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AM2R and Poke Uranium Both Removed From the Game Awards "Best Fan Creation" Category
- Thread starter dancrane212
- Start date
NaDannMaGoGo
Member
Pokemon Uranium also had this guy. There were a bunch of great and a bunch of bad sprites frankly.
Still raises the question on why people make games using IPs of other games.
Surely Nintendo would have no grounds if a game didn't use the name or likeness...but just stole the entire concept of Pokémon or Metroid.
It can be done, just look at Freedom Planet being almost like Sonic. You can pay homage without using the name. Thats really always my thoughts on Copyright.
Surely Nintendo would have no grounds if a game didn't use the name or likeness...but just stole the entire concept of Pokémon or Metroid.
It can be done, just look at Freedom Planet being almost like Sonic. You can pay homage without using the name. Thats really always my thoughts on Copyright.
Theanine3D
Member
Most popular reasons:
- To pay homage to a series that the fan holds dear
- For educational reasons, to learn game development
- For attention and fame
Yeah, making original work is always the best way to go. No doubt. But there also shouldn't be anything wrong with making a fan homage project as long as you aren't profiting off the IP and/or blatantly insulting the original creator's message/intention.
It's worse. Way worse.
Konami prevented Kojima from attending, but they didn't prevent him from winning the award. The equivalent would be Nintendo stating "ok, if AM2R wins the developers can't collect their award", which would be incredibly shitty too.
This is Nintendo directly interfering with who can win a category, and basically removes any merit these awards might have. If big publishers/sponsors get a direct say in who wins and loses, then what's even the point?
It's always funny seeing people get mad at major companies over fanmade games. Nintendo has a right to protect their IPs however they want. It's always a risk creating fanmade games and nothing that happens after it's made public should come as a surprise.
UB designs look straight out of SMT. There's nothing bad about them
UB designs look straight out of SMT. There's nothing bad about them
Triggerhappytel
Member
He's not going to "call out" one of the sponsors though. The Game Awards is his baby, right, so he must have been complicit in this?
You can do it for personal educational reasons (which was the original reason, the dev of AM2R was making the fan game), small events or as a giveaway for friends, but as soon as you publish something to the public, you're go against copyright laws. No matter the price (free or not), you take away public space and become an competitioner in the owners market with there own IP.
All the feedback was and is still damaging for Nintendo's brand and plans. Escpailly in regards of Federation Force, which thanks to AM2R looked even worse. The guy pretty much created a lot of problems for Nintendo and foil with there plans. That's why you should get in contact with a company, if you want release something like this to the public. Everything else is unrespectful, similar people, who selling copycats.
People still forget, that the Internet is a public space. Even if it doesn't look that way.
If the dev of AM2R doesn't like the takedown, he Can sue Nintendo. If you don't like the copyright laws, either get involved into politics or vote for people, who agree with your views. Hate the gane, but not the players.
Federation Force being shit, doesn't matter. We don't go out and kill people, because we believe them to be guilty. Most countries have (hopefully fair) systems, which resolve those problems. Use them or change them.
I don't want to defend Nintendo, because it still feels like a bad move, they way the handle the situation. But I can't see them resolve it in a way, which isn't in anyway damaging for them.
tornjaw
Member
I absolutely agree, but I believe that timing was also a significant factor here. AM2R released on August 6th, 2016. Metroid Prime: Federation Force released on August 19th, 2016, less than two weeks later.
I think that if AM2R had been released, say 6 months, prior to MP:FF, it would be a very different story. That game could have driven up some interest in the Metroid franchise and for MP:FF despite a large portion of the audience not being particularly happy with what they had seen so far.
However, this is all moot, as Metroid is an Nintendo own IP and they have the right to shut these things down, regardless if it could have been in their favor or not.
Thats a nice wish you have there. I sincerely hope you are active politically, because thats what its going to take to make that wish of yours more than just a wish. You are on the wrong side of the law on this. There's going to need to be major changes for this desire of yours to see reality. Message board posts ain't going to solve it.
