Nintendo of America Issues Takedown Request on AM2R, Ending the Project

I still don't quite understand why this keeps happening...

Meanwhile I will continue to laugh at Metroid fans.

It's okay, guys! According to research, Nintendo needs to protect the brand that they haven't used properly in nearly a decade! Think about it! AM2R could've killed Metriod!

*ifyoucantdetectsarcasmidontknowwhaticandoforyou

@PigmaskColonel Because it is illegal to use copyrighted material in your projects.

It's all over for the unknown soldier... that will live on forever. I already send a message on twitter, but I restated it here: Thanks for all the hard work and dedication DoctorM64 put into the project.

I dunno why people would even complain now, the game is out, and if you want a copy just ask someone else for the files.

Well done, Nintendo - now you can go back and have your genius people create more digital content for our beloved miitomo cage.

No Metroid game on NX = no buy

Well it's their right.

Nintendo doesn't think these things through very much it seems.

I hope all of the business practices they've set in place come back to bite them.

And this kind of mindset is why I hate Nintendo. Taking down a wonderful project rather than embracing it. This disgusts me.

This whole situation is very sad and bad PR for Nintendo. They should try to find a more favourable solution. Like coming to some sort of agreement and maybe putting it on the eShop. This, a free nicely updated tribute to the original gets shot down, a game people actually wanted and enjoyed. Meanwhile, Metroid Prime: Frankenstein Farce is allowed roam free to terrorise the masses.

@LegendOfPokemon Than why are you on NINTENDO Life???

@PieNinja I don't see any reason why he can't be here. You can love Nintendo's games but hate their business practices.

It's their IP. The developer knew this before starting.

The only reason they filed the DMCA claim is because they were afraid that people would make a better Metroid game than that pile of crap that is Federation Farce.

I get it an all. But jesus Ninty can be a right sh*tty company sometimes.

Again, I get it, but, jaysus.

Well, this was to be expected. AM2R was basically a better version of Metroid 2 for free, which is a game they're selling, so it makes sense that they would take it down.

Still, I feel really bad for the developer right now. Hopefully, they won't give up game development because of this. I wonder how they would handle a original IP.

Now that Nintendo of America has taken care of this vile scumbag who was undoubtedly losing them millions in potential VC sales the guys at Nintendo can finally make the games metroid fans really want. Or just have samus as DLC in the next mario kart. Making games is alot of money.

@Phin68 Protecting your own property is wrong now? Sounds like socialism to me.

@Zanark To be fair what would be the point of spending money on trademarks/copyrights, if you just let everyone use your characters.

The guy was stupid wasting all the years away and effort to make it, seriously. Everybody knows damn well how Nintendo acts with projects like this.

Although it shows how stupid at the same time Nintendo is, since they keep on going with killing the franchise and it's succesful strategy so far.
One more crap like federation farce and the franchise will be dead.

Nintendo of America issues a Nintendo of America.

Well, it was to be expected, but at least the Gravity Suit bug and other minor improvements were made in time.

@Dave24 "Wasting all the years"

He didn't waste anything. He learned how to program/code and has now stated he managed to get a job in programming from learning how to make the game.

@MarcelRguez I'm thinking a port of Federation Force where you get to unlock playable Samus w /her amiibo. That, or Metroid Shuffle, the match 3 game. Metroid Pinball 2?

I'm sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes.

Dissapointing... but yeah, that's how Nintendo choose to handle this...

Did they had to take action: Yes.
Could they have handle this differently: Yes.
Do i have any hope they will do what's best for them and the fans in this very situation: No.

I actually can't tell if Nintendo are simply being protective towards the Metroid IP and this is "just business", or this is done out of mere spite due to AM2R "out-metroiding" Federation Force.

@rjejr Hey. HEY. Metroid Prime Pinball was actually VERY well done and extremely fun. But it was also bookended in its release by other legitimate Metroid games, so it has that advantage over Federation Force.

@3MonthBeef True, but he wasn't able to add more to it, like he wanted to. Still, I guess you're right.

@AlexSora89 Definitely the latter. If they had any business sense they'd have come to an agreement with Doc instead of shutting him down.

@Billsama Not when the project is FREE, as this one was.

@huxxny
Actually, they did NOT have to take action, as he wasn't making any money off of their IP.

It's a fantastic game. Of course it's against the law to do what he did. I get it. But it's a damn shame Nintendo can't manage to do better. Federation Force? Meh... Other M? Fooey. 30 year anniversary of my favorite franchise and they delivered a wannabe Metroid game? Thanks but no thanks. For those who haven't played AM2R, Its fantastic and the music is pure Super Metroid...

That "remake" was non-profit/for free and usually only piece of sh companies would go after that stuff. There are examples of whole franchises tolerated to be copied/remade or whatever (see e.g. Star Trek fan movies, games etc.). We are not talking about some biological code or virus but a freaking remake of a 8-bit game.

Following the logic of some Nintendo hooligans around here who defend them no matter what - why dont you go and pay Nintendo some fees for even using their pictures in your profile, pay any company that you are "abusing" on a daily basis for free .....surreal some of the crap on here, people should technically evolve but here some seem to lose braincells with time or are getting paid by Nintendo directly.

Jokes on Nintendo! I already downloaded it!

Good. This should have never been done in the first place.

@Simbabbad Do shut up.

Nintendo probably think this fan remake is the reason Federation Force isn't selling... Nothing to do with it being a mediocre spin-off of a much neglected IP.

@PieNinja Because I like Nintendo's games (mostly), but not Nintendo as a company.

@shaneoh Yeah, but sometimes it's best to forgo exercising a right.

@Simbabbad There's something about this situation you don't quite grasp. I just don't know what it is.

@Bolt_Strike
My point exactly. Promising fangames should be encouraged, much like former rom hacker Christian "Taxman" Whitehead is now a beacon of hope for Sega's 2D Sonic titles. Why can't Nintendo do the same is anyone's guess.

@PigmaskFan I believe it is still illegal, even if the game was free.
Don't get me wrong, I know it sucks. I would love a new metroid game and this one is very well made, but it's still wrong to use assets from someone else. If I were Milton I will take the same engine and make a new game with original graphics and original story and sell it to the eshop. That would be great. Something like Thomas Happ did with Axiom Verge.

A lot of people need to grow up. Nintendo have every right to, and must, protect their IP.

Look at Axiom Verge and Fast Racing Neo as examples of what you can do without needing to steal IP but still deliver experiences that people crave.

i still to this day, well never understand why Nintendo and this guy cant make this a paid eshop game, then everyone wins.
sadly Nintendo continues to ignore the 30th anniversary, and they don't seem to find more ways to support this franchise, then an above average spinoff game.

@Billsama No, I'm pretty sure it is a grey area.

@SBandy Exactly!

Said it before but Nintendo needs a controlled harbor for this sort of thing. Somewhere that they can control the messaging around the game.

