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I don't think this is unique to Nintendo though. I feel like it's a Japan Culture thing. There's a kick start project for Street Fighter history where a studio

I don't think this is unique to Nintendo though. I feel like it's a Japan Culture thing. There's a kick start project for Street Fighter history where a studio backed out of doing an interview due to it not being sanctioned by Capcom. When ever I need to work with companies in Japan, it's a struggle of bureaucracy and politics.

astrange 6y ago
Japan has strict IP laws with no concept of fair use, so you do need to get permission for a lot of things. That's part of why entertainment journalism like games/music is super bland there. (Of course there's also a big unofficial fanart for profit community, which some companies tolerate because it gets them an artist pipeline.)
- hnlmorg 6y ago
  Nintendo of America are just as aggressive and, as I've mentioned before, other Japanese games studios aren't nearly as proactive in shutting down fan content. Sega, for example, practically endorse it. As someone who's actively involved in the retro gaming community on Twitch, there is a very stark difference between Nintendo and almost every other studio.
  - astrange 6y ago
    The studios' US branches are usually nicer than the Japan ones; Nintendo is the rare US branch that's just as mean. Sega and Capcom will try to get you permabanned if you're Japanese and do a monetized stream of their games without permission: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2020-08-06/hololive-virtual-youtuber-mio-ookami-takes-1-month-livestreaming-hiatus-after-capcom-copyright-strike/.162622 https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2020-08-06/hololiv... And Atlus Japan won't give out streaming permissions even though Atlus US doesn't care at all.
    - hnlmorg 6y ago
      Granted I'm talking from a western perspective but what you've described is precisely my point.
- asiachick 6y ago
  This doesn't match the reality here. There are chains of stores (Melonbooks, Mandarake, K-Books, Toranoana) that have multiple store fronts that contain 60-70% unlicensed fan-fiction manga (comics). That fan fiction is 90% sex related. Those stores have been running for ~20yrs? No one is shutting them down. Further the biggest comic event Comiket, is 70% unlicensed fan-fiction manga
  - astrange 6y ago
    That's a large limited case where the copyright owners are allowing it. There are doujin that won't be resold after the first time (real people especially male idols) or that won't be sold in the first place (Nintendo). One of the most popular series (Touhou) got that way because it has a permissive copyright license for the game world. I believe Comiket has some kind of legal exemption for the event too, though I don't remember the details.
hnlmorg 6y ago
I don't think it's a uniquely Japanese thing but there's definitely a culture there. However my point is Nintendo aren't just passively refusing to work with fans, they're pro-actively shutting down fan projects, Twitch streams and YouTube review channels in ways that other Japanese studios are not. It's also not just Nintendo of Japan doing it, their American company also behaves the same. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_issues_mass_dmca_takedown_379_fan-made_games_forcibly_removed https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_issues_ma... https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/twitch_streamers_banned_for_playing_hyrule_warriors_age_of_calamity https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/twitch_streamers_b... I have friends who stream retro games via Twitch and the only they've ever had infractions from Twitch is when Nintendo have reported them for playing a retro Nintendo game without Nintendo's consent. There's also bunch of YouTube videos from disgruntled reviewers moaning about how they've been treated by Nintendo, which I can't find right now. So this isn't something I've just made up. It's a common gripe with the retro gaming and streaming community.
TulliusCicero 6y ago
On the other hand, Sega is known for being much, much friendlier with fan projects. Sometimes Sega even hires the developers, as was the case with Christian Whitehead, who did some Sonic ports for them, and then went on to make the critically acclaimed Sonic Mania.
- philliphaydon 6y ago
  Yeah, I have 2 sega books that sega gave the console designs for! It’s so cool!

astrange 6y ago

Japan has strict IP laws with no concept of fair use, so you do need to get permission for a lot of things. That's part of why entertainment journalism like games/music is super bland there. (Of course there's also a big unofficial fanart for profit community, which some companies tolerate because it gets them an artist pipeline.)

hnlmorg 6y ago
Nintendo of America are just as aggressive and, as I've mentioned before, other Japanese games studios aren't nearly as proactive in shutting down fan content. Sega, for example, practically endorse it. As someone who's actively involved in the retro gaming community on Twitch, there is a very stark difference between Nintendo and almost every other studio.
- astrange 6y ago
  The studios' US branches are usually nicer than the Japan ones; Nintendo is the rare US branch that's just as mean. Sega and Capcom will try to get you permabanned if you're Japanese and do a monetized stream of their games without permission: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2020-08-06/hololive-virtual-youtuber-mio-ookami-takes-1-month-livestreaming-hiatus-after-capcom-copyright-strike/.162622 https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2020-08-06/hololiv... And Atlus Japan won't give out streaming permissions even though Atlus US doesn't care at all.
  - hnlmorg 6y ago
    Granted I'm talking from a western perspective but what you've described is precisely my point.
asiachick 6y ago
This doesn't match the reality here. There are chains of stores (Melonbooks, Mandarake, K-Books, Toranoana) that have multiple store fronts that contain 60-70% unlicensed fan-fiction manga (comics). That fan fiction is 90% sex related. Those stores have been running for ~20yrs? No one is shutting them down. Further the biggest comic event Comiket, is 70% unlicensed fan-fiction manga
- astrange 6y ago
  That's a large limited case where the copyright owners are allowing it. There are doujin that won't be resold after the first time (real people especially male idols) or that won't be sold in the first place (Nintendo). One of the most popular series (Touhou) got that way because it has a permissive copyright license for the game world. I believe Comiket has some kind of legal exemption for the event too, though I don't remember the details.

hnlmorg 6y ago

I don't think it's a uniquely Japanese thing but there's definitely a culture there. However my point is Nintendo aren't just passively refusing to work with fans, they're pro-actively shutting down fan projects, Twitch streams and YouTube review channels in ways that other Japanese studios are not. It's also not just Nintendo of Japan doing it, their American company also behaves the same. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_issues_mass_dmca_takedown_379_fan-made_games_forcibly_removed https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_issues_ma... https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/twitch_streamers_banned_for_playing_hyrule_warriors_age_of_calamity https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/twitch_streamers_b... I have friends who stream retro games via Twitch and the only they've ever had infractions from Twitch is when Nintendo have reported them for playing a retro Nintendo game without Nintendo's consent. There's also bunch of YouTube videos from disgruntled reviewers moaning about how they've been treated by Nintendo, which I can't find right now. So this isn't something I've just made up. It's a common gripe with the retro gaming and streaming community.

TulliusCicero 6y ago

On the other hand, Sega is known for being much, much friendlier with fan projects. Sometimes Sega even hires the developers, as was the case with Christian Whitehead, who did some Sonic ports for them, and then went on to make the critically acclaimed Sonic Mania.

philliphaydon 6y ago
Yeah, I have 2 sega books that sega gave the console designs for! It’s so cool!