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I guess we need to clarify something after Nintendo's recent takedown of the Super Mario Bros. Commodore 64 remake.
From what we've seen so far Nintendo does NOT go after all fangames, rather they seem to mostly target remakes of existing Nintendo games.
From what we've seen so far Nintendo does NOT go after all fangames, rather they seem to mostly target remakes of existing Nintendo games.
This is probably because they don't want people to freely download games they are currently selling, which is also the reason why they went hard on ROM sharing sites.
And if you want examples, Full Screen Mario, Super Mario ReMaker, Super Mario 64 Unity Remake, Zelda 30 Year Tribute, AM2R and Super Mario Bros. C64 were all remakes of official Nintendo games that got some mainstream attention, and they all got taken down by Nintendo.
Pokemon fangames are an exception to this, but that's probably because The Pokemon Company is very strict with the Pokemon IP.
They also target fangames that make money, but that shouldn't really be surprising.
They also target fangames that make money, but that shouldn't really be surprising.
I can only think of a single fangame that got taken down for neither of these reasons, No Mario's Sky, which was a parody of a somewhat controversial game at the time.
So you might guess why Nintendo might not be happy with their mascot getting associated with it.
So you might guess why Nintendo might not be happy with their mascot getting associated with it.
What I'm trying to say is that if you want to make a Mario fangame but scared of Nintendo taking it down, don't be! As long as it's not a remake of an existing game there shouldn't really be any problems with it.
Not to mention that if Nintendo really hated fangames they would've shut us down first. I mean MFGG has existed for almost 18 years and a lot of fangames that originated from us have gone mainstream, so they are most definitely aware of our existence.
It's been almost a year so I thought this thread could get an update.
First of all, it seems like there are some things I didn't mention that seemed to have caused some confusion.
First of all, it seems like there are some things I didn't mention that seemed to have caused some confusion.
Super Mario Bros. X was NOT taken down by Nintendo, at least not directly. They did take down its website, but that was because the url was literally " http://supermariobros.org ".
It should be obvious why Nintendo was nok ok with this, and this is also why the older versions of the game tries to open Nintendo's site in its launcher. Nintendo owns the domain to the site now and the older versions still point to that domain.
Another thing worth mentioning is the Game Jolt situation. A few years ago Game Jolt received a take down notice from Nintendo, and had to remove nearly all Nintendo fangames they hosted there.
Some of these fangames were hosted on other platforms as well, including MFGG.
Some of these fangames were hosted on other platforms as well, including MFGG.
Yet we never received anything. I don't think any other site also did actually.
Well, the official reasoning Nintendo gave was the site having ads in it, and Game Jolt had this system where you could earn a portion of the ad revenue you generated from your game's page.
Well, the official reasoning Nintendo gave was the site having ads in it, and Game Jolt had this system where you could earn a portion of the ad revenue you generated from your game's page.
Essentially, Game Jolt was making it possible to make profit off of fangames, which is a big no no.
So Nintendo just gave them a list of Nintendo fangames they found on the site and requested their removal, which meant that innocent fangames had to get taken down as well.
So Nintendo just gave them a list of Nintendo fangames they found on the site and requested their removal, which meant that innocent fangames had to get taken down as well.
And lastly, yes, Mario Royale got taken down by Nintendo, but the whole game was essentially a remake of the original with battle royale elements added on top, so I guess in Nintendo's eyes it counts as a remake still.
Though actually... Mario Royale still somewhat exists, sort of, but it's in the hands of different developers, and this is despite Nintendo's past attempts of taking the game down.
See, here's the deal, when Nintendo takes down a fangame, all they do is to request its removal, and maybe take down the upload links. It's totally up to you if you want to remove it or not, but if you don't you are putting yourself in the risk of a legal action.
And such legal action can nearly ruin your life.
Scary, right?
Well, not really. Not only Nintendo has no past record of doing such thing (unlike some other companies) but you also have to be stupid to get yourself in such mess, since Nintendo gives you a warning beforehand.
Scary, right?
Well, not really. Not only Nintendo has no past record of doing such thing (unlike some other companies) but you also have to be stupid to get yourself in such mess, since Nintendo gives you a warning beforehand.
Not to mention that it's already hard to get your fangame noticed by Nintendo. There are a ton of fangames being made, only a fraction of them get any press coverage, and unfortunately a good chunk of those are remakes of existing Nintendo titles for whatever reason
So in short, no, it's not risky to make a Nintendo fangame. If you don't remake an existing game and don't try to make profit off of it, the risks of getting your fangame taken down is close to none.
And getting sued? Yeah don't worry about it.
And getting sued? Yeah don't worry about it.
Now you might be wondering, how do we know all this? Do we have uncles working at Nintendo?
Well no, this is all observation based on past events, the only thing we know for sure is why they took down those Game Jolt games, the rest is speculation.
So keep that in mind.
Well no, this is all observation based on past events, the only thing we know for sure is why they took down those Game Jolt games, the rest is speculation.
So keep that in mind.