The game is a triumph by a determined person and using someone else's IP is what got him noticed and got him a bunch of help from artists and such. Having a prominent game in the Metroid franchise beside Nintendo's more original more expensive but poorly received game is an actual detriment to the image of Nintendo. When the game is glitchy and this game spreads to the uninformed, the impression of buggy software gets associated with Nintendo/Metroid something the company spends millions to avoid. It's all mixed together and messy but there are reasons to give the creators control over their own IP.

None of that matters if it's free or not.

Anyway, it really is too bad the game wasn't developed in a way that gave it any chance to be on a Nintendo platform. At least if it was on Unity a conversation could have been had.

@PigmaskFan actually, the way copyright laws work, they HAD to do somthing, they had to say «hey look this is our IP», now instead of shuting the project down, could they had embraced it, yeah, sure, they could have, and said «hey this is an impressive tribute, but since its our IP, we can't let you distribute it for free, but MAYBE we could work something out» but that's not what they choose to do... in both cases, it was their right and duty to protect their IP, but being blind to what kind of opportunity that would have been for both side in this story to say YES instead of NO, that's what is simply dissapointing in all of this...

@MysteryAozz
It's not developed in a portable way. It's PC only so a top to bottom port would be necessary. I wish he had the foresight to switch to Unity when he made a change earlier in development.

@MysteryAozz Nintendo are terrible at anniversaries though. Look at what we're getting to celebrate Zelda's 30th anniversary, more amiibo and Skyward Sword on Wii VC.

@huxxny No, they didn't, it really posed NO threat to them whatsoever.

@AlexSora89 And Metroid really needs a Sonic Mania approach. The franchise is low selling but has a dedicated fanbase, its best chance of success is to license it out to fans and invest in it cheap.

@Billsama

Great minds and all that 😀

And the excuse of its free therefore it doesnt hurt Nintendo is bull as they would lose cash as people would download it instead of their own genuine games from that IP because it is free.

Nintendo created the IP and have every right to ensure it is protected.

If I was smart enough to create something as seminal as Metroid I sure as hell wouldn't want anyone else touching it without my permission, but hey, maybe thats just me.

I really dont think the game was very good. Nintendo did the right thing send garbage to the trash.

@Bolt_Strike
With F-Zero following suit, alongside StarFox and other dormant franchises!

@AlexSora89 Whitehead ported the Sonic games to mobile platforms and did a respectful and technically great job at it. It's was easy money.

This game was developed for PC only and the guy was a learner who was never skilled enough to offer such a value. Seems he has some game design chops but Nintendo has no shortage.

@SBandy There is no must when it comes to copyrights.
When we are talking about trademarks there is.

@aaronsullivan
No shortage? As in, the same "lack of shortage" that resulted in Federation Force?

@Loui It also featured a Zelda game as the most positively talked about game at E3 in its anniversary year. Just a reminder. It almost made it for release. I'd love a Metroid game of that caliber even if it was a year late for the anniversary.

@AlexSora89 ? No shortage of employees with game design chops is what I meant. What did you think I meant?

@LegendOfPokemon "And this kind of mindset is why I hate Nintendo. Taking down a wonderful project rather than embracing it. This disgusts me."

lol

@SBandy I'm with you on that. And I think Milton knew this was going to happen. It is good publicity nevertheless. Now he can make an original game and people would write about it. "From the maker of AM2R" That's a good thing.

@aaronsullivan Well, no, not really. Breath of the Wild was meant to be was us before 2016, and we won't actually own it until next year, so its showing at E3 was basically a happy coincidence for Nintendo.

@AlexSora89 Also by a significant number of accounts Metroid Federation Force is a well designed game by a well respected developer (Level 5 edit: strike that, Next Level!). The problem with that game is the premise, the timing, the sore condition of the franchise and the misguided presentation, not the game design itself.

@Sinister

There is a must as in it is their property and it is up to them to decide what they do with it. Forget copyright and trademark, Metroid belongs to Nintendo and it is their right to control what happens to it.

If I started using your username and started saying things on your behalf, but not quite the same and it started affecting your perceived personality and reputation, would you not object? Same kinda thing in my opinion.

@PieNinja "Protecting your own property is wrong now? Sounds like socialism to me."

It never ceases to amaze me how many people in the gaming "community" seem to hold views in opposition to the concept of copyright protection. It basically says "we love games, but we don't respect measures that ensure that developers can continue making those games."

redo the assets, modify the levels, use different music. make it a new game. call it another axiom verge remake or something.

@Loui what exactly are you trying to say here? Nintendo should wait to release games until big number anniversaries come up? Anniversary timings can be cute I guess but in the end they are a nice extra marketing tool. I really hope they don't realign their plans around all upcoming anniversaries or something.

I guess I'll concede that they don't always align their plans to anniversaries. But to be terrible at them suggests that they should have some added importance beyond respectful acknowledgement and I hope that doesn't happen at Nintendo!

Maybe it has! Maybe that's why Federation Force was pushed through. Ugh.

@SBandy I never said it was not their right. But they don't have to protect their copyright. They will not lose it if they don't.
They have to protect their trademarks because the would lose them if they did not.

If you would impersonate me or speak on my behalf that would be a fellony even without me going after you.

Heed the words of George Orwell:
"If you want a vision of the future, imagine Nintendo stamping on a human face - forever."

@-DEMISE- wait what? If I independently make a game that is a surprise hit and Nintendo makes a sequel or remake and releases it for free and uses their resources to keep making sequels while I'm left in the dust because I'm not allowed to protect my IP, that's okay? That's what you want? How is that ensuring that I, as a developer, can keep making games? Not following your logic I guess.

Oh wait... you're in agreement with the quote then? I misread. The post still stands as an argument. Just not against what you said!

@aaronsullivan
I think it would be fine as long as they didn't ever make any money off that IP.

Very sad.
I know I am an online stranger, but if anyone needs a copy of the game, reply to my comment and Ill be happy to email you the zip file.

Four instances of other companies shutting down fan projects:
https://www.vg247.com/2014/07/18/final-fantasy-type-0-translation-psp-vita/
http://www.wired.com/2009/05/square-enix-kills-near-complete-chrono-trigger-fan-project/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrono_Resurrection
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/sega-shuts-down-streets-of-rage-remake
Just so people don't think that Nintendo are the only ones doing this

@Dr_Corndog
The moment you don't exercise a right is the moment you lose it.

@Sinister

That is fair enough, I am no expert between the two but I am a strong advocate of protecting what is yours and I fully support Nintendo, and any company, in this.

People say the fact it is free and fan made means it is not a threat to Nintendo but that is completely wrong. People who don't know better, and this is the internet we are talking about, may assume this is an official Nintendo product and it could potentially damage their reputation (a lot of bug fixes required from what I heard).

You can honour the games you love, and even improve on them, with homages without using their IP.

@ironside1911 ...and don't forget dlc for the smash hit, Federation Force! .............

..what?..aw shoot..I just deleted all my digital copies of Metroid II and threw away the original...really Nintendo?..lol
..seriously, thanks DoctorM64 for a fun ride..hope you're making your own great games..

