Nintendo tries to shut down Mario fan game. Is Zelda Classic next?

[ekolis]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/17/nintendo-says-this-amazing-super-mario-site-is-illegal-heres-why-it-shouldnt-be/

To be honest, I'm surprised Zelda Classic has survived this long. Is Nintendo finally toughening up?

[ctrl-alt-delete]

We need to hire this guy.

[Nicholas Steel]

I imagine the fact that it was open source is what killed it. I don't know why that would be why, but it's a pretty safe guess.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

It might be because he was collecting donations specifically for the development of the software.

[ekolis]

The donations might be a factor, yes.

ZC isn't open source?

[SUCCESSOR]

It might be because he was collecting donations specifically for the development of the software.

Bingo. Money involved -> shit-canned.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

Bingo. Money involved -> shit-canned.

Yeah, because Nintendo has specifically said they're ok with fan projects insofar as no one makes money from them. The donations were probably seen as a workaround, whether or not they actually were. This is the exact reason I refused to accept any donations I was offered when I made the Marauder Shields Video Game, because EA certainly would have come after me for that.

Stilll, I think the guy should try and talk it out with them through mediation or such. He'll have to drop the donations, no doubt, but I suspect Nintendo is more than willing to settle this rather than spend money suing him.

[CJC]

Nintendo IS aware of Zelda Classic, but I believe we have been ignored because the main draw of the program is the custom quest creation, not the emulation of the original game. Not that it represents any legal acknowledgement, but Nintendo even mentioned us in their magazine right after Twilight Princess was announced.


I think this guy got shut down for several reasons, the three biggest being donations, open-source code, and very limited 'extra content'. It sounds like his site was little more than a reverse-engineered copy. I don't know how his site was set up, but it may have also had advertisement revenue (which is revenue that legally belongs to Nintendo).




If Nintendo were to change their mind about Zelda Classic, we wouldn't be in tremendous danger financially as the program has never (and WILL NEVER) generated revenue. Legal action would be no more extensive than a cease-and-desist.
Also, it might be possible to relinquish the rights of the program to Nintendo, where they could offer it on their own web-page as a fan-service and generate their OWN advertisement revenue.

[Dashie]

Wait....who is new person for Nintendo? We know owner of Nintendo already dead. But who is replace for him?

[Zim]

I am actually C.E.O. of Nintendo.
Link, Zelda, Ganon, etc. are all trademarks and copyrighted, in opposition to that, with Z.C., the engine itself, source, and everything else are all original.
As long as noone is making any money selling things with these trademarks in them, then there's nothing to sue over, because there's no trading being done, it's all GIVING.
In addition to that, the acquisition, manufacture, and distribution of actual hardware and software is a totally different story than a bunch of people buying or otherwise obtaining their own equipment and writing their own games with pictures of Zelda and Link in them, as long as noone is undercutting the companies that sell materials, do programming, ship the products, retail the final products, etc. there's nothing being lost by Nintendo in those instances.

Also, if you own an actual picture of Link, you have the right to copy it as many times as you like.

[Zim]

I go through the same contradictions every time we have this discussion people:
There are some valid points, and mostly no reality to what the articles are about.

Key points:
A)I had pictures of people in suspenders that are from the early 1900's, or so it seems.
B)There is nothing copyrightable about a person going in a direction and jumping, or any other graphical representation thereof.
C)There is also nothing copywritable about any of the other characters in the game, since they are all generic pixelated graphical representations of other beings in REAL LIFE.
i)little furry creatures
ii)turtles and reptiles
iii)castles, flagpoles, bricks, flowers, fireworks, etc. etc. etc. yada bla bla blah.

And D: THE REAL KICKER TO THIS ARTICLES DEBUNKERY)

"Which would allow Full Screen Mario, and lots of projects like it, to reimagine old video games for a new generation, without facing legal threats from incumbents like Nintendo."
Taken straight from the article...
The word incumbents used in reference to Nintendo....
...not that they were and are innovators and leaders in the home computer console gaming system industry, not that they helped bring entertainment to people for years and years, developed and distributed fun products and loving character plots, etc.. now the term "incumbents" is being attached to describe Nintendo, whereas in reality NOBODY WOULD'VE EVER EVEN HEARD OF SMB in the first place without those guys, therefor the reality of that situation is that we are in fact the exact opposite of "incumbent" when it comes to you other people's realization of the entity known as Super Mario.

Thanks for your time. Have a nice day!

Post Script: FSM SUX!

[Xyvol]

I can seem to find any information about this elsewhere. The article itself links to a previous one the author wrote two hours earlier where he said (paraphrased) "gee this is a great game, I hope Nintendo doesn't shut it down."

I see nothing about a lawsuit, Nintendo has asked for the content to be removed. The original article is mostly bitching about copyright law. The author apparently thinks everyone should be making their own Mario games. The bottom line is Nintendo owns the Intellectual Property, and has the right to ask such content to be removed. Maybe it was the donations, or maybe Nintendo wants to do something similar. Who knows? We've been lucky with ZC, but it's still possible for the same to happen, even if it may be unlikely.

(P.S. - a note to the article author, smartphone console emulators ARE a thing already.)

[Zim]

Not only that, but when I did my initial side-scrolling script for ZC, I made a Mario lvl 1-1 mimick with it, and then told some people that I was going to make a Mario level randomizer, eventually.
Someone heard my idea and beat me to it, but according to PTO law, I still own the copyright to it anyway, because it's MY intellectual property since I am the originator of the concept.
Since I was appointed C.E.O. of Nintendo, that idea, concept, and Intellectual Property already belongs to Nintendo.
I wrote most of the scripts already, and described to the people how it would be a successful mario level randomizer by way of making sure there would always be a jumpable gap, pipe, secret brick, etc. to carry on with the level.
I'm not going to spend any time looking at what this FSM does, but I can imagine it does just that.

[Gleeok]

The source code for ZC is completely clean - they can't claim IP over things like the typed word 'Octorock', though distributed resources are obviously used without permission. If they haven't cared much about it in the height of it's popularity it's unlikely they will feel threatened at all by it in the future.


It might be because he was collecting donations specifically for the development of the software.

Idea: The "Church of ZC". We could accept donations and they would be tax-free.

[Danfun64]

...I think this guy got shut down for several reasons, the three biggest being donations, open-source code (emphasis mine), and very limited 'extra content'...

I doubt that open source is that big of a reason, as Super Mario War and Mari0 exist, both being open source, and neither have been directly "attacked" by Nintendo.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

I doubt that open source is that big of a reason, as Super Mario War and Mari0 exist, both being open source, and neither have been directly "attacked" by Nintendo.

It might make more sense if it were a newer game or it used an engine that Nintendo still uses to this day. But I don't think either applies here, so I gotta agree. The donations are likely the biggest reason, the limited extra content doesn't help, though there are enough places, legal or not, that you can play SMB for free on the net that I doubt it was a major concern for that specific reason.

[BFeely]

The site has just been taken down. The GitHub repo is still up though.

[Zeldaria12]

Please do not shut down. Zelda Classic. I like making Zelda fan made Games. Well i am working on it.

It is fun. Its free and awesome. So many fans love Zelda Classic, because they can experince making there own fan made zelda games. That in itself is amazing and cool.