action.

But what’s most infuriating about the current situation is how innocuous it is to emulate content. Although companies are reasonably fearful of emulation, it is almost entirely harmless to them in the long run.

The Harmless Act Of Emulation

It has been repeatedly revealed that those emulating video games are usually the biggest buyers of that content. Retro-emulation enthusiasts likely have many of Nintendo’s previous consoles and thousands of dollars worth of games on their shelves.

Furthermore, as Retro Game Corps mentions in their post, sites like the Wii U e-shop have already been completely shut down, making it hard for Nintendo to argue that such emulation is directly harming sales.

While many Wii U games have been ported to the Nintendo Switch, there are still many games that are stuck on the Wii-U, including copies obtained by the very gamers who are attempting to emulate them.

Not only is striking down Wii-U content completely tone-deaf on Nintendo’s part, but it also actively hurts your fans who want to appreciate content that may no longer be available. For example, does Nintendo really expect fans to shell out $200-$300 to buy a pre-owned version of Devil’s Third for the Wii U?

Although Switch Online is another way for Nintendo to make money from these retro games, many of Nintendo’s most loyal fans have legally bought emulated copies through the Wii U and have been emulating these titles for years.

Nintendo has already tried to shut down in-person events and copies of music from its games, causing actual damage to their community; harming a content creator who covers the best way to play retro games on emulator devices is just another case of Nintendo being out of the loop with their fans.