@PigmaskFan
I covered a couple reasons why being free doesn't make it harmless: post 49 https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/09/nintendo_of_america_issues_takedown_request_on_am2r_ending_the_project#comment3628542

@SBandy
No, NOT a threat. Yes, AM2R may have had some noticeable bugs, but Doc did fix them in the 1.1 update. And there was NO doubt of the project not being connected with Nintendo.

@PigmaskFan

I detailed some reasons why it would affect Nintendo.

Counter them.

@SBandy I have. After all, the very first screen you see says that AM2R is a non-profit fan game.

@PigmaskFan

Actually apologies you have kind of addressed them but I say that you wrong and there is a very real chance people will assume this is an official nintendo metroid game, not least in gameplay sessions appearing on twitch and youtube.

On that harbor for tribute fan games like this that I think Nintendo should officially manage... Nintendo is basically creating an unofficial harbor with these actions. In order to get to the game you are faced with roadblocks that cause you to learn it's unofficial etc.

Nintendo should create something official in my opinion. Much better for PR. It's flattering after all to have this happen and it could be advertising and engage and excite your most passionate fans.

@aaronsullivan If there were really no shortage of employees we'd have an official main series game by now. Nintendo needs more developers if they're going to maintain the Metroid series.

@-DEMISE- No, what we're saying is "we love games, but we don't respect Nintendo's direction for the series and don't trust their judgment". It's not that people are opposing the concept of copyright as much as they don't think companies deserve ownership of a copyright if they're not working to sustain the series. Why should Nintendo own Metroid if they're making daft decisions that are killing the series and the fans know what to do more than Nintendo?

There needs to be more flexibility in copyright laws because they're ridiculous right now. Literally, Metroid won't be public domain until the end of the century, which by then it will likely be long forgotten. Sorry, but if you haven't released a game for a series in 10-20 years there's no reason why you should be allowed to sit on it and do nothing by that point. And while Metroid isn't quite there yet, it's definitely getting there, to the point where if Nintendo doesn't feel they can manage Metroid themselves they should look towards licensing the IP out to fan developers.

@Bolt_Strike Maybe right about number of developers but I do think it's about priorities. I guess the angle should be more about Nintendo's ability to hire experienced designers rather than fledgling ones.

No doubt Nintendo has been selling Metroid games daily over all those years. It has invested serious money in a current Metroid project that is going on sale now. Who is making these decisions in your proposed copyright reform? Sorry, you're not allowed to make money on the creation you invested in anymore because... fans are restless? Just seems so arbitrary and subjective to me. It almost sounds like someone is going to rate the game as worthy or something to see if the copyright should be revoked because those numbers you are throwing around aren't including 2010's Metroid Other M. Edit: that's a little unfair because you did say it wasn't getting up that number of years. But 10-20 compared to 6. Thats a big difference right? It's also notable that the biggest lull in Metroid releases was between Super Metroid and the Metroid Prime release at 8 years. Would have been a shame to miss out on Prime :/

@PigmaskColonel Intellectual Property protection. You create something, you're the owner of that story and characters. It's pretty simple, really.

I get why people are upset.

But I absolutely can't understand why people are acting like Nintendo is evil for this.

What do you expect them to do? Honestly? I don't like Nintendo of America anymore than the next guy, but do people honestly think they should just let projects like this run rampantly unchecked?

I'm no business major but even I can understand that.

Would it have been awesome to see them make an offer and get it published by Nintendo? Heck ya! But am I going to get angry at them because they didn't? Of course not. It's not common practice and you can't do it for every remake out there, and I can promise you that if they do it once the fans will rage over every single other remake out there and complain why Nintendo didn't publish those too. They do it once and they're screwed for life because then it will be expected for every single fan game.

It sucks, but this is business and this is how it goes.

They will not be putting the genie back in the bottle. If that's their intention, they failed miserably and acted far too late. If the takedown news bothers you, take solace in that fact.

@mikegamer And that it uses sprites and assets from Zero Mission.

For everyone who is hating Nintendo for this, if you are so upset by Nintendo then actually do something about, if it makes you rage then actually do something with it. If it really upsets you as much as you, in general everyone who are angry at Nintendo, say you are then DDOS their servers, fire bomb their HQ, hack their twitter accounts and post a bunch of Nintendon't memes. I am not advocating violence or destructive acts, but just saying you're angry from behind your computer/phone/laptop screen is just a coward's way out. If you are tired of Nintendo of America then stop buying anything Nintendo to actually send a message.

@aaronsullivan Thing is that the creator isn't the only person at stake here. Copyright ownership affects the fans as well, because the creator's freedom to do whatever they want affects. Allowing the creator complete control over the copyright when they're destroying their own brand does more harm than good.

As far as the actual legal side of things though I'm just saying lower the copyright length down to around 10-20 years, but in a scenario like this Nintendo should definitely be feeling the pressure. If they can't get Metroid to turn around quick it won't take too long for the IP to fall into public domain in this scenario, so it puts pressure on them to create a quality product.

Removing AM2R is mean-spirited. It's ironic that hundreds of flash games over the years have never received takedown notices. But this one does because what. It's good?? It promotes the series positively?

Hopefully this will urge Nintendo to make a decent Metroid game.

@GameOtaku That's what I'm hoping too. Even if Nintendo's shut it down, hopefully the amount of popularity it's gotten over its own Metroid game has driven home the point that a main series Metroid game will be more successful for them than a mediocre spinoff.

And this is far from the only game they eradicated:
Them Nintendo Ninjas be busy...

Unfortunate, but not unexpected.

@SBandy @BinaryFragger Glad to see some people get why Nintendo has to do this. Honestly, why couldn't they have taken the Axion Verge or Fast Racing Neo route instead of copy and pasting assets more or less. This isn't rocket science, people. If somebody creates a game based on your IP's and they're not authorized by you, and you've copyrighted said IP, you better pounce on that game otherwise it will spark a precedent for others and you might as well not have even created a copyright for that IP if you just allow anyone to use its assets whenever they want. It's someone's creation. Someone's property, and if you steal it in any shape or form, you're basically asking them to use legal actions to take you down at that point. I know I wouldn't like if it someone stole a piece of property from me, modified it, and called it their own.

If they aren't creative enough to come up with alternatives like with Axiom Verge and Fast Racing Neo, then perhaps you should use your skills for something else that doesn't infringe on someone else's intellectual property.

It is very simple, everyone knows that Nintendo takes down fan made games that use their IP. This guy spent years making a game using a Nintendo IP. If he made a game that was inspired by Metroid and not a direct copy of a Metroid game, Nintendo will have nothing to complain about. Case in point, Axiom Verge is heavily inspired by Metroid but uses none of the Metroid assets and where is it? On the Wii U. Pokémon Uranium created 150 new Pokémon for the game. If they didnt use the Pokémon assets and just had those new 150 Pokémon there is nothing to take down.

@aaronsullivan Not at all! What I'm saying is some of these big anniversaries should be treated in a similar way as how the Year of Luigi was. Games featuring the series protagonist (Dr Luigi, New Super Luigi Bros, etc), special edition 3DS consoles, hidden references in unrelated titles, free 3DS themes, discounts, etc, would be a more suitable nod for these well known and loved IPs. They certainly don't need to release major series entries to coincide with the anniversaries, but Metroid's anniversary was bearly acknowledged and no, Federation Force doesn't cut it.

