Jump to content

Intellectual property protection by Nintendo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 89.164.0.88 (talk) at 19:58, 6 July 2024. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Nintendo is one of the largest video game publishers in the world, producing both hardware and software. Since the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, the company has generally been proactive to assure its intellectual property in both hardware and software is protected. Nintendo's protection of its properties began as early as the arcade release of Donkey Kong which was widely cloned on other platforms, a practice common to the most popular arcade games of the era. Nintendo did seek legal action to try to stop release of these unauthorized clones, but estimated they still lost $100 million in potential sales to these clones.[1] Nintendo also fought off a claim in 1983 by Universal Pictures that Donkey Kong was a derivative element of their King Kong in Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.; notably, Nintendo's lawyer, John Kirby, became the namesake of Kirby in honor of the successful defense.

Nintendo became more proactive as they entered the Famicom/NES period. Nintendo had witnessed the events of a flooded game market that occurred in the United States in the early 1980s that led to the 1983 video game crash, and with the Famicom had taken business steps, such as controlling the cartridge production process, to prevent a similar flood of video game clones.[2] However, the Famicom had lacked any lockout mechanics, and numerous unauthorized bootleg cartridges were made across the Asian regions. Nintendo took a step to create its "Nintendo Seal of Quality" stamped on the games it made to dissuade consumers from purchasing these bootlegs, and as it prepared the Famicom for entry to Western regions as the NES, incorporated a lock-out system that only allowed authorized game cartridges they manufactured to be playable on the system. After the NES's release, Nintendo took legal action against companies that attempted to reverse-engineer the lockout mechanism to make unauthorized games for the NES. While Nintendo was successful to prevent reverse engineering of the lockout chip in the case Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America Inc., they failed to prevent devices like Game Genie from being used to provide cheat codes for players in the case Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc..[3][4] Nintendo settled with the rental chain Blockbuster in Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Blockbuster Entertainment Corp. after they began including photocopies of Nintendo's game manuals in rented games.

In 2021, Gary Bowser was sentenced to 40 months in prison and order to pay $14.5 million in restitution for his role in a Nintendo hacking scheme.[5] Critics claim that the punishment was excessive, while others argue that it was necessary to send a message to deter other hackers and protect intellectual property rights.[6] Bowser's recent release from jail has brought attention to the impact that the massive amount of money he owes in restitution may have on his life and livelihood, as he claims to have only been able to pay off a small fraction of the fine so far.[7] During the hacking scheme, Bowser personally made only $320,000 in profit.[8]

Emulation

Nintendo has used emulation by itself or licensed from third parties to provide means to re-release games from their older platforms on newer systems, with Virtual Console, which re-released classic games as downloadable titles, the NES and Super NES library for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, and with dedicated consoles like the NES and Super NES Classic Editions. However, Nintendo has taken a hard stance against unlicensed emulation of its video games and consoles, stating that it is the single largest threat to the intellectual property rights of video game developers.[9] Further, Nintendo has taken action against fan-made games which have used significant facets of their IP, issuing cease & desist letters to these projects or Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)-related complaints to services that host these projects.[10] The company has also taken legal action against those that made modchips for its hardware; notably, in 2020 and 2021, Nintendo took action against Team Xecuter which had been making modchips for Nintendo's consoles since 2013, after members of that team were arrested by the United States Department of Justice.[11] In a related action, Nintendo sent a cease and desist letter to the organizers of the 2020 The Big House Super Smash Bros. tournament that was held entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year. Nintendo had taken issue with the tournament using emulated versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee which had included a user mod for networked play, as this would have required ripping a copy of Melee to play, an action they do not condone.[12]

Nintendo issued Valve a DMCA request prior the release of the Dolphin emulator for Wii and Switch games on the Steam storefront (for free) in May 2023, asserting that the inclusion of the Wii Common Key used to decrypt Wii games violated their copyright.[13][14] In 2024, Nintendo took legal action against the open-source Yuzu emulator for Switch games, stating that the software violates the DMCA by enabling decryption of the encryption method used for Switch games, and that it facilitated copyright infringement of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom through a leaked copy that had been downloaded a million times from piracy websites prior to the game's official release.[15] The Yuzu team settled with Nintendo, agreeing to pay $2.4 million and stopping work on Yuzu, halting distribution of the code, and turning its domains and websites over to Nintendo.[16] As some of the Yuzu team had also worked on the Citra 3DS emulator, that project was also terminated, and its code was taken offline.[17] Some users not associated with the Yuzu team had attempted to fork the latest builds of Yuzu before it was taken offline, taking stances to completely avoid discussions related to the encryption aspects and any software piracy. Nintendo continued to issue DMCA requests to remove source repositories as well as Discord servers established by these users to discuss their forks' development.[18]

