Nintendois the videogame company that I would most associate with the dinosaurs, which is to say it’s something of a relic. This can work to the company’s benefit when it comes to its games, which have been consistently fun since its inception, but it more often ends up being detrimental—namely with its philosophy around fan content.
Whether it be striking down YouTube videos that are basically free promotion for its titles or taking down beloved fangames like AM2R or Pokémon Uranium, Nintendo still hasn’t quite caught up with the modern internet. Its possessiveness is unbecoming in an era when the biggest games are the ones that strike a chord with social media and fan creators.
A particular battlefield for this has been theSmashcommunity, where Nintendo hasn’t been able to stop itself from causing a mess. There’s a long and storied history of Nintendo meddling with the competitive scene, from last year’s fiascoinvolving Smash World Tourto shutting down The Big House’s online tournament in 2020. Now the videogame giant has upped the ante by introducing some sweeping guidelines that have got the Smash community up in arms. It’s another example of Nintendo refusing to move with the times.
Nintendo Wants Princess Peach To Look More Badass? It’s About Time.
Peach has been roughing baddies up since 1988. It’s high time she got a look to match the attitude.
Nintendo Won’t Pass Smash On
Meanwhile, organizers have dozens of strange rules to abide by while competitors will likely see prize pools diminished far below £9,000 if ticket sales can’t be used to cover prize costs.
Now, while normally I’d welcome regulation on just about any commercial initiative, this is regulation by a company, and we should be clear as to what this is about—Nintendo wants more control over its IPs. This is reiterated throughout the guidelines, with a robust set of rules against the use of “Nintendo trademarks or IP, including logos and character art” and “modified versions of Nintendo games”. The rules are foregrounded with the reasoning that Nintendo wants fans to be “engaging with our games, characters, and worlds in a way that positively supports other fans, players and Nintendo”. It seems that history is repeating itself, as Nintendo has a track record of making things generally more difficult for anyone who wants to create online content with its games, in a bid to not only maintain domain over their IP but to stop anyone but else from making money off its hoard.
That might be an ungenerous read, but the restrictions being laid down here certainly don’t seem to be doing much help. Prize caps at £9,000, participant caps at 300 for online events (200 for in-person events), and a ban on unofficial online servers (which would be all well and good if Nintendo couldfigure out how to run an online service) are some pretty specific and pretty restrictive regulations. Think about this from the perspective of an organizer or a participant: everything is to Nintendo’s benefit. Free promotion, the sale of hardware and software to everyone competing, and all without any monetary cost on its end. Meanwhile, organizers have dozens of strange rules to abide by while competitors will likely see prize pools diminished far below £9,000 if ticket sales can’t be used to cover prize costs.
Nintendo wants to have its cake and eat it too; it wants all the benefits that come from community events and fan engagement without the measly compromise of having to allow free use of its IPs.
I really can’t wrap my head around why Nintendo won’t just throw in the towel and stop being a perpetual buzzkill. All the cool kids in the indie scene are making their small games household names by letting fans run wild with their own creations, while companies likeEAandMicrosoft(who I otherwise have far worse things to say about than I do Nintendo) have consistently extended a hand to their creator communities and have pushed games to greater audiences than ever before. Of course, I don’t see Nintendo crumbling due to its decision-making in this area alone, but if it keeps clamping down on its community, it’s going to get left behind. Nintendo should leave fan content alone, provide available versions of old software (as well as better servers)instead of stamping out emulation, and work with the Smash community rather than wrestle with it. This company is long overdue for embracing the future.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
WHERE TO PLAY