The DMCA hurts far more than helps.

@Dave24 Yeah, pretty much. I agree. There's no real "good guy" here.

I can see why they did this as AM2R does seem to be competing with their current products. They are selling Metroid II off of the eShop and they just released a new Metroid game. Nintendo should make sure that a Metroid fix is coming from their Metroid products, not in the form of a good fan game.

AM2R is a fantastic game. Everyone should play it.

@aaronsullivan I looked it up and I see "Next Level" made Federation Force.

They're not Level 5 are they? Because I find it hard to believe Level 5 would make something I personally consider trash, seeing as how I've loved all of their games.

Still wish Nintendo would've just released it on vc

@pennylessz yes thank you you are right. Got my levels crossed. This is the company that developed Luigis Mansion Dark Moon for 3DS and Mario Strikers and Punch Out for Wii.

@aaronsullivan Well see there's my problem, I love Punch Out Wii, but the other two I don't care for at all.

And you can't say I have a bias because it's not like the other Metroid, because I've barely played those. (They are good though.)

As for the fan made stuff I mean, I've seen a lot of fan made games fly under plenty of radars, so it's not exactly something they absolutely had to do. The only thing I can see this helping them with us releasing another 2D Metroid, because as it stands the Metroid fanbase would still buy the VC Metroid, so the only thing it stood to do was introduce non fans to Metroid for free, which could by all means have helped sales.

Cave Story was free, but I still bought it for $15.

@Bolt_Strike okay so encouraging publishers to push out sequels faster and with tighter deadlines is going to be better for fans? Shortening copyright lifetimes is interesting but where and why do you draw the line? What if a game or piece of work is "ahead of its time" and gains popularity near the end of the copyright lifetime? I guess one has to decide what the actual goals of protecting IP are. It's easy to say let fans control it quick when you are talking about big companies but as soon as you flip it and think of a big company jumping on a hard working independent you might reconsider.

@aaronsullivan I kind of worded my comment in an awkward way so no worries. But yeah, my main point was that copyright laws are in place to protect the copyright holder of a given product or property by making sure that they can continue to use it as they see fit, by preventing parties with no right to the product/property from using it as THEY see fit. I know that they can seem harsh and can even be abused by copyright holders, but if these laws didn't exist, then there are obviously a million different ways that interlopers and pirates could interfere with/impede a copyright holder's ability to make money off of their own work.

Cracking game... Shoulder to shoulder with Zero Mission and Fusion and infinitely better than the dull GB original!! Surely now the game is "out there" it'll stay that way, on romsites etc. I downloaded it a while after the initial desist order.

@PeterAndCompany "bookended in its release"

Yeah, offshoot games like Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival tend to be better received when they are the offshoot games, not the main game. OK, maybe not better received, maybe just ignored? But don't give people an offshoot without a main game. If Nintneod went 10 years only doing Pokemon Shuffle and Rumble I'm sure even the Pokemon fans would be clamoring for a main game. They accept those b/c they know S&M is coming. Endless runner F-Zero on mobile is not the way to go.

@aaronsullivan 10-20 years is a pretty reasonable timeframe to take all of this into consideration. It's not too long that the IP fades from public consciousness but it's long enough to allow the developer to take their time and create a quality product and for the industry to change enough for the IP to perhaps be viewed more favorably. Whatever happens after that should be pretty fair, IDK what other circumstances you're thinking of.

@pennylessz I'm not sure what your responding to now. I think I brought up the quality of the developers because a statement I made about Nintendo not needing to get game designers that are just starting out. Someone was suggesting FF as evidence that they do. Then I brought up that the failure of FF wasn't in the game development but publisher decisions.

As for fan made games flying under radars, AM2R is not one of those.

There are quite a few people that are saying the AM2R developer is stupid, he is stealing....yadiyadiyada. Guasti is a smart man and has landed a JOB in the field he wants to work in. Yes, the project he made was copyright infringement. But, he most certainly learned from making an awesome game. Don't knock Guasti for his efforts on making such an awesome re-imagining of one of his favorite games. We should support Guasti and his team and hopefully, he develops for Nintendo. Guasti, you get a standing ovation from me Sir!! Nintendo, make a Metroid game already that your fans are crying out for. plays Federation Force

@aaronsullivan It was more a general response to the topics I've seen discussed in the thread.

Also kind of unrelated but Lucio Ball in Overwatch seemed like water downed Rocket League, and Blast Ball seems like an even more watered down version.

Im sure I would have liked it if it was released first.

@Bolt_Strike "It's not that people are opposing the concept of copyright..."

Yes, that is what it's like, as evidenced by this statement that basically says there's no respect for copyright laws:

"...they don't think companies deserve ownership of a copyright if they're not working to sustain the series."

The gaps between entries in a series and one game that certain fans didn't like have no bearing on this at all. You don't get to start pirating other people's work simply because you're sick of waiting for a new game in a franchise.

"Why should Nintendo own Metroid if they're making daft decisions that are killing the series and the fans know what to do more than Nintendo?"

Umm, are you serious? I don't know, maybe because they're the ones who CREATED and OWN Metroid? Do you honestly not see how that's wrong and just basically immoral? Sorry, that's just a very spoiled attitude. An IP is not a human child, or a dog. You can't take it away from a bad parent/owner because you think it's being abused.

And I just love this fan-driven myth that a series can be "killed" by a lack of entries or a bad game in the series, like all the games that were previously released in the series have disappeared from the face of the earth, and no good games will ever be made in the series again. But that's not how it works. All those great Metroid games still exist. They haven't gone anywhere. They're alive and well. You can play them anytime you want, and since Nintendo are the ones who made them, they deserve and are entitled to be compensated when you download a copy of any of those games. And if/when Nintendo releases another core Metroid game, all the entitled "fans" who said the franchise was dead will lap it up like they always do.

The developer seems pretty calm, maybe he just signed a contact with Nintendo to work on a Metroid game in exchange for the takedown.

@Bolt_Strike
A small independent developer makes a game and it takes a 3-5 years. Then two more or so. Finally builds an audience and some noteriety and the first game sky rockets in popularity! Time to make a sequel! Oops, time ran out and someone else makes the sequel before the original developer finished and cashes in. It's the law!

@Nintendian That would be ideal but I bet he's just playing it smart and not burning bridges. He has been quite rational and seems plenty aware that he built popularity and attention for himself on the back of another company's work. I love that he doesn't try and funnel all the energy of those people who think they are speaking against Nintendo on his behalf. "Go buy Metroid 2" "but... but..."

Even though Nintendo was in the legal right to do this, it's still a bad move PR-wise, given how people despise Fed Force (to somewhat irrational levels, but still...)

@-DEMISE-
"And I just love this fan-driven myth that a series can be "killed" by a lack of entries or a bad game in the series"
It's not a myth. It's something called "self-fullfilling prophecy".

