›

Nintendo targeting fan-made videos

raithzaraithza
edited in General
So this piece of news has been making the rounds recently but I don't think we've discussed it here: Nintendo are trying to monetise/claim revenue for ALL videos on youtube of their games. This started off mostly with Long Plays but has now spread to people posting reviews and smaller "Let's play" videos as well.

Nintendo's statement:
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.
There is a lot of discussion online about this and consensus seems to be that this is a monumentally stupid decision. TB did a good video on this topic as well:


Of course there are Long Play videos on Youtube where a person simply plays through the entire game with little to no narration but those account for a small percentage of videos (and more importantly views/revenue). You can make an argument for blocking/monetising those, but other videos such as reviews/walkthroughs are also being targeted. It is obvious that popular youtubers who make money from their channels will be discouraged from making videos of Nintendo games. My question is why would Nintendo do this when those videos bring so many fresh eyes to their games? Either Nintendo is scraping the bottom of the bucket financially, or they have no idea how the internet works.
Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood

Comments

  • MrNexyMrNexy
    It would have been a smarter option for them to do a revenue split on the videos , that way both Nintendo the content owner and the video creator get rewarded and have a vested interest in promoting each other.
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    The problem, as much as anything else, is how they are discovering videos with Nintendo gameplay in them. They're using youtube bots to notify video makers that they must pay up to Nintendo. And those bots (as far as I understand) don't discriminate between a review or first impression of a Nintendo game and a Let's Play long play session without commentary.

    A Let's Play Long Play without much commentary might be questionable as far as copy right is concerned (I'm not a digital rights lawyer obviously), and maybe many Let's Plays don't do much to promote Nintendo's games (or even in some cases hurt the respective game's sales). Whereas a review of a game should be definitely be protected (again I'm not a digital rights lawyer).

    Though even if Nintendo tried to split the money (like @MrNexy suggests), the immediate repercussion would be fewer videos made of Nintendo games by professionals and a lot of professionally made Nintendo videos taken down. Asking professional Youtube partners to pay up retroactively for the videos they've made with Nintendo games, even a portion of that revenue, is tantamount to asking them to take down those videos.

    (Unless it isn't retroactively, I don't actually know how Youtube partners receive revenue from Youtube)

    So Nintendo would have only (or mostly) amateurs making videos about their games. Which would be kind of shitty for Nintendo. And it isn't like the amount of money Nintendo would receive could possibly be significant to them.

    Not to mention the repercussions of attacking the livelihood of many of their most devoted advocates, and farting over the whole of the Youtube community.
  • TuismTuism
    It seems to me that this is a standard practice - probably a business proposal initiated by PayPal for businesses to accept - rather than something initiated by Nintendo.

    I made a wedding video for my friends in Taiwan in which I used Gangnam Style, and I got one of those automated mails telling me that the record label for Psy will be serving ads in my video. Not that it got watched much, it just exists.

    And given Nintendo's track record and size in all things other than their own consoles, I'd say they just said yes to YouTube's proposal and forgot about it.
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    Nintendo is at it again: http://kotaku.com/nintendo-wont-let-top-fighting-game-tournament-stream-724293474?rev=1373410732&utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Twitter&utm_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow

    @Nintendo The Smash Bros community raised $95,000 in order to be a part of Evo (the world's largest fighting tournament). Fans of YOUR game who LOVE YOU. And you won't let them watch the event their money made possible. Why do you try so hard to make me hate you Nintendo!?!?!?

    (They haven't stopped fans playing Smash Bros Melee at Evo, just stopped the fights being shown on the internet, which is totally lame for fans who helped raise the money but cannot attend the event or want to rewatch any part of it).

    And just when I was thinking about getting a Wii U... (This itself won't stop me, it'll just make me feel really bad about it).
  • dislekciadislekcia
    Yeah, I just read about the stupidity of saying they can't stream SMB at Evo... What the actual fuck?

    Who's in charge of making these sorts of decisions at Nintendo? What have they got instead of their brain?
  • atomicdombatomicdomb
    I heard about this as well. Makes me kind of sad, was actually hoping for Nintendo to do better than they are doing so far with this console generation. This seems like a huge step backwards.

    Honestly thought that the wiiU was an innovative idea with reference to using the tablet screen for menus and such and the main TV for a primarily immersive gameplay experience...

  • TuismTuism
    Just went to the article, which said Nintendo has reversed their decision on this:
    http://kotaku.com/nintendo-backs-down-allows-smash-bros-streaming-725940804
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    It's so ridiculous. Obviously they were going to back down, it totally baffles me that Nintendo makes these appallingly stupid decisions to begin with.

    I hope a the bunch of people who have been directing this behavior have been fired. For Nintendo's sake.

    Nintendo's business strategy seems surprisingly rudderless. Their games are as solid as ever, but something must be broken near the top.
Sign In or Register to comment.