Fangames

Fangames that reuse or recreate Nintendo assets also have been targeted by Nintendo typically through cease and desist letters or DMCA-based takedown to shut down these projects.[19] Nintendo has also taken action against mods that bring Nintendo property into third-party games, notably seeking to block a Pokemon-based mod for the game Palworld, itself which has been colloquially described as a "Pokemon with guns" game. Nintendo issued a statement that they plan to investigate not only the mod but the game for potential copyright misuse.[20] The company later sent notice to the developers of Garry's Mod, warning them about Nintendo IP used in the game's Steam Workshop, a collection of fan modifications, some which were as old as 20 years, leading the developers to start pruning this material after confirming the legitimacy of the notice.[21]

Full Screen Mario, a web browser-based version of Super Mario Bros., was shut down in 2013 after Nintendo issued a cease and desist letter.[22] Over five hundred fangames hosted at Game Jolt, including AM2R, a remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus, were shut down by Nintendo in 2016.[23] Other notable fan projects that have been taken down include Pokémon Uranium, a fangame based on the Pokémon series in 2016,[24] Super Mario 64 Online, an online multiplayer version of Super Mario 64 in 2017,[25] and Metroid Prime 2D, a demake of Metroid Prime, in 2021.[26] Nintendo has defended these actions as necessary to protect its intellectual property, stating that "Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of others", but also that they want to protect characters, trademarks and other content in regards to their established franchises.[25] In some cases, the developers of these fangames have repurposed their work into new projects. In the case of No Mario's Sky, a mashup of Super Mario Bros. and No Man's Sky, after Nintendo sought to terminate the project, the Mario content was stripped and the game renamed as DMCA's Sky.[27]

In 2016, Nintendo issued DMCA takedowns for hundreds of fan games hosted on the platform Game Jolt, as well as others off-site, such as the unofficial Metroid II remake, AM2R. This followed another takedown request for AM2R issued earlier that year.[28] Two of the affected games, Pokémon Uranium and AM2R, had been nominated for The Game Awards that year, and were subsequently removed.[29] Later the same year, Pokémon Prism was also shut down.[30] In 2020, an in-development Mother 3 fan sequel previously dubbed Mother 4 was renamed Oddity, and its references to the series removed, in order to prevent the game from being taken down.[31] In 2021, Nintendo of America's legal team issued a mass DMCA takedown of 379 games removed out from Game Jolt. Many of the games' developers and fans have been taken it by surprise, although Nintendo's mention of advertisement revenue being used on the games' page made the reasoning behind the takedowns.[32] An "ambitious" Metroid-based fan game, Metroid Prime 2D, which had been in development for 15 years, was taken down by Nintendo in August 2021, four months after a demo was released.[33]

In March 2024, former lawyer of The Pokemon Company Don McGowan interviewed with Aftermath about his time working at Bungie and the company. McGowan also discussed about the company's approach to cease and desist and point out that there were many discussions about the 2024 video game Palworld due to its similarity to the Pokémon franchise and Nintendo taking down a mod that added Pokémon for the game.[34][35] Around the same month, Relic Castle, an unofficial Pokémon forum website has been taken offline after being allegedly received a DMCA takedown notice. The details of the alleged notice haven't been confirmed, so as if the takedown comes directly from The Pokemon Company. GamesRadar+ and VG247 noted it likely due to the fan games that were shared in the website, although the website didn't host the games directly.[36][37] In April, the sandbox game Garry's Mod received copyright takedown requests from Nintendo to remove all of the downloadable content that infringe Nintendo copyright. The game's creator Garry Newman made a post telling users that they may have noticed certain Nintendo-related contents removed. While Garry's Mod began removing Nintendo-related contents, some users believed the requests were from a troll, but Newman confirmed that he has been assured the takedown requests are legit.[38]