I just want to say, Nintendo is NOT legally required to do this. They CAN, of course, but it's not some law where they have to. From a 2014 Supreme Court ruling:

"It is hardly incumbent on copyright owners, however, to challenge each and every actionable infringement. And there is nothing untoward about waiting to see whether an infringer's exploitation undercuts the value of the copyrighted work, has no effect on the original work, or even complements it. Fan sites prompted by a book or film, for example, may benefit the copyright owner. See Wu, Tolerated Use, 31 Colum. J.L. & Arts 617, 619-620 (2008). Even if an infringement is harmful, the harm may be too small to justify the cost of litigation."

Source: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16343772915477319302&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr

The first sentence there is the key bit, but it goes on to explain why this dumb myth is, well, dumb:

"If the rule were, as MGM urges, "sue soon, or forever hold your peace," copyright owners would have to mount a federal case fast to stop seemingly innocuous infringements, lest those infringements eventually grow in magnitude. Section 507(b)'s three-year limitations period, however, coupled to the separate-accrual rule, see supra, at 1968-1970, avoids such litigation profusion. It allows a copyright owner to defer suit until she can estimate whether litigation is worth the candle. She will miss out on damages for periods prior to the three-year look-back, but her right to prospective injunctive relief should, in most cases, remain unaltered."

Already downloaded it and the update, as did millions of others. Mission accomplished! 😂 Thank you for all your hard work and dedication Doctor M64! 😊

@-DEMISE- Again, business copyrights affect more than just the owner of the brand, they affect the customer as well. So if the owner of the copyright isn't doing something constructive with the brand than the customers suffer and it's not really fair for millions of people to suffer the consequences of a poor decision made by an individual. This notion that the creators deserve a dictatorial level of control is ridiculous, capitalism just doesn't work like that so the law shouldn't encourage it.

And yes, a lack of new games can and will kill a series, that should be common sense. No new games means no consumer awareness, so if they're not doing anything new with a brand, interest will eventually die out. So coasting on past successes for 10 years doesn't really help them protect the brand, and thus, should not be defensible under copyright law.

@Dave24 No, not stupid at all. He was a genius, because tons of people have now played the best 2D Metroid ever made.

I know what's better than protecting your franchise...

ACTUALLY USING IT (Metroid Prime: FF/BB doesn't count)

Between Federation Force not getting the best reception and the massive outrage over Nintendo's crackdown on AM2R, I really hope Nintendo takes the hint and starts working on a new 2D Metroid game ASAP. It can't possibly be more obvious what the fans want.

@Bolt_Strike There's no such thing as a "business copyright". A copyright holder is a copyright holder, regardless of how big or small they are as an entity, and regardless of your level of approval or disapproval of their size or of the way they use their property. You have to set aside your personal bias against large corporations and capitalism, because it's clouding your judgment. A copyright owner shouldn't be at an increased degree of risk just because they happen to suffer from the unpardonable combination of being a large company and neglecting to service and appease all of their fans at all times and in all things.

Nintendo owns Metroid and they can do whatever they want with it. It honestly baffles me that I have to even type that sentence. You don't get to appropriate (read: steal) property from its owner just because you don't approve of their use of it. That's another sentence that I can't believe I have to type, and yet here we are.

got my copy (with the update)!! (^_^ )

I'm going to make a bajillion copies of them and store them in various safe boxes around the country so that if I ever lose one, I have a backup waiting for me somewhere.

Amazing game. Better than Federation Force.

@-DEMISE- "There's no such thing as a "business copyright". A copyright holder is a copyright holder, regardless of how big or small they are as an entity, and regardless of your level of approval or disapproval of their size or of the way they use their property. You have to set aside your personal bias against large corporations and capitalism, because it's clouding your judgment. A copyright owner shouldn't be at an increased degree of risk just because they happen to suffer from the unpardonable combination of being a large company and neglecting to service and appease all of their fans at all times and in all things."

It has nothing to do with them being a large corporation. Any copyrighted product being sold in some capacity should be subjected to the same policy.

"Nintendo owns Metroid and they can do whatever they want with it. It honestly baffles me that I have to even type that sentence. You don't get to appropriate (read: steal) property from its owner just because you don't approve of their use of it. That's another sentence that I can't believe I have to type, and yet here we are."

Again, it's more than not approving of their use of it. It's that they're not doing much with it, and that's not really fair to the fans. Imagine if a kid brings their ball to play with their friends to play. Then suddenly, one day the kid decided he doesn't want to play anymore and he decides to just sit on it and watch the other kids. Would you let your kid do that? Do you think that's really fair to let him act like that and deprive the rest of the kids of the fun? Of course not, you'd probably take the ball away and give the ball to the kids. Copyright laws should be the same way.

It would be nice if Reggie could at least say a few words like, "While we are flattered by this remake, which is clearly an act of deep admiration, we hope our fans recognize that we have to protect the IPs that they have come to know and love."

YOU...CURSE YOU...NOA! CURSE YOU, COPYRIGHT CLAIMS!!
CURSE YOU, REGGIE!
Someday...
When this copyright expires...
That is when I will upload the game again!!

@mikegamer
Well said.

I feel the urge to upload the game again anonymously on a small, unknown forum. That way, Nintendo could never find me IRL. And if the game got taken down, I could just upload it again and again. But I'll not do that.

@Robotron2084 They do, in fact, if they want money. Nintendo cannot profit without fans, this "let's do whatever we want and screw the fans" kind of attitude is turning people off to their products and losing them sales. They can't expect to stay in business like that, a brand is nothing without fans to buy it.

@Li_Bae He'll need to do more than that to placate the fanbase. For starters, he'll have to admit they screwed up with Federation Force and acknowledge that the fans want a main series Metroidvania game. Second, he'll have to give some kind of indication that there's a main series game actually being worked on instead of just nebulous ideas that they're "thinking about". If he can't do that then the situation isn't really resolved because we're still stuck waiting God knows how long for the next Metroid game (if there even is a next Metroid game).

A real shame. The game got me into Metroid again and helped me realise that I truly love the franchise. I used to use guides, video walktroughs etc. for all Metroid games I've played. After playing AM2R, I've returned to Metroid Prime and beated it without a guide (well, in 90% of places atleast). My favourite Gamecube game from now on, and I'm going to play the rest of the games

@Loui What's so special about a 30 year anniversary, that it needs to be celebrated with a special game release? Do you expect them to celebrate an anniversary every 5 years? Considering it takes them 5 years to make their Zelda games, it could work, but with expectations of an anniversary celebration you're setting a deadline to the release dates of their games, regardless if they are ready for release, like too many companies nowadays do.

Someone remembers Assassin's Creed Unity or de PC version of Arkham Knight at release? The patch for ACU was 6.3GB, AK's was 2.4GB, as far as I can find. Considering Wii U only comes with 32GB, that's a huge chunk of the available storage for something that should've worked right in the first place.

Nintendo doesn't work that way. They want to test and fix their games as good as possible before releasing. So pushing game releases just to meet an (anniversary celebration) deadline is not smart thinking.