Its tradition. Homage games didn't start this gen, or last gen or even last decade. They have been around forever. The only thing that's changed is that now there's groups of gamers that think that these games somehow have legal rights that they very clearly DONT. There's a similar thing going on these days with illegally ran private servers in the PC space. Once upon a time people knew/expected that if they were illegally using an IP that a C&D could arrive any moment. These days though there's a bunch of folks that seem to think and or expect otherwise for some reason.
I dont know when this rift of understanding began, but its baffling as fuck. I have enjoyed many unofficial game servers and homage games and still do to this day. But Im under no illusion that they cant be shutdown at any given moment.
Jimmyfenix
Member
Exploratory
Banned
Makes me honesty want to not purchase a switch. Gg Nintendo.
Nintendo wishes they could be as competent as Disney.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
Disney, so evil and competent, they might be the central force at the heart of pushing back the expiration date of IP to protect Mickey.
sixteen-bit
Member
looks like these folks will be happy
JimJamJones
Member
There's a difference between competent and evil.
LordRaptor
Member
An uncontested C&D is tacit admission that it is valid.
Its legally the same as pirate software as a result.
It's "intimidation" in as much as any legal threat is; like suing for defamation if you're publically spreading lies about someone, or the threat of being arrested if you attack someone.
Your bias on this is super fucking clear in this topic, but don't pretend C&Ded software is basically okay legally to distribute just because you like it.
There's definitely an argument to be made winning awards is profiting from an IP.
It is certainly gaining more exposure at the expense of other - I would argue more deserving - candidates.
Just because they have the rights to do it doesn't mean that it's not bullshit.
Nobody wins her and nintendo is hurting themself as well.
Geoff, listen to this man.
Serenitynow
Member
How is Nintendo hurting themselves?
Not only are the pissing of the old fans, the are missing a golden opportunity of gaining new ones.
What are the people that really like AM2R are going to do once they are finished?
Checking out the orginal or the other metroid games.
You know, like the ones that Nintendo is trying to sell right now on the eShop.
SliceSabre
Banned
They aren't in general.
The only people Nintendo are upsetting are the super video game nerds like us here on Gaf which represent a minority of a minority of gamers. The general public, hell the general gaming public doesn't know or care about this sort of stuff.
People are kidding themselves if they think Nintendo is actually going to get any real blowback about this.
Lionel Richie
Member
The involuntary joke here is that Nintendo is by ridiculously far the closest thing we have to Disney in the videogame industry.
NaDannMaGoGo
Member
Neat, AM2R has customizable hotkeys, this should be good. Metroid 2 was my first Metroid experience and damn if it wasn't one of the most immersive games I've played. Dunno why I forgot about this fangame but at least I can enjoy it now :>
But they could be empowering fangames while benefitting from them like their smarter competitors, see Sega, Capcom, Valve.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
The "it's their right" line of argument is an odd one in a way. They have the right to request the game be taken down for download, okay, sure.
But they have the right to tell a media production not to acknowledge it? That seems more murky to me and I'd like to hear some actual legal precedent for it.
But they have the right to tell a media production not to acknowledge it? That seems more murky to me and I'd like to hear some actual legal precedent for it.
Exploratory
Banned
People have "the right" to do all types of shit but we condemn them anyway. So do companies and Nintendo is no different so why are people pulling a leave Nintendo alone?
SliceSabre
Banned
While Valve is certainly doing well, the reason for their current success is for many different reasons. Friendliness toward fangames is certainly one of them but who know how important?
Sega and Capcom? I don't see them benefiting all that much from being friendly to fangames. Goodwill is nice but it doesn't pay the bills.
Linkstrikesback
Member
You uh, realise the next big 2d sonic game is the end result of a collaboration between them and a person who started out on fanworks, right?
