Video game company Nintendo is one of Japan’s many sources of pride and joy, along with its delicious food, fascinating culture, and tech innovations. Starting off as a Hanafuda playing card producer in the late 1880s, the company eventually grew into one of the top five gaming companies in the world. Nintendo is the creative hive behind the most successful consoles ever to exist, including the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Wii, and the Switch, as well as internationally recognized franchises, such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon.
Audiences worldwide love Nintendo – proven by their standing on Morning Consult’s list of the 100 Most Trusted Brands. Their fans are fiercely loyal, thanks to their consistency and excellence in the video game sphere. For many, they’ve accompanied us from childhood to adulthood, providing that nostalgic charm that adds to their revered reputation. But beyond the lovable characters and family-friendly nature, Nintendo is also known for their overprotectiveness of their intellectual property – a somewhat controversial topic that has been the subject of much talk in the gaming community.
Nintendo’s Tight Grip on Their Intellectual Property
If we were to rummage through the entire history of Nintendo’s relationship with their intellectual property (IP), we could trace the origins of this tight grip back to the lawsuit they were involved in with Universal City Studios. Long story short, Universal Studios claimed that Nintendo’s Donkey Kong was a trademark infringement on Universal’s King Kong. Universal lost the case, and it was ruled that they had acted in bad faith against Nintendo. This close call led Nintendo never to want to become victims again, and they started becoming a lot more careful with their IPs (inventions, designs, names, etc.) – maybe a little too careful.
After all, Nintendo is a creator-driven company, and they truly value each and every creative output of the brand. You could argue that this is precisely why they’ve kept such a dedicated following. Their teams consistently deliver creativity and quality, and if they miss the mark – they spare no effort to change that. However, there are times when the community feels like their actions regarding IP have gone too far.
Nintendo’s Legal Actions Against the Public
Nintendo has become infamous for its takedowns against the public. We’re not just talking about blatant copyright issues or infringements where another game company has completely replicated a character or an entire game franchise – we’re talking about fan-made material. While other game companies and creators are a lot more lenient or, in some cases, even supportive of these homages, Nintendo sees through a different lens.
In Nintendo’s view, creators and consumers are seen as black and white, a binary, a dichotomy, if you will. The creators – Nintendo’s creators – are the ones who do the creating, and consumers – their audience – are the ones who enjoy those creations. The concepts that Nintendo produces are essentially not for anyone else but the company to use, and this attitude towards their IP sums up their entire approach to it.
There are many instances where Nintendo’s defensiveness over their IP has manifested. Back when the movie and video game rental chain Blockbuster still existed, Nintendo of America attempted to ban any rentals of their video games in stores around the country. They weren’t happy with the fact that thousands of people could access their titles without the company receiving any royalties. Then, takedowns of emulation sites started to happen.
Emulators allowed gamers to play games from older consoles like the NES, Game Boy, and SNES on smartphones or PCs without spending a dime. Getting the opportunity to play famous classics like Super Mario Bros 2, Donkey Kong Country, and A Link to the Past was enticing to a lot of people who didn’t have access to a console, so they became incredibly popular with the public. While they aren’t inherently illegal, they can be considered a type of software piracy.
These two examples aren’t exactly the law’s idea of criminal, but what really got Nintendo into hot water was their takedowns of gameplay footage and modded game content. People saw these actions as wholly different from clear-cut stealing, and they didn’t understand why they’d ruin the livelihoods of content creators and the fun that people were having with Nintendo creations. This was where their aggressiveness on IP sparked debate and conversation within the gaming community. Many argued that game mods and gameplay footage, in contrast, supported and added value to Nintendo’s products. They felt like Nintendo was taking their IP concerns too far, acting like a ruthless sentry.
The Ethics of Nintendo’s Stance
So, the question remains: is Nintendo the bad guy?
If we had to give a yes or no answer, it would be a no. While Nintendo has admittedly gone too far in many cases with their IP obsession, their intentions are just to keep their company pure and fair. In turn, it sets a standard for the wider video game industry, preserving the integrity of game developers who have worked tirelessly to bring their ideas to life. While not readily apparent, companies choose certain routes in order to help both themselves and their loyal players, just like how casinos.com offers 2000+ free slots for avid gamblers. Could Nintendo ease up on their IP standards? Absolutely. And they’ve arguably already started to move in that direction with the recent release of the Super Mario Bros. Movie.