@Bolt_Strike That's a really cute analogy, but it's an overly-simplistic reduction of the situation. No, a multi-billion dollar company allowing one of their properties to sit idle (as far as you know) for six years is not equivalent to a kid not sharing his ball. One has significant artistic and financial repercussions, the other has a minor and temporary impact on some kids' feelings.

Moreover, your analogy implies that Nintendo are "sitting on" Metroid out of some petulant desire to punish fans of the series, or to make them suffer for no apparent reason, which is frankly an absurd assumption to make. A game isn't some trivial object like a ball, it's a work of art, and as such, it should be taken as a good thing that Nintendo have chosen to put Metroid on the back burner until they know the direction they want to take it in going forward. And that's doubly true in the wake of Other M, which fans revolted against, a mistake which Nintendo will no doubt desperately want to avoid repeating with the very next game after Other M. They'll want to redeem the franchise, and rushing a game out just because fans demand it is not at all the right move.

And six years is not a particularly long time for a series to sit idle, especially for one like Metroid, which has experienced a protracted and inconsistent release timeline from day one. Nintendo doesn't deserve to have their ownership of a property that they created usurped because they're not sharing it with the spoiled brats often enough. Your belief that the world should work in this way is just antithetical to common sense and the basic concept of right and wrong.

@Ninten-san Copyrights for something like a video game that was made by a company (as opposed to an individual author) don't expire for a minimum of 95 years from first publication, so you have a very long wait ahead of you.

@Nintenbomba64 The last game was only six years ago. Does that really strike people as a long time between entries in a series like Metroid? Because it shouldn't.

@AJ_Lethal No, it's definitely a myth. Until we see several terrible games in the series, or like twenty years without a Metroid game, or even extreme CoD-level overuse of the series for several years, then there's nothing to support the notion that Nintendo has killed/is killing the series.

@Loui let's be honest here, Nintendo is celebrating The Legends of Zelda because of how huge it is. it not really surprised that were getting amiibo for the franchise, books, and etc. could they do anything better for it? not really, i mean we have a game coming out next year. not sure what else Nintendo could do to make the TLOZ fans happy, AFAIK.

@AlexSora89 Wasn't AM2R first hit way before Federation Force release? Metroid 2 on Virtual Console would seem a bigger concern on Nintendo's part if you invest money into putting the game online and watch people ignore it for a fan remake.

@-DEMISE- "But that's not how it works. All those great Metroid games still exist. They haven't gone anywhere. They're alive and well. You can play them anytime you want, and since Nintendo are the ones who made them, they deserve and are entitled to be compensated when you download a copy of any of those games. And if/when Nintendo releases another core Metroid game, all the entitled "fans" who said the franchise was dead will lap it up like they always do."

You're starting to sound like me. Cynical and blunt. I think I used these exact words when melee fans were annoyed about smash 4.

I guess it will lead to more fans boycotting Nintendo products - which is sadly more of a double-edged sword in direct sale markets than in merch-driven ones, but still a prospect I'm tempted to welcome.

As for AM2R, this wasn't unexpected. And neither are all the sites and torrents and dropboxes the game will be available on for years to come - like all fan projects of of its kind do. Once the genie is out of the bottle, C&Ds and takedowns little but a formality in practical value. Not counting the technical copyright protection - wherein, as far as I heard, you either act against such cases or risk losing the legal right to act against future ones which might already parasite on your IPs for real. As long as the copyright legislation remains the same, cursing Nintendo is having a fistfight with the wind.

The level of intelligence on this page is mind blowing.

Another warning shot? Man, Nintendo is way too soft on these cases, they should cut the BS and just slam them. Make the message clear, that they don't want people stealing their stuff like this.

Also, why do sites always make articles like this? Make out like the "fan-creator", and by extension, the "fans" are the "victims" in these cases? That they "deserve" these games for absolutely no reason, other than for want?
Nobody game enough or willing to look at it from [their business] point-of-view (without sounding like you're rolling your eyes on every word)? Or are "journalist" so self-entitled that it blinds them to the fact there's another side to the story?
That's an article I'd like to read for change, not this constant whining, self-entitled fanboy BS.

@-DEMISE-
I impersonated Ganondorf.

@BLD Nintendo issues these C&D orders to prevent having to take it to court, because they are not a fan of unnecessary lawsuits. That would be throwing away money. But they are willing to protect their trademarks and copyrights through lawsuits if it comes to that.

@aaronsullivan
Oh, okay! I totally got it wrong! And yeah, Next Level games should have been a good omen. Too bad about the context - imagine Mario games being few and far between: in such a scenario, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker would have been received just as badly as Federation Force, if not even worse.

@3MonthBeef
Good point. However... Sonic Mania is a thing that's actually coming out - Sonic fans are getting a good throwback title that pays homage to their favorite franchise's roots and is a labour of love created by dedicated fans, whereas Metroid fans are not.

@nhSnork
And guess what the AM2R developers advised fans to do, without being spared for their efforts...

@AlexSora89 yes, and it's very sensible encouragement. When it comes to wallet voting, investments tend to be more noticeable than withdrawals. Metroid 2 selling well might not only tone down at least some of Nintendo's worries but serve as an extra vote for more action-adventure core games in the series - a vote expressed more civilly and convincingly than any dramatic lament on a forum/blog/social network can ever boast being anyway.

I just hope that teaser in Federation Force wasn't just for show...

@Bolt_Strike "Imagine if a kid brings their ball to play with their friends to play. Then suddenly, one day the kid decided he doesn't want to play anymore and he decides to just sit on it and watch the other kids. Would you let your kid do that? Do you think that's really fair to let him act like that and deprive the rest of the kids of the fun? Of course not, you'd probably take the ball away and give the ball to the kids."

The way I read this, is YOU are the owner of the ball and NOT YOUR KID. So in that case you have the right to take the ball away from your kid and give it to the other kids to have fun, because it's YOUR ball, YOUR decision.

Now image YOUR kid doesn't want to let the other kids play with his ball and A COMPLETE STRANGER comes and takes the ball away from your kid and gives it WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION to the other kids to play with. What would you as a parent do? I'll bet you'll take it back.

@Bolt_Strike I think you're confusing "fans" and "audiences" here.

Hardest part of anything is actually conceiving it. You know that feeling when you are staring at a blank canvas? AM2R doesn't. There I said it.

@nhSnork
I wonder if Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime Trilogy and Metroid Other M sold that bad then.

But, if they should accidentally leak out there by mistake while you're just messing around on the game in the privacy of your own home. . . .

@AlexSora89 some of them apparently sold well enough in Nintendo's eyes to warrant the subsequent others. Whether the latest (what was it, Other M? I'm not too well-versed on Metroid release history) did is a different question. But while demand doesn't always create prompt supply, it remains second to none among supply creation tools. And internet backlash ranks much lower because it really doesn't help the involved audience look like a reliable market niche.

1. Everyone gets excited about a fan game
2. Nintendo shuts it down
3. Everyone freaks out like it's the first time
4. Nintendo fans complain but for some reason still buy Nintendo games
5. Rinse and repeat

The Nintendo cycle!

