For all of their faults, it’s difficult to criticize Nintendo. After all this is a company which, for many of us, fueled our love of video games. They brought us Super Mario Bros. 3 and Metroid in our formative years, before opening our eyes with Ocarina of Time in the late ’90s, drastically improving our college hangovers with 4-player Smash Bros. Melee sessions and then bringing our family together in the living room for Wii Sports bowling sessions. It’s difficult to love a faceless corporation, but I’d wager that many of us share similar feelings for the Japanese gaming giant.
It’s a tough time for Ninty right now. The landscape of the gaming industry keeps rocketing in directions the company obviously do not feel comfortable with, from the growing popularity of online gaming to multimedia support, and their unwillingness to adapt has never been more apparent than in their current battle with YouTubers.
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Many of the most high-profile (and high-earning) YouTubers specialize in uploading footage of video games. One of these content creators is Joe Vargas, better known as Angry Joe on the video sharing site. Joe is currently the leading voice in an big backlash against Nintendo’s divisive Creators Program, a service set up by the company which sees them demanding 40% of all ad revenue generated on YouTube from videos containing footage of their games. While this program is divisive in and of itself, it has also attracted criticism due to Nintendo only allowing the program to be applicable for certain games, with them issuing copyright strikes against videos containing footage of titles that are not “supported” by the Creators Program. Nintendo raised the ire of Angry Joe when a video of him playing Mario Party 10, which is not eligible for the Creators Program, was given a copyright strike by the company. After receiving the strike, Joe stated that it would be his “last Nintendo video.”
The debate surrounding this issue is polarized. On one hand, there are those who believe that it is Nintendo’s right to earn money from videos containing footage of their software, just as it is their right to hit videos with copyright strikes that they deem to be in violation of YouTube’s policies regarding videos that contains copyrighted material. On the other hand, many believe that YouTubers essentially provide free advertising with their video game coverage, and that companies such as Nintendo that oppose videos of their games being uploaded onto the platform are guilty of possessing an outdated, archaic mindset that benefits neither them nor the consumer.
Is it okay for Nintendo to prohibit videos created by people who have bought their products?
Angry Joe has 2 million subscribers and 300+ million videos views on YouTube, so many consider his reach to be valuable to game developers who want to get their software in the public eye. As Nintendo continues to struggle with sales of the Wii U, many see the Creators Program as a ridiculous business decision that will lead to the company’s releases receiving less coverage than that of their peers, with various prominent YouTubers understandably unwilling to hand over 40% of their ad revenue to the company. But regardless of the practicality of Nintendo’s decision and how it will affect their bottom line financially, is it okay for them to limit and prohibit videos created by people who have bought their products, and who would therefore argue that it is their right to do whatever they wish with them?
Gamer Entitlement
When it comes to consumers of media, gamers in particular appear to be a particularly entitled bunch. This isn’t a sweeping generalization – many, like me, are just happy to play games and don’t believe that we are entitled to anything from developers – but others often behave like the creators of the games that they love somehow owe them something for their continued support of the work they do.
Take, for instance, the recent campaign set up on Change.org to get From Software to bring PS4-exclusive Bloodborne to the PC. “Everyone should be able to play your game,” the campaign’s description reads. “It is not fair that we are left out. You have betrayed us after releasing your last two games on PC.” It’s incredible to think that someone out there believes that From Software actively betrayed them by signing a deal with Sony to bring their latest game to their console, and that this person somehow received the support of over 40,500 people. That’s 40,500 people looking at the campaign on their desktop monitor, nodding in agreement at the thought of a developer making a – gasp – lucrative business deal with a publisher. How could they?!
It could be said that the backlash against Nintendo’s Creators Program is just another example of gamer entitlement. When YouTubers stare into their webcams and holler “we give you free advertising! How could you betray us by giving us a copyright strike?!” it certainly does come off as somewhat petulant, as if they’re suggesting that them uploading Let’s Plays is a selfless good deed. It is, of course, anything but; many YouTubers forge a great living off of commentating over gameplay footage, and while I’m not suggesting that this doesn’t require talent – no matter what you think of PewDiePie, his ability to reach and entertain such a wide audience is certainly deserving of praise – they wouldn’t have their jobs if it wasn’t for the creators of these games.
From this standpoint, Nintendo’s Creators Program seems fair; Nintendo makes a 60/40 split with YouTubers, with them taking 40% of the ad revenue due to their games being utilized in the videos, and YouTubers taking 60% for the commentary they provide. Though YouTubers will inevitably argue until they go blue in the face about how this is unfair due to them losing a cut of the money generated by these videos, it’s difficult to argue that they are in 100% ownership of the videos they produce considering that these videos would not exist if not for the games themselves. To this extent, the Creators Program makes sense. However, just because it is a program Nintendo is well within their rights to employ, doesn’t necessarily mean that they should.
Standing Out From The Crowd
Nintendo is currently the only company employing a system like the Creators Program. Though developers and publishers alike hit YouTubers with copyright strikes every passing day, some justified and some not, Ninty’s the first company to want a slice of the ad revenue pie and set YouTubers written limitations on the videos they can produce. This isn’t a wise move.
For better or for worse, games media in general is moving from written content to video. Editorials and features are being replaced by Let’s Plays, and in turn they are slowly being usurped by Twitch livestreams. As Nintendo is the only company who has stuck its neck on the line and is actively forcing YouTubers to take a pay cut on videos containing Nintendo footage that they release, this will inevitably lead to less Nintendo videos being created. It doesn’t matter whether or not Nintendo are within their rights to introduce the Creators Program, the bottom line is that it’s very silly for them to do so.
The Wii U is struggling financially but most of the first-party games released on the console are incredible. From Super Mario 3D World, to Mario Kart 8 and Bayonetta 2, there’s a wide library of stellar games available on the console that are each deserving of your attention, and make the Wii U a worthy purchase despite it being the distant underdog when compared with Microsoft and Sony’s current generation of home consoles. These games need to be seen and played by more people, though, in order for more members of the general public to be lured into laying down cash for a console that has been all but written off. This isn’t going to happen if Nintendo continues to enforce its strict Creators Program rules, thus leading to YouTubers giving up on broadcasting footage of Mario Party 10 and the like.
I am far less critical of Nintendo than many others, because despite their perceived stubbornness when it comes to “getting with the times,” they consistently knock it out of the park when it comes to making great games. However, I do wish that more people had their hands on a Wii U and realized just what they’re missing out on. The Creators Program is essentially blockading an outlet which Nintendo could utilize to easily increase coverage of their games, and therefore showcase the Wii U’s software in front of a wider audience. Unlike Joe, Nintendo’s targeting of YouTube and its content creators doesn’t make me Angry; it just makes me very disappointed.
