130°

Nintendo vs. YouTubers: Who’s right?

From the article, "On one hand, Nintendo has the right to make sure content it owns is portrayed in the way it wants. It also has the right to make money from its property. But there is a grey area here that I think goes beyond copyright law. Let’s Play videos are, in a way, a form of free advertising. Content creators build up loyal audiences and turn them on to games they may not have otherwise considered. These videos also result in additional game sales for video game companies. It’s reasonable to think game companies overlook copyright claims because it’s getting something much more valuable in return – new customers. They tell their friends, those friends tell other people and the trend continues. However, this is obviously about money to Nintendo more than anything else. And for that, it makes the company come off as petty."

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technologytell.com
SilentNegotiator3987d ago

Youtubers. If a person is going to settle for WATCHING a playthrough, they were never going to play it. You don't even remotely get the experience from watching as PLAYING.

And I agree with the "free advertising" aspect because there have been lots of times that I watched some of Let's Plays to decide whether or not to buy a game.

TripC503987d ago

Nintendo....Fo sho....See what I did there yo? I rhymed bro. Oh no. I can't stop the flow. From my head to my biggest toe. How to stop, I don't know. My maturity, it will never grow. Somebody hold me back, bring me to a slow, before I start a mini rap show. My mind is about to blow. I see the light, now it's all aglow. Tell my momma that I love her so.....Ah!! I'm sticking with my main man Miyamoto. Save me from King Koopa Mr. Mario. But not on Youtube that's a No No...Holy crappers its late I gotta go.

Jek_Porkins3987d ago

Sad fact is that Nintendo is right, the terms of service clearly state we don't actually own the rights to the games we buy. It just sucks that smaller Youtube people lose that piece of the pie. Wonder if Wii Viewer is going to take a hit?

krontaar3987d ago

Nintendo, obviously. I hate "lets plays", I really dont understand the point of them. Just play the game yourself. That and the fact that the people playing them are always obnoxious, entitled babies.

M-M3987d ago

I think "Lets Play" videos are for those who would rather watch the game being played(I have a few friends who like watching others play, instead of them doing it themselves), and/or they don't have enough money to buy every game they want, so they just watch people play the game. I do agree that there are too many of them though.

elhebbo163987d ago

So because you hate it other people have to? Lets plays are like free advertisment, some people dont know if they want to buy a guy until they see gameplay and thats totally understandable.

jon12343987d ago

some of the types of videos are cool, especially with games i love, watching my friends play fallout, and im also watching a guy on youtube play demon souls, another game i love so much, im willing to watch people play it

jessupj3987d ago

Quote from the last paragraph:

"Nintendo has a right to make content ID claims, but this was a bad move for public relations. People are going to view this situation as Nintendo taking money from blue collar YouTubers purely out of greed. That’s not the image Nintendo needs right now. It needs all the exposure and goodwill it can get (especially for the Wii U)"

I pretty much agree with that. While I believe Nintendo does have the right to place ID claims of videos of their first party games, by doing so they will start to be compared to the likes of MS and EA; greedy companies that don't have any passion for the industry, they're only concerned with pleasing shareholders.

Honestly, I have never owned a Nintendo console and as a core gamer the Wii U does not tempt me in the slightest, but at least I can admit Nintendo makes amazing games and has a real passion for the industry. If they keep going down this route I'll probably be putting them in the same category as Microsoft.

Embolado3987d ago

How can you have not owned a Nintendo console? I guess this was bound to happen, I officially feel old.

Nintendo has a track record of protecting the property fierce. Unfortunately I does paint them in a negative light in some eyes.

admiralvic3987d ago

The problem with this and most likely all of these rash "Nintendo is evil due to what they did to YouTube" articles is the fact that they're going to be extremely bias and to a degree, quite manipulative.

To give you an idea, the use of Blue-Collar (hard manual labor) is used incorrectly here, since this is without a doubt a White-Collar (office) job. However, by using the term Blue-Collar, they're needlessly trying to widen the gap between them and Nintendo to ideally make far worse than they really are.