@Bolt_Strike Allow me to point out the main problem with your argument. You seem to think that the whole world should revolve around the customer, which will lead to disaster in most cases. Nintendo has the right to do whatever the heck they want with Metroid, whether you like it or not. It's not YOUR franchise, it's theirs. Sure, it sucks that they're not releasing any huge hits lately, but that doesn't give the fans the right to do it for them.

I used this argument when defending Disney's copyright of Mickey Mouse. In this case, copyrights should not expire when the character is the face of that company. Samus is associated with Nintendo and thus belongs to Nintendo. Is it fair? Probably not, but not all laws are designed to be fair for the customer.

@GrailUK
Great comment. Short and to the point.
There are other great comments, too. Like what @3MonthBeef wrote.

I will say it again and again, most people don't call an intellectual property their own, so they don't or can't understand what it means to see it used without consent. These discussions are therefore quite futile.

And as far as I know, the Sonic stuff was first pitched to Sega and they were okay with it. This remake wasn't pitched to Nintendo and saying they should pick it up now is just crazy.

@nhSnork
The comment right below yours, courtesy of @Lzeon, put it best.
Federation Force bombs? Nintendo has a reason to shelve the franchise.
Federation Force sells? Nintendo has proof that dormant franchise fans (F-Zero fans, Metroid fans, etc.) are desperate enough to buy anything.
We lose anyway.
(Thank goodness for the portable Mario Maker.)

@nhSnork and @AlexSora89

pfffft!
*rolls eyes in a sarcastic manner
Don't let anyone fool you, especially those who dislike Metroid Other M (which I love). Metroid, while not a huge tent-pole title series like Zelda and Mario, is not a disappointment to Nintendo.

While not on the level of Mario or Zelda sales, all Metroid games other than Zero Mission, Prime Hunters and the Prime Trilogy have sold more than 1 million. As for Japan, it's true they tend to have different tastes than the west, but most Metroid games have broken top 20 in Famitsu on release. Other M itself was top 5 when it came out.

Nintendo is waiting on Metroid for some reason, but doubt in the series is not one of them.

@AlexSora89 Don't be silly. It won't be long until Metroid Zero. It's a rehash of Metroid whatever with a bunch of features no one knew that they wanted! It'll be a huge hit!

Oh, and it features Ridley, but even bigger.

Federation Force, however, is going to do badly.

I really hope Nintendo at least gets a damn clue and see that fans are desperate for a true Metroid game. If what they take away from the failure of Federation Force (not sure how it's selling in the US, but I assume not much ) is "Naaaaaaah, they don't want Metroid anymore, we shouldn't bother" I... I don't even know, man. I'm already afraid of Star Fox being put on cryosleep again because people weren't so hot on Zero, even though it's full of stuff people never wanted in the first place.

When I was in school, I had a teacher who thought I was quite a good story teller. Bad on the grammar part, but I was a kid-- she enjoyed my stories quite avidly. I used to tell her I was going to grow up and write stories for Spiderman and all sorts of other comic book characters and different franchises that I loved.

Her reply to me was "If you have this kind of skill to create something, why not create something that is your own and don't work with stories and characters someone else has already created".

I think that logic holds true here. If you're so capable of making epic fan-remakes, why not make your own game that is inspired by, but not a remake-- something that is uniquely you. Bests part is; once you make it and it is its own thing... well, then you can actually sell it. You never know, it might go on to be more popular than the thing that inspired it.

I don't think that all the attention that this game recieved from places such as this and other game news sites helps, Ninty tends to ignore stuff unless it's not ignorable anymore.

So, just in case I'm at all correct, please don't cover Pokemon Insurgence when it fully drops

Of course here come people with the whole Nintendo is evil thing. Seriously when will people learn this is what happens when you use someone elses characters and properties without their permission. I am not trashing the guy and I applaud his effort but I think it would have been better if made his own Metroid style tribute game rather than outright copying an existing game he would never had to deal with the lawyers

@AugustusOxy You hit the nail on the head right there. Its often much more satisfying and rewarding to make something that is truly your own creation. Remember that 3D NES Zelda remake that got taken down? The developers said they would redo the game just minus the zelda assets

It's the best Metroid game since Metroid Prime 3. They shouldn't punish the guy, hire him and repurpose his product for distribution on the Wii U and 3DS Eshop! But nah, Nintendo is so out of touch with today's online world and what people want and think of them, it's embarrassing.

Doesn't bode well for NX.

@Bolt_Strike They can't profit without fans but be aware Nintendo's audience can shift and change over the years. Even with the Wii And DS when the sales increased significantly their audience didn't necessarily include their entire GC and GBA audience.

Games that were focused on that GC audience for example actually decreased on the Wii(Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for example). Whereas even when the sales from DS to 3DS decreased significantly Nintendo were able to get their highest sales ever for the Fire Emblem series through a different approach. Even if it's not to certain fans liking Nintendo are best off making games that are suited for the specific platform than they are placating a specific group of fans who may not ever buy the new platform or moved on years ago.

Online reception is always an iffy thing, from what people online You'd think New Super Mario Bros would be the worst selling Mario game but it's the 2nd best after Mario Kart. The majority of the audience isn't necessarily the loudest and the loudest aren't necessarily worth listening too. If Nintendo listened to online reception they'd can half their biggest selling games, pump massive amount of resources into their lowest selling series and reverse on newfound successes for series(e.g. Fire Emblem) because of the remnants of the old audience don't like it.

@Dr_Lugae

Thank you so very much for this.

@-DEMISE- It does have significant financial and artistic repercussions, the question is are they positive or negative repercussions? And in this case, Nintendo sitting on Metroid would have negative repercussions for both Nintendo and the fans. Nintendo isn't making money on Metroid and the fans lose out on a beloved series. It's a lose-lose scenario.

And yes, 6 years is a long time by video game standards. Any active IP should be releasing in around 3-5 years. We've past the point where it's a reasonable wait for the next Metroid game.

@Snader Then you're not getting the analogy. The kid is Nintendo, the other kids are the fans, and the parents are the legal system. A stranger in this scenario would be someone who has no stake in the Metroid brand whatsoever, and it would make no sense for them to.

@Lzeon I'm not saying give customers all of the power. I'm saying the customers should get the power if Nintendo isn't utilizing the brand. Also, Samus is not the face of Nintendo, that's Mario. Nintendo barely even acknowledges Metroid's existence.

@Phil_Kavadias This. Defending the IP is pointless if they're not going to address the circumstances behind the copyright violation. If it's just some jerk trying to steal Nintendo's thunder that's one thing, but that's not the case here. The problem is Nintendo's attitude towards the industry is harming their relationship with fans which in turn will harm sales, and if they keep it up eventually they won't have a fanbase to sell to.

@Dr_Lugae Developers rarely ever have success revitalizing an IP by turning it into something completely different. How many times have we seen an IP try to follow trends in the market only to fall flat on its face? The biggest successes are usually the ones that expand on the appeal of the core concept, not reinvent the wheel. If Nintendo is unsatisfied with Metroid's current sales their best bet is to figure out how to make the idea of exploring a desolate environment looking for powerups appealing to the mainstream, not to throw all of that out and make a generic FPS.

