New twist in the ‘Nintendo never jokes with its intellectual property’ series: the Japanese firm has had scans of an old Super Mario 64 strategy guide removed. Yes, yes, scans…
If you follow Nintendo news closely, you know how uncompromising the Japanese firm is with its intellectual property. At the slightest fan project articulated around one of its strong brands, the multinational acts with the aim of eliminating everything. To the point of falling into ridicule… Indeed, as reported in an article by Kotaku published on March 24, Nintendo outright had scans of a strategy guide of Super Mario 64.
The worst ? Said strategic guide is new to us: it was released in 1996, only in Japan. Therefore, the only way to consult it is to find a copy on auction sites (for a very high price). These scans, offered by Comfort Food Video Games on the Internet Archive, were another way to access them — without paying anything. In short, Nintendo is absolutely no gift.
Nintendo’s intransigence
Comfort Food Video Games obviously deplores the sentence – irrevocable –, considering that it cannot fight against the power of Nintendo. He laments: Honestly, I’d like to challenge its legitimacy since I wonder how Nintendo of America can relate to a strategy guide licensed from Nintendo of Japan, but I can’t argue against Nintendo’s forensic team. It’s really disappointing. »
If Comfort Food Video Games fully understands the notion of intellectual property, he believes that these scans of a document dating back more than 20 years do not in any way affect Nintendo’s image. At worst, they penalized those who resell a physical copy of the guide for huge sums – which no one regretted. ” I just wanted to show my love for this amazing guide and, in turn, my love for the company. I’m new to video game preservation and find it depressing to see people spend time and money preserving history when companies like Nintendo don’t do anything to help. In fact, they hinder this cause “, concludes the interested party.
Nintendo’s decision is all the more deplorable as the strategy guide in question is a real little nugget. In addition to giving valuable advice to players, it includes a real overview of the levels thanks to photos of dioramas made in 3D (the impression of relief is sensational). It really is a great collector’s item, worth archiving for fans to enjoy without owning it. Except that Nintendo is not of this opinion.