The simple fact is, this whole argument is something of an oxymoron. Lets look at another quote from the article in question.

"Would I mind if someone took one of my YouTube videos, repackaged it and made money from it? Yes I would"

If you simply flip it to, "Would I mind if someone took my game, repackaged it and made money off it?", you basically have Nintendo's argument. The fact is, Nintendo made the game or at least published it and effectively hold all the rights. Nothing entitles me, you or them to make money off their work, even if your "experience is unique" or you add some "quality voice overs", since you're still effectively making money off Nintendo's copyrighted material. In the end, it's all circular logic and at the end of the day, no one here can deny Nintendo owns the content.

Now do I think this makes Nintendo look like a worse company? Believe it or not, I don't. In fact, I think it makes the YouTubers look far worse if you ask me. There are a lot of outstanding gamers (like myself) who upload videos to YouTube, simply because they want to get the word out there or enjoy doing it. If these people care more about the money (even if it's the principal, which sounds pretty petty), then it really brings into question why they're doing it in the first place. I game because I like to game, I upload videos because I enjoy doing that and I help those that need it because they need it, not because I can make a profit from their views.

3987d ago
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60°

8 of the most useless amiibo figures ever released

A new list goes over eight of the the most useless amiibo, ranging from the Shadow Mewtwo card to the Qbby figure.

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nintendoeverything.com
70°

What the game industry must do to prevent occupational burnout

Game industry working conditions are improving, but occupational burnout still runs amok. Studios and workers have the power to slow it down.

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gamedeveloper.com
anast1d 20h ago (Edited 1d 20h ago )

Quite being abusive to the workers and hold management accountable.

370°

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Has Reportedly Sold About Half of What FF7 Remake Did in the Same Timeframe

The acclaimed open world action RPG is "underperforming" where its sales are concerned, according to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad.

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gamingbolt.com
raWfodog3d ago

“Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Has Reportedly Sold About Half of What FF7 Remake Did in the Same Timeframe”

Makes sense to me since the current PS5 base is about half of what the PS4 base was when FFVII Remake released.

There were about 113 million PS4’s in consumers hands worldwide in 2020 when FFVII Remake was released (towards the beginning of COVID lockdown no less).

PS5 sales currently sits at about half of that (50-something million. We are not in COVID lockdown so many people are not as bored as they were 4 years ago and not in a rush to buy every video game coming out at release. Some PS4 owners may not have upgraded to PS5 yet and therefore can’t buy the sequel yet. And, of course, some who played Remake just might not be interested in Rebirth.

It just seems pretty disingenuous for an analyst to ‘analyze’ a situation when there are so many mitigating and unequal factors involved.

OtterX2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Yes, this and also finishing part 1 of the Final Fantasy Remake trilogy weighs heavily on it too. There's always a huge percentage of gamers who never finish the games they purchase. It's not always due to lack of enjoyment, but also life priorities etc. But factor that into the knowledge that Rebirth is a straight continuation of the story, and enjoyment lies heavily on having finished the first, you can begin to understand why not as many players jumped in. But absolutely too, the lesser install base of the PS5 played a huge role!

jjb19812d ago

I started the game when it came out, played about 2/3 of the way through and finished the rest in the last month before rebirth came out. There are just too many games and too much adulting to do.

Eonjay1d 12h ago

It sold about half... with about half as many PS5s available as PS4 had when it launched in 2020. So... the tie ratio is about the same. As PS5s continue to sale it should eventually match Remake. It's a really good game.

fr0sty1d 11h ago

I think there's going to be another wave of buyers that purchase the game once the third part of the trilogy is released, especially if they release it as a bundle.

jambola2d ago

Excuse me sir
Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad said this 🙄

Obscure_Observer2d ago

"Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad said this 🙄"

That guy is director of research & insights at Niko Partners.

https://nikopartners.com/

But he shouldn´t be trusted according to some "trust me bro" N4G random. Smh

2d ago
Barlos1d 23h ago (Edited 1d 23h ago )

Obscure Observer, so by your logic, we should also trust Pachter? Come on, it's like you're not even trying any more.