List of fangamer takedowns

Reception

Despite acknowledging that these takedowns are within Nintendo's rights, critics have argued that Nintendo should set guidelines and policies on fan content in a similar vein as other major publishers, such as Riot Games, Bethesda Softworks, and Sega, in order to maintain fan goodwill and allow for free expression. While former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata expressed interest in adopting such guidelines in 2010, Nintendo has since maintained a hardline stance, removing anything remotely popular that might infringe upon a Nintendo copyright. Despite Nintendo's assertions that they are protecting their copyright, their common takedowns of free, not-for-profit games have been described as legally unnecessary, as they are normally used as a "last line of defense" against those seeking to profit from another's IP.[54]

In 2016, Sean Buckley of Engadget remarked on the takedown of 500 games. While noting that Nintendo was "within its right to put a lid on these fan projects", he called the takedowns "always a bummer". He described the removed games as "passionate fan works", and AM2R as "lovingly crafted".[28] Kyle Orland of Ars Technica remarked on this as well, saying that while cease-and-desist letters were nothing new in the gaming industry, Nintendo's stance was "wide-ranging" and "hardline".[55] Jon Partridge of Red Bull said that while most of the removed games would "not be missed", several of the removed games were nevertheless "amazing", such as Pokémon Uranium and AM2R.[56]

In 2017, Owen S. Good of Polygon argued that creating and sharing fan games was a "significant part of gaming culture" that could not be denied or shut down by publishers, despite Nintendo's attempts to do so. Using the example of Breath of the NES, a 2D fan-made demake of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, he highlighted that any creators making fan games based on Nintendo IP expected to be shut down, forcing creators to remove any Nintendo references. While many fans adopted the position that fan games should not be advertised until they were released, allowing for "underground" distribution, this would be completely untenable for many fan game creators, who would receive no player feedback or motivation to continue development. Stephen McArthur, the "video game lawyer", was interviewed for the piece, and noted that most major publishers had rules for fan-created content that incorporates their IP. He stated that, while publishers reserve the right to shut something down for any reason, blanket prohibitions on fan works are "legally unnecessary and also a terrible business and marketing policy". He also noted that Nintendo's repeated takedowns had no proactive effect, as they did not stop further fan works from being created, while at the same time angering fans. Developers simply assume that they will be caught and proceed with making the game anyway.[54]

In 2019, Luke Plunkett of Kotaku said that Nintendo's copyright takedowns were so "predictable and tragic" that they had become an Internet meme, noting that Nintendo was disproportionately focused on removing fan games, while ignoring fan art, music, etc. While saying that Nintendo's lawyers have a "job to do" and that they should not be blamed, he still expressed his opinion that "the letter of the law can and does suck", and that the company was failing to distinguish between "things that are trying to steal from them" and "homages to their legacy". He described Nintendo's response at the time as "almost algorithmic" and "ruthless" in "shutting down even the most innocuous projects". He highlighted Nintendo's former Creator's Program for YouTube videos as an example to emulate in the fan game realm, and said that, even outside Nintendo's legal departments, many in Nintendo, such as employees at Game Freak, enjoyed seeing fan games. He also noted that Installation 01, a Halo fan game, had reached a deal with Microsoft to continue development, saying that such things could be possible with Nintendo fan games as well.[57]

In recent years, Nintendo has taken legal action against sites that knowingly distribute ROM images of its games. In July 2018, Nintendo sued Jacob Mathias, the owner of distribution websites LoveROMs and LoveRetro, for "brazen and mass-scale infringement of Nintendo's intellectual property rights".[58] Nintendo settled with Mathias that November for more than US$12 million along with relinquishing all ROM images in their ownership. While Nintendo is likely to have agreed to a smaller fine in private, the large amount was seen as a deterrent to prevent similar sites from sharing ROM images.[59] Nintendo won a separate suit against RomUniverse in May 2021, which also offered infringing copies of Nintendo DS and Switch games in addition to ROM images. The site owner was required to pay Nintendo $2.1 million in damages, and later given a permanent injunction preventing the site from operating in the future and requiring the owner to destroy all ROM copies.[60][61][62][63] Nintendo successfully won a suit in the United Kingdom in September 2019 to force the major Internet service providers in the country to block access to sites that offered copyright-infringing copies of Switch software or hacks for the Nintendo Switch to run unauthorized software.[64]

