14 Times Nintendo Went After Its Fans

Many view Nintendo as synonymous with the video game industry. The company has tried to cultivate a family-friendly image by sticking to developing child-appropriate first-party games, but it has had its fair share of hiccups (per Nintendo Life). Not only did Nintendo get its start producing erotic playing cards, but it has also disappointed fans multiple times in the past by lying to them about specific products and company decisions, like releasing mobile games such as "Super Mario Run" and "Animal Crossing Pocket Camp."

Nintendo has also built a reputation for going after some of its most dedicated followers. It has taken an especially harsh stance on fan-created games and mods, and has even targeted events and YouTube videos. Public outcry has drawn a large amount of attention to many of the company's moves against these types of projects. Thanks to this publicity, at least 14 instances of Nintendo setting its sights (or lawyers) on fans have come to light.

The passing of YouTuber Etika in 2019 dealt a massive blow to Nintendo's online community. In the wake of Etika's death by suicide at the age of 29, one content creator named Alex Blake began selling Etika-themed Joy-Con shells ("Etikons") for Switch controllers on Indiegogo. While the campaign commemorated Etika's impact on his audience, it also served as a charity event. Based on the project page, Blake planned to donate 65% of the sale price of each unit to the JED Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses its efforts on helping young people with their mental health. 

According to Blake, Nintendo later sent him a cease and desist letter to force him to immediately stop selling the Joy-Con shells. Blake clarified that the letter also pointed towards some of the other designs he sold, but, as he told The Independent, he believed Nintendo's main issue had to do with the with the word "Joy-Con" appearing on the Etikons. It seems Blake resolved the problem by changing aspects of the shell design, later launching another successful Etikon Indiegogo campaign, though at least one individual has called his motivations and methods into question.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Over the decades, "Pokémon" has become a pillar of pop culture, with countless fans embarking on journeys to become Pokémon Masters throughout the series' numerous releases. While Nintendo makes sure to release plenty of "Pokémon" titles each year, fans have also taken to developing mods and their own games to either customize their experience or provide their unique takes on the franchise. 

One such fan effort went by the name "Pokénet." An MMO inspired by older entries from the IP, it tied together the Johto and Kanto regions from the first two generations, allowing players to explore a larger world than ever before at the time of its development. However, according to Engadget, Nintendo went after the game in 2010, just before it launched an open beta. The creators ultimately removed "Pokénet" from the internet, but thousands of players managed to take part in the unique experience before Nintendo shut the MMO down.

One of the more infamous Nintendo fan games, "Fullscreen Mario" re-created 1985's "Super Mario Bros." in its entirety and allowed fans to play the title right in their internet browser. However, it also added some features of its own. It offered the ability for players to make their own levels using its included assets, and could even randomly generate new levels for players to tackle, giving it a ton of content.

Nintendo took action to see the game removed from its web page, preventing it from being played online. According to TorrentFreak, Nintendo then went on to have the title's source code removed from GitHub, erasing it from the internet completely. It is no surprise that Nintendo wanted to remove the project, especially since it offered an alternative to the first "Super Mario Bros." However, its creator, Josh Goldberg, saw the company's motivations in a different light, insinuating to The Washington Post that Nintendo essentially stole his ideas to use in "Super Mario Maker." Despite the perceived similarities between the two, no hard evidence confirming this claim ever arose.

"No Mario's Sky" was a short fan-made experience that introduced elements from "No Man's Sky" to the "Super Mario Bros." formula to create something new. The game had a charming visual design, and allowed players to fly from level to level in a starship. Each level in "No Mario's Sky" was rounded like a planet and filled with Goombas and other enemies from throughout the "Super Mario" franchise. 

With how directly it took elements from "Super Mario," it did not take long for Nintendo to take action against the project. The company sent a DMCA to the game's creators, ASMB Games. According to GameSpot, the title managed to rebrand, changing its name to "DMCA's Sky," and live on. The developers replaced Mario with Spaceman Finn, with the player instead trying to save Princess Mango rather than Princess Peach. It is still available to download. 

"Super Mario 64" was a groundbreaking release that saw the franchise evolving from its 2D origins. The game's reinterpretation of a classic saw it building a large fanbase that continues until this day. One of those fans, Erik Ross, sought to show how much he loved the title by re-creating its first world entirely in Unity (via GameSpot). The game was entirely playable in an internet browser, and offered fans a new way to see the iconic level. 

Ross also claimed that the majority of the assets in the game were his own. "All the art and animations were done by myself, with the exception of the Mario, Goomba and Power Star meshes, which are ripped (without animations) from 'Super Mario Galaxy,'" Ross explained via his blog. "A large portion of the sounds are from existing 'Mario' games ..." Ultimately, the project was taken down by Nintendo – both its browser version and downloadable incarnation. 

Another browser-based fan title that Nintendo made sure to remove from the internet was "Zelda 30 Tribute." Made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of "The Legend of Zelda," the game re-created the franchise's genesis with a new isometric perspective and voxel-based graphics (via Eurogamer). It gave the entry a beautiful new look that paid homage to the visuals of the original while offering fans a slightly new way to experience it. 

However, the project was doomed to be nuked by Nintendo before the series anniversary came. Two longtime Nintendo fans developed the title and it only included a small slice of the original. In a statement on the official website, the developers said that they understood Nintendo taking the game down to "protect [its] IP" and that making the it still gave them valuable experience. However, fans can no longer enjoy "Zelda 30 Tribute" for themselves. 

Perhaps the least surprising fan project that Nintendo worked to shut down was a game that allowed players to hunt Pokémon in a first-person shooter. The title was developed in Unreal Engine by Reddit user Dragon_GameDev2. The developer released numerous videos and gifs showing footage of modern weaponry being used to massacre Pokémon in bloody shooting sprees. 

Given how violent the FPS was, Nintendo likely didn't want it infringing on its carefully curated brand, especially since it used models of trademarked Pokémon. However, the game never released, so Nintendo instead went after every website hosting its videos and trailers. Despite this, Kotaku, which reported on the shutdown, still has some footage of the experience. According to the outlet, "Pokémon x FPS" was only a small project Dragon_GameDev2 made as part of a challenge to create one game a month for a full year.