IGXPro

Menu
  • Blog
  • Console
    • PC
    • Playstation 3
    • Playstation 4
    • Wii
    • Wii U
    • Xbox 360
    • Xbox One
  • Gaming
  • Handheld
    • DS/3DS
    • PSP / Vita
  • Reviews
    • Handheld
    • PC
    • Playstation 3
    • Wii
    • Xbox 360
  • Tech
    • Mobile Phones
    • PC/Laptop
    • Tablets
    • Tech Reviews
  • Video Gallery

Join Us Now For Free
Home
Console News
Wii
Nintendo stakes claim on ad revenue from user generated YouTube videos

Nintendo stakes claim on ad revenue from user generated YouTube videos

Michael Lacerna 16 May

Nintendo has made a lot of questionable decisions lately, but their latest gaffe might just be their worst: multiple YouTube users are reporting that Nintendo has staked a copyright claim on videos featuring footage from Nintendo games. While Nintendo hasn’t removed the videos from YouTube, ad revenue from those videos will now be directed to Nintendo, not the creators of those videos. Understandably, this move has pissed off a lot of fans.

Nintendo asserts that since these videos are mostly comprised of content from their games, it’s well within their rights to assert a copyright claim on these videos. In a statement issued to GameFront, Nintendo said the following:

“As part of our on-going push to ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media channels in an appropriate and safe way, we became a YouTube partner and as such in February 2013 we registered our copyright content in the YouTube database. For most fan videos this will not result in any changes, however, for those videos featuring Nintendo-owned content, such as images or audio of a certain length, adverts will now appear at the beginning, next to or at the end of the clips. We continually want our fans to enjoy sharing Nintendo content on YouTube, and that is why, unlike other entertainment companies, we have chosen not to block people using our intellectual property.”

While Nintendo is legally acting within their rights, this move seems kind of counterproductive: fan produced YouTube videos do nothing but help promote their products, and by claiming the ad revenue from these videos for themselves, Nintendo is basically limiting the exposure their games will get on YouTube or on social media sites. Zack Scott, the producer of a number of popular “Let’s Play” gameplay videos on YouTube, says that Nintendo’s actions will force him to stop covering their games. ““I love Nintendo, so I’ve included their games in my line-up,” Scott said in a Facebook post. “But until their claims are straightened out, I won’t be playing their games. I won’t because it jeopardizes my channel’s copyright standing and the livelihood of all LPers.”

This isn’t the first time that a video game publisher has tried to limit footage of their games being uploaded to YouTube: last December Sega ordered the outright removal of videos featuring footage of their games from YouTube, a move which sparked outrage throughout the gaming community.

The revenue from YouTube ads is infamously low, so you have to wonder why Nintendo would even bother pulling a stunt like this: all it does is make them look bad in the press, and it discourages fans from promoting Nintendo’s products. There’s a fair number of Nintendo games in my collection — niche games like Rhythm Heaven Fever and Dillon’s Rolling Western — that I probably would’ve never bought had I not seen fan-uploaded footage of the games on YouTube first. This is a move that only hurts Nintendo and their most hardcore fans, so here’s hoping that Nintendo realizes what a boneheaded decision this was and fixes the situation before they do any more damage.

Share
Tweet
Email
Prev Article
Next Article

Related Articles

Last Week at a press event held by NISA in …

Cave Story 3D Confirmed for August Release

Ubisoft has released a new trailer for Assassin’s Creed III …

Assassin’s Creed III Gameplay Trailer

About The Author

Michael Lacerna

2 Comments

  1. Chris Hernandez

    I agree with Nintendo on this. They have the right to their content and it is much better than outright removing the content. Sure it harms people who upload said content soley to make money, but that’s about it.

    16 May
  2. Soldatto Rosso

    This will only hurt Nintendo in the long run. As much as I love the company, this is a massively stupid decision since, in their own words, they wish to “ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media channels.” Now all that’s going to happen is people will be too afraid to upload content from Nintendo, thus limiting the free advertisement these videos provide. It’s wide known that youtube ad revenue is a paltry sum compared to what Nintendo makes, and also that marketing their games is mind-bogglingly expensive. So why Nintendo would piss on free marketing is something I just do not understand. But then again their business decisions lately have been pretty poor, and if this incident is any indication it’s only bound to get much worse. It really is hard to be a fan of Nintendo these days; they just give you so many reasons not to be.

    17 May

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search Website

Let’s Get Social

Latest Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyHy9X1M9a4

Popular Posts

    Recent Comments

    • Vinny Parisi on Review: TMNT: Out of the Shadows
    • Narduckleson on Review: TMNT: Out of the Shadows
    • Candy on Tropico 5 set to finally make Communism fun again next year
    • Vinny Parisi on Insomniac Games Reportedly Working on Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus
    • Adam Magulick on Insomniac Games Reportedly Working on Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus

    Get more stuff

    Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.

    Thank you for subscribing.

    Something went wrong.

    we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously

    IGXPro

    Video Game News, Tech News, Geek Resource

    Useful Links

    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Staff
    • Terms of Use

    Popular Categories

    • Blog
    • Reviews
    • Console News
    • Tech
    • Video Gallery
    • Gaming News

    Work For Us!

    • Contact
    Copyright © 2021 IGXPro

    Ad Blocker Detected

    Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.

    Refresh