Nintendo also took steps to use a DMCA strike to block a video segment by the YouTube channel Did You Know Gaming? covering an uncompleted Zelda game pitched to Nintendo by Retro Studios, though the channel later succeeded in reversing the strike.[65][66] When leaks related to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom appeared online in the week before the game's release in May 2023, Nintendo sent out DMCA takedown requests to several tools related to Switch emulation in attempts to stop the leaks.[67]

Data breaches

Nintendo sought enforcement action against a hacker that for several years had infiltrated Nintendo's internal database by various means including phishing to obtain plans for games and hardware for upcoming shows like E3. This was leaked to the Internet, impacting how Nintendo's own announcements were received. Though the person was a minor when Nintendo brought the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate, and had been warned by the FBI to desist, the person continued over 2018 and 2019 as an adult, posting taunts on social media. The perpetrator was arrested in July 2019, and the FBI found documents confirming the hacks, many unauthorized game files, and child pornography, leading to the perpetrator's admission of guilt for all crimes in January 2020 and was sentenced to three years in prison.[68][69] Similarly, Nintendo alongside The Pokémon Company spent significant time to identify who had leaked information about Pokémon Sword and Shield several weeks before its planned Nintendo Directs, ultimately tracing the leaks back to a Portugal game journalist who leaked the information from official review copies of the game and subsequently severed ties with the publication.[70]

In May 2020, a major leak of documents occurred, including source code, designs, hardware drawings, documentation, and other internal information primarily related to the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii. The leak may have been related to BroadOn, a company that Nintendo had contracted to help with the Wii's design,[71] or to Zammis Clark, a Malwarebytes employee and hacker who pleaded guilty to infiltrating Microsoft's and Nintendo's servers between March and May 2018.[72][73]

A second and larger leak occurred in July 2020, which has been called the "Gigaleak" as it contains gigabytes of data, and is believed related to the May 2020 leak.[74] The leak includes the source code and prototypes for several early 1990s Super NES games including Super Mario Kart, Yoshi's Island, Star Fox, and Star Fox 2, and it includes internal development tools and system software components. The veracity of the material was confirmed by Dylan Cuthbert, a programmer for Nintendo during that period.[75][76] The leak has the source code to several Nintendo 64 games including Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and the console's operating system.[77] The leak contains personal files from Nintendo employees.[74]