Of course no way can anywhere near every single fanworks end like that and it would be crazy to suggest that, but it certainly seems better than what nintendo is doing.
RecRoulette
Member
Sonic Mania? Also Sega sold a ton of Genesis games on steam after they let people mod them.
Eolz
Member
Emulators have nothing to do with the topic though. Should have never been on xbox (same for mobile emulators).
This is detrimental to their business, unlike AM2R.
SliceSabre
Banned
I know about Sonic Mania and the people behind it and withheld mentioning it because it is unreleased and we don't even know if it'll be good. We've been burned countless times by Sonic games that looked good in previews then the game comes out and...
This is going far beyond protecting their IP as the law allows. They shutdown distribution on the games, that's expected. Trying to shutdown discussion and praise of these games afterward is ridiculous. The fact that they have to black mail, but not black mail The Game Awards illustrates just much they're going overboard.
Also I'm sure every other owner of IPs have lost their rights when fan projects are successfully made for those games.
Serenitynow
Member
Because from the perspective of a business with some of the most valuable IP in the world that has an official stance on no fangames that could potentially tarnish those IP, asking the Game Awards not to highlight fangames in front of millions of people makes sense, especially considering Nintendo sponsors the event. And yet people just love finding things to rag on Nintendo about, so of course this is an "issue." Take your emotions out of it though and it's an easy thing to defend. The last thing Nintendo wants is people feeling empowered to make more fangames, as that will just result in a bigger headache for them.
MisterHero
Super Member
They can't stop people from talking about a fangame, but an awards show is giving it commercial/professional recognition. Fanarts are mostly tolerated when they don't generate income/competition.
MisterHero
Super Member
A "Best fanwork" is a highly irresponsible idea anyways. They should've asked Nintendo's approval during the nomination process. Geoff getting snarky with Nintendo afterwards would just be unprofessional.
The reality is that the category should have probably just been "best mod" to begin with.
Yeah, I doubt very much Nintendo have any sort of legal "right" to do this.
If they're applying pressure as a sponsor to alter the results of the awards, it basically makes the whole TGAs look as worthless as some people thought they already were.
If awards can be bought and sold through sponsorship (which is exactly what this looks like until Geoff or somebody comes forward and explains otherwise, and the appearance of impropriety is as bad as actual impropriety) then what's even the point?
Aren't Brutal DOOM and Enderal made with officially licenced toolsets? Like, DOOM is a source port with enhanced features and Enderal a mod using the Toolkit. I could see why AM2R and Pokémon Uranium wouldn't fit in the category to begin with. Why not call it "best mod" if they are not listing any movie, comic or anything that isn't a mod?
Lionel Richie
Member
It's more likely they made a request which was promptly accepted by the show with them being I believe sponsored by Nintendo.
Some of you are acting like Nintendo locked Geoff in a dungeon and proceeded to beat the crap out of him until he got these games out of the ballot. Both TGA and Nintendo have a fuckton of lawyers advising them so you bet this outcome was in the legal and business interest of both parties, even if it kind of sucks for the creators here.
Serenitynow
Member
Nintendo removed their games from the category. They clearly aren't trying to buy the award so... they are trying to sell it to Doom?
do you realize that every award/competition ever has sponsor pressure right? do you think they give money to do not have input in the whole thing?
LordRaptor
Member
That assumes that Nintendo are doing this, and its not just the awards themselves deciding titles that have been C&Ded for copyright infringement should not be eligible.
I mean, if there was a "best digital content provider platform" category, and The Pirate Bay got a lot of write in votes, I would expect it to be removed an ineligible for obvious reasons.
That would be a more restrictive catagory - "fan work" would allow for things like machinima to be included, for example
Diprosalic
Banned
Yes. Thank you.
Uranium is horrible dreck. The story is cringeworthy and the design is attrocious. I really don't get how this got nominated in the first place when there's so much good stuff out there.