MrNinosan1d 16h ago

@Obscure
"We cover China, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam."

Yepp, very trusted and the biggest areas for videogame sales.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 16h ago
Tody_ZA1d 23h ago (Edited 1d 23h ago )

@raWfodog You'd think an analyst would catch these facts, but just goes to show what gaming analysts are made of. We've only in the last year moved to PS5 only games, in addition to the install base cross-gen has been around for years. There are a lot of PS4 players still over there. It's amazing when people compare things whilst isolating all the significant facts.

And Rebirth being a direct sequel is also valid: anecdotally, I've just started FF7 Remake a week ago and I'm loving it, on Chapter 8, but I'm obviously not going to buy Rebirth until I complete the story which will take time.

Ironmike1d 13h ago

But it's hasn't sold as much the articles om Google stating bit so what if it hasn't the game is still great better than remake which tailed of in middle-of-the- game

TheEroica1d 18h ago (Edited 1d 18h ago )

Apologists always know what to say... 👍
Is it possible to squeeze in one more excuses for FF7 sales? Go for it!

Tody_ZA1d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

@TheEroica Understand the meaning of the words you use or don't use them. An apologist argues in defense of something controversial or problematic. Pointing out relevant facts that an analysis or article did not take into account is constructive feedback and discussion. There are great movies, games and other forms of art that don't sell as expected, but later gain financial success.

Example? The Godfather Part 2 underperformed financially compared to its predecessor but is widely hailed as one of the greatest films and sequels of all time and is still influential to this day. And no, I'm not comparing Final Fantasy 7 to the Godfather, before you draw that strawman. There is one loose similarity however in that Rebirth is also overwhelmingly acclaimed and considered superior to the first.

Given the decision to split Final Fantasy VII into three separate games, of which Rebirth released exclusively for PS5 leaving the PS4 install base behind, and the final installment due in 2027, the sales performance is a bit more of a conversation than you're trying to make it out to be.

Crows901d 16h ago

Didn't even mention price increases across the board for all games...this causes all people to be more picky and limit game purchases

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1d 11h ago
GoodGuy093d ago

Unfortunate but it's the reality of sequels. And I simply just don't hear much people talk about rebirth and even remake as these titles just seem too hard to get into with many newcomers and old fans that are upset with the many changes.

Eonjay1d 12h ago

The games are really good and both acclaimed and Rebirth is even better than Remake with a 90+ metascore but if you don't want to 'hear' the praise... you probably wont.

TheProfessional1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

It's kind of ridiculous how some people here are just making stuff up to explain the low sales. Just because you bought the game and you like it doesn't mean it sold better than it did. Same with FFXVI.

rpvenom1d 4h ago

For me its cause now that i know it releases on pc.. id rather play it with mods on my pc than my ps5

Battlestar232d ago ShowReplies(8)
gold_drake2d ago

well, according to some other reports, it had 2.1 mio. players in the first week.

so, who to believe now.

ZeekQuattro2d ago

It's safe to say if it sold that Square would of made a sales milestone announcement like they did with past FF entries or other IPs in general. They did a FF16 sales update within 2 weeks after it launched for instance.

gold_drake2d ago

there is no way this game hasnt already sold more than remake.

there doesnt need to be an announcement for everything, especially not if they released several updates amd the ultimania.

people are too obsessed with sales

CrimsonWing692d ago

I think there’s a reason we haven’t seen a celebratory tweet from Square on the sales. It came out on Feb. 29th and it’s Apr. 13th right now… that ain’t a good sign. I think this one can reach 3 mill at some point but will be behind Remake, which when it comes to business, that ain’t good.

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