Nintendo mods, and the company’s stance on the preservation of their games – i.e. emulators and such – has once again landed them in hot water.
This time, reports suggest that the company is arguing that fan-made modifications don’t qualify as “real games”.
The statement surfaced in relation to ongoing legal disputes about Pokémon-like Palworld, but it has some wider implications, especially when you consider Nintendo’s long and exhausting history of shutting down fan projects that modders have poured thousands of unpaid hours into – all without the prospect of ever getting paid for it.
For many players, this comes across less as a defense of intellectual property, and more as another reminder that Nintendo always prioritizes protecting its bottom line, over embracing the communities that – arguably – keep older games alive.
Nintendo Mods a No-Go, and it’s Crushing Creativity
We’re sure you’re aware, but this isn’t the first time Nintendo emulators, mods and fan projects have been has aggressively pursued.
Think of the Ocarina of Time remake, Pokémon Uranium, or even something as innocent as the countless Mario fan games – the Japanese company has repeatedly flexed its legal muscle to take down projects, which, in our humble opinion, posed no actual competition to Nintendo’s official releases.
It doesn’t stop there, as even emulation tools for PC and Android, which are often the only real way to preserve old software that isn’t even in production anymore mind you, are targeted with lawsuits and brutal takedowns.
The cherry on top is this recent statement, however, because by downplaying and downright mocking mods, by labeling as “not real games”, the company is at risk of alienating the very people who keep their legacy relevant.
Fans Deserve Better Than Legal Threats
It’s not like Nintendo fans are requesting or demanding free access to Nintendo’s latest and greatest – they’re fighting to preserve and even celebrate a medium that, unlike film or music often disappears as shovelware in the best case, or just ceases to exist entirely in its worst case.
Hardware generations shift, and if a company like Nintendo doesn’t do its best to make these games available on their own storefront (which players would most likely be happy to even pay for), we feel like the Japanese company is missing out on a big opportunity to make even more cash.
But this isn’t the worst thing that comes out of lawsuits and threats like that, you’re actively resenting your most passionate supporters, by effectively marking them criminals – when all they did was use their own free time, to create something they love and ultimately showing the appreciation for what your company created back in the day.