References

  1. ^ Altice, Nathan (2015). "Chapter 2: Ports". I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform. MIT Press. pp. 53–80. ISBN 9780262028776.
  2. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (15 July 2013). "The NES turns 30: How it began, worked, and saved an industry". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  3. ^ Aoyama, Yuko; Izushi, Hiro (2003). "Hardware gimmick or cultural innovation? Technological, cultural, and social foundations of the Japanese video game industry". Research Policy. 32 (3): 423–444. doi:10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00016-1.
  4. ^ O'Donnell, Casey (2011). "The Nintendo Entertainment System and the 10NES Chip: Carving the Video Game Industry in Silicon". Games and Culture. 6 (1): 83–100. doi:10.1177/1555412010377319. S2CID 53358125.
  5. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (18 April 2023). "Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser Released From Prison, Still Owes Millions". IGN. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  6. ^ Plunkett, Luke (17 April 2023). "Nintendo 'Hacker' Will Be Punished For The Rest Of His Life". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  7. ^ Mckeand, Kirk (18 April 2023). ""Hacker" Gary Bowser is in debt to Nintendo for the rest of his life". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  8. ^ Purdy, Kevin (18 April 2023). "Switch modder Bowser released from prison, likely owes Nintendo for rest of life". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Nintendo – Corporate Information – Legal Information (Copyrights, Emulators, ROMs, etc.)". Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  10. ^ Frank, Allegra (2 September 2016). "Nintendo slaps Metroid 2 remake and 500-plus fangames with takedown orders". Polygon. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Nintendo suing Bowser over Switch hacks". Polygon. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  12. ^ Donaldson, Alex (24 November 2020). "As Nintendo shuts down a tournament, Smash fans unite under the #FreeMelee hashtag in futility". VG247. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  13. ^ Fenlon, Wes (26 May 2023). "Nintendo sends Valve DMCA notice to block Steam release of Wii emulator Dolphin". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  14. ^ Scullion, Chris (28 May 2023). "Nintendo has blocked the Steam version of GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  15. ^ Hollister, Sean (February 27, 2024). "Nintendo sues Switch emulator Yuzu for 'facilitating piracy at a colossal scale'". The Verge. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  16. ^ "Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu will utterly fold and pay $2.4M to settle its lawsuit". 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  17. ^ Fenlon, Wes (4 March 2024). "Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra taken offline as collateral damage in Yuzu lawsuit settlement". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  18. ^ Orland, Kyle (April 12, 2024). "Nintendo targets Switch-emulation chat servers, decryption tools with DMCA". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  19. ^ Perry, Alex (17 August 2016). "Here are some of the biggest fan projects that Nintendo has shut down". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  20. ^ MacGregor, Jody (January 24, 2024). "The Pokémon Company releases a statement about Palworld, says it intends to 'investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  21. ^ Roth, Emma (April 25, 2024). "Garry's Mod is taking down decades of Nintendo-related add-ons". The Verge. Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  22. ^ Lee, Timothy (17 October 2013). "Nintendo says this amazing Super Mario site is illegal. Here's why it shouldn't be". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  23. ^ Buckley, Sean (5 September 2016). "Nintendo issues DMCA takedown for hundreds of fan games". Engadget. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  24. ^ Good, Owen (14 August 2016). "Fan-made Pokemon Uranium is shelved by its creators after Nintendo notices". Polygon. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  25. ^ a b Good, Owen (20 September 2017). "Super Mario 64 Online taken down by Nintendo copyright strikes". Polygon. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  26. ^ Fahey, Mike (27 August 2021). "Awesome Metroid Prime 2D Fan Project Gets Nintendo'd". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  27. ^ Walker, Alex (5 September 2016). "No Mario's Sky Taken Down, Replaced With DMCA's Sky". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  28. ^ a b Buckley, Sean (2016-09-05). "Nintendo issues DMCA takedown for hundreds of fan games". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  29. ^ Alexandra, Heather (2016-11-21). "Game Awards Show Mysteriously Removes Two Nintendo Fan Games". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  30. ^ Alexandra, Heather (2016-12-21). "Another Pokémon Fan Game Says Nintendo Shut Them Down". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  31. ^ Morton, Lauren (2020-01-03). "The fan made Mother 4 has reappeared with the new name Oddity". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2024-01-11. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  32. ^ Craddock, Ryan (January 6, 2021). "Nintendo Issues Mass DMCA Takedown, 379 Fan-Made Games Forcibly Removed". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  33. ^ Fahey, Mike (2021-08-27). "Awesome Metroid Prime 2D Fan Project Gets Nintendo'd". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  34. ^ a b Bellingham, Hope (2024-03-14). "Former Pokemon lawyer explains why Nintendo goes after so many fan games: "No one likes suing fans"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 2024-04-06. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  35. ^ "Nintendo DMCAs Palworld Mod That Makes Everything Pokémon". Kotaku. 2024-01-23. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  36. ^ a b Lewis, Catherine (March 22, 2024). "After almost 10 years, unofficial Pokemon website known for sharing fan-made games shuts down after reportedly receiving a DMCA takedown notice". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  37. ^ Kuhnke, Oisin (March 24, 2024). "First Nintendo emulators, now one of the biggest Pokemon fan game sites around gets hit with a DMCA takedown". VG247. