YouTuber says Nintendo is unfairly targeting Homebrew videos

Over the weekend, YouTuber's famous Vintage Vintage game announced that Nintendo had posted several of its videos on the emulation of old games on the Switch, some with hundreds of thousands of views, for copyright infringement. d & # 39; author. YouTube automatically deletes videos hit by keystrokes. He said he tried to challenge the claims, but to no avail, and is taking steps to transfer the videos elsewhere.

Discussing the problem in a new video, Modern Vintage Gamer, whose real name is Dimitris Giannakis, said Nintendo had posted four of his older videos last week. These videos include a video titled "Homebrew on the Nintendo Switch, which goes to the next level", with 290,150 views, and "Homebrew on the Nintendo Switch, updated 2019 – N64, Half Life, etc.".

All videos deal with problems with Switch homebrew, which involves running unauthorized software, including emulators for older games, on the platform. Giannakis stated that the reasons given by Nintendo for copyright strikes were the inclusion of small amounts of game sequences taken from games such as Super Mario 64 and The legend of Zelda: a link to the past.

"These are all Homebrew Switch videos and the refund claims are, for example, from Mario Kart, Splatoon 2which, by the way, I have no Splatoon 2 images in one of my videos, and Link to the past, "He said in the video.According to Giannakis, his claims against his videos were due to screenshots or images of games being played on an emulator that was listed there Giannakis claims that his videos fall under fair dealing and should not be subject to copyright, adding that the game he uses on Switch is a ROM on which he owns original copies and that he 39, it is not hacked.

Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Previously, the company was very strict about how their game sequences could be used on YouTube, issuing takedown notices against content creators for things such as Let's Plays, and even, in some cases, putting online games back online. future game trailers. Last November, however, Nintendo announced a less rigid set of guidelines for content creators. "We encourage you to use Nintendo game content in videos and images incorporating your creative contribution and comments," states the current rules, although Nintendo reserves the right to remove content that it believes violates these policies. instructions.

The Homebrew Switch scene has come a long way since the console release in March 2017. Last October, moders announced they had found a way to get RetroArch, a program that hosts many video game emulators in an interface, operating on hacked Switches. This is the type of software that Giannakis had talked about in the videos reported by Nintendo.

It is unclear why Nintendo has waited so far to file a copyright strike against some of Giannakis' content, but he said Kotaku he is not the only person. On April 7th, YouTuber Tech James posted a video explaining that it would no longer create tutorials on how to install custom firmware on the Switch due to Nintendo removal notifications. Change Skullator NZ hacker, who had the same problem last year, finally moved his job to Twitch to work around the problem.

"Nintendo has never understood emulation," Giannakis said. Kotaku in an email. "They see it as a threat." He said that Nintendo game holders should be able to use the game on any emulator of their choice, "without fear of repercussion".

Giannakis said that he was planning to focus his channel on mods for older consoles and that he would no longer organize videos on the switch until it became a traditional platform. "Although I have received good advice on how to mitigate potential future copyright claims, unfortunately the threat is still there and it's just not worth it," he said. .