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  38. ^ a b Roth, Emma (April 25, 2024). "Garry's Mod is taking down decades of Nintendo-related add-ons". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  39. ^ "Nintendo shuts down fan-made Pokemon MMO". Yahoo Finance. 2010-04-02. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  40. ^ "Nintendo issues takedown notice for Super Mario 64 HD project". Eurogamer.net. 2015-04-01. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  41. ^ "Nintendo Shuts down The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 2D?". Gaming Reinvented. 2015-05-19. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  42. ^ "Nintendo kills 3D 'Zelda' tribute game on the web". Engadget. 2016-04-08. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  43. ^ Frank, Allegra (2016-08-08). "Metroid 2 fan remake finally released, quickly hit with copyright claims". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  44. ^ Kamen, Matt. "Fan-made Pokémon Uranium pulled after Nintendo legal action". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  45. ^ Fields, Sarah (2016-09-05). "No Mario's Sky Fan Game Shut Down By Nintendo, Developer Finds Workaround". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  46. ^ "Game Over: Nintendo Takes Down "Full Screen Mario" Code * TorrentFreak". Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  47. ^ Orland, Kyle (2016-11-22). "Two Nintendo-themed fan games have been locked out of The Game Awards". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  48. ^ "Another Pokémon Fan Game Says Nintendo Shut Them Down". Kotaku. 2016-12-21. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  49. ^ Machkovech, Sam (2016-12-21). "Pokémon ROM hack stopped by Nintendo four days before launch". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  50. ^ "Nintendo Mass DMCA Takedown Removes Hundreds of Fangames from Game Jolt * TorrentFreak". Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  51. ^ "dmca/2020/2020-12-29-nintendo.md at main · gamejolt/dmca". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  52. ^ "Nintendo Takes Down BoTW Mod Videos". Gaming Reinvented. 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  53. ^ Life, Nintendo (2022-01-22). "The Pokémon Company Sets Its Sights On YouTube Videos Of The Fan-Made 'Pokémon FPS'". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  54. ^ a b Good, Owen S. (May 6, 2017). "Despite the certainty of takedowns, fan developers still pursue Nintendo's works". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  55. ^ Orland, Kyle (2016-09-02). "Nintendo's DMCA-backed quest against online fan games". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  56. ^ Partridge, Jon (2016-09-30). "The amazing fan games Nintendo want to ban". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  57. ^ Plunkett, Luke (2019-06-27). "Nintendo's Lawyers Need To Chill". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  58. ^ Plunkett, Luke (23 July 2018). "Nintendo Suing Pirate Websites For Millions". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  59. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (12 November 2018). "Nintendo reaches final judgment agreement with ROM site owners". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  60. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (11 September 2019). "Nintendo files multimillion-dollar lawsuit against ROM website". Polygon. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  61. ^ Orland, Kyle (1 June 2021). "ROM site owner made $30,000 a year—now owes Nintendo $2.1M". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  62. ^ Dealessandri, Marie (6 July 2021). "Nintendo reapplies for permanent injunction against RomUniverse's owner". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  63. ^ Zwiezen, Zack (14 August 2021). "Nintendo Orders ROM Site To 'Destroy' All Its Games, Or Else". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  64. ^ Phillips, Tom (10 September 2019). "Nintendo wins UK high court case to block piracy websites". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  65. ^ Kennedy, Victoria (8 December 2022). "Heroes of Hyrule video report receives copyright strike from Nintendo". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  66. ^ Gach, Ethan (3 January 2023). "YouTuber Beats Nintendo After It Tried Nuking Evidence Of A Canceled Zelda". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  67. ^ Purdy, Kevin (8 May 2023). "Nintendo, ticked by Zelda leaks, does a DMCA run on Switch emulation tools". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  68. ^ "Nintendo Switch leaker admits child sex abuse". BBC. 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  69. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (1 December 2020). "Nintendo hacker sentenced to 3 years in prison". Polygon. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  70. ^ Klepek, Patrick (11 February 2020). "Nintendo's Aggressive Hunt to Find Pokémon Leakers Has Found a New Target". Vice. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  71. ^ Robinson, Andy (4 May 2020). "Nintendo has reportedly suffered a significant legacy console leak". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  72. ^ Kirk, Jeremy (4 May 2020). "Nintendo Source Code for N64, Wii and GameCube Leaked". BankInfoSecurity. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  73. ^ Warren, Tom (28 March 2019). "Security researcher pleads guilty to hacking into Microsoft and Nintendo". The Verge. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  74. ^ a b Hernandez, Patricia (26 July 2020). "Massive Nintendo leak reveals early Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon secrets". Polygon. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  75. ^ Robinson, Andy (24 July 2020). "An alleged Nintendo leak has unearthed early game prototypes". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  76. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (24 July 2020). "Alleged Nintendo "gigaleak" reveals eye-opening prototypes for Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Kart, Star Fox 2 and more". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  77. ^ Robinson, Andy (25 July 2020). "Now N64 prototypes for Mario 64, Ocarina and more have reportedly leaked". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.