@Bolt_Strike
I am torn about this. I have never played fan created games, I guess because I didn't want buggy software on my computer and I also may have an overinflated fear of malware, but I love the idea of fan-created content because sometimes there are true diamonds in the rough.

I would love it if Nintendo created a space to vet these projects and release them as a collaboration. I think it would be good for fans and for the company.

Still, the idea that not using one of your properties should give anyone the right to simply take it demonstrates a blatant disrespect of intellectual property in general. No matter how well intentioned the effort is or how true-to-the-franchise the results turn out to be your idea sets a precedent that would see countless creators of properties large and small lose their original ideas.

I'm not sure where you developed this particular ethic. It seems to be born out of an admirable love of creator-made games and some kind of distortion of the "use it or lose it" clause brought to popular attention regarding the X-men and Spider-man franchises. In the case of the above two properties; however, that contingency was set down as conditional during the licensing phase. The parent company, Marvel, chose to farm out its creations to Fox and Sony respectively in order to have a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Fan-made video game projects are different, especially these particular cases because the creators are smaller and the parent companies appear to many (often including myself) as vultures waiting to swoop down and destroy the very creativity that they themselves engendered by way of quality inspiration, but in order to keep intellectual property as safe as physical property, exceptions can only be made by the creators themselves.

Fan-made games in particular are a special case because they can, unlike fan-films, achieve a high level of quality at minimal expense if monetary investment is eschewed for time. This is another reason why I think that a "safe harbor" (@aaronsullivan) of some kind may be worth persuing for Nintendo and others. Sega's arrangement with fan-developer Whitehead to co-create Sonic Mania is a good example of collaboration and is also, I assume, a stellar and lucrative opportunity for a small creator whose fidelity to the source material was a quality homage to the original copyright holders. But it was still up to them to embrace or reject it. And yes, sometimes big companies misuse the creations of their employees, who lose control. This is a problem that shouldn't be ignored, but it does not justify the mentality that seems to be developing.

So are there some situations where Nintendo could turn a blind eye in order to foster some cred with no-budget indie developers and the modding community? Perhaps, but if this idea that they should lose any say at all because of disuse, or because of a popular perception of misuse is pervasive than that is reason enough for Nintendo to take a stand on behalf of intellectual property owners everywhere.

Remember people: There are still mirror-sites!

@Bolt_Strike Then it is a bad analogy, because the legal system doesn't own the IP's, the creators do. As it should be.

@Snader No, it's accurate. The legal system is there to supervise the ownership and make sure everything is fair, just as parents would on the playground.

@whodatninja
Are people like you aware of what they're actually saying? Why should they reward him for what he did? He should have gone to Nintendo with a pitch. Would they have turned him down? Yes, quite likely. And that's when it should have ended. He could have made the game in private and then use what he learnt for his own game.
If Nintendo would hire him or whatnot people would think that's the way to go. But what about those people, who've built their own portfolio and don't get any of such "deals"? Would you give money to someone, who stole money from you?

"Doesn't get the internet", huh? How about you show us the game, book or something you made. I guess you won't mind if we use your intellectual property to our liking, because you "get the internet", right?

@Bolt_Strike
Did the kid create the ball in the first place? How about the idea of "ball"?

You know it seems like they could have instead offered to publish the game and make money for themselves off it. Heck, offer the guy a position developing 2D Metroid games...

In any case, I'm glad I have a copy of the game.

It seems to me Nintendo could of stopped the game from getting to the download stage. Instead it was allowed to release and now it is out there. Nintendo acted overly fair about the whole thing.

@Bolt_Strike "The legal system is there to supervise the ownership and make sure everything is fair, just as parents would on the playground."

No, that's not how it works. I'm not trying to be mean or single you out, but it honestly just seems like you're making things up. Your personal hopes =/= the way things are.

@BensonUii Oh, I know. And the fun part is that when these people whine hard enough to the volunteer gestapo that is the "mod" squad, people get banned. I'd be mad about it if it weren't so comical, and if it weren't so easy to just make another account lol

@BLPs Hey I've been this way forever! Cynical And Blunt might as well be my name.

@-DEMISE- Well, its good to meet someone who has the same cynical viewpoint as myself. Its refreshing not having to police and allow room for a counter-argument in the comments all the day.

It's a damn shame, but Nintendo had every right to do this. There are still mirror sites and people with the game who are willing to give duplicate downloads to others, so if you want the game that badly, there are still ways to download it. AM2R definitely took effort to make, and it was in development for 10 Years as well, but I'm sure the developer knew of this outcome from the start. It's quite possible he had fun making and releasing AM2R to the masses. But again, Nintendo had the right to do this. It isn't just something Nintendo does, either. Look at Square Enix and Chrono Resurrection, for example.

I know many other people might say this but I have an idea.
How about Nintendo makes a deal with the homebrew people, take it down from all external things and you can release it on the EShop with a few perks. This could also work for fan translations of games so we can get more japan exlusive stuff (e.g. Fire Emblem, satellaview games, Nintendo wars, Famicom detective club, Mother 3 etc).

@BLPs Likewise, good sir.

Dang it took forever to read all these comments! Like 2 hours or so. Lol.

Anyway I think the developer didn't even have plans to update it anymore after the bug fix anyways. Or did he ever say he planned on adding something more?

@PorygonSuperFan I think the time for a deal like that would have been before the person who made AM2R made it available to download. Because it's now been released even if the person who made the game agreed to anything with Nintendo nothing can stop any one who has the game re-uploading it to the internet

It's basically a toothpaste out of the tube situation, the guy made it available for free online and there's nothing that can be done to take it back. The damage has already been done and few would download it on the eShop if they have it free on their PC so any value Nintendo could have seen from it has already been greatly diminished.

"And I just love this fan-driven myth that a series can be "killed" by a lack of entries or a bad game in the series"

Klonoa, Spyro and Bubsy would like to say hello!

@AlexSora89 I think a company using a new release's low sales as an effort to justify franchise canning (assuming that's even an existent business strategy) would do that via more traditional games rather than lower deck cast spinoffs.

@Utena-mobile perhaps the reason is brewing an idea they would deem original enough? Nostalgia is one thing, but "Seinfield Is Unfunny" can also be a challenging trope to avoid in modern gamers' eyes when your franchise has helped codify a genre once. Metroid Prime, I suppose, was one such idea; only time will tell what could be the next one.

I'd love a new game in the vein of early Metroids myself, although I've yet to actually play them (I owe my appreciation of metroidvanias to Igarashi's certain vampire hunting chronicles, and I miss those games in that franchise as well). But it's not just about what I want, and getting something Nintendo wants remains technically preferable to a product they wouldn't have that much attachment to but churn out just as a bone to stop the barking.

Well, idk if anyone will read my comment by now. But if anyone is to blame I say is NintendoLife. According to NL, AM2R is being going on for years and only until now it got shut down? I bet you it was because all the attention NL gave it in form of several articles. Way to go NL!!

@locky-mavo

You win for most buzz words used.

At least they got to release a v1.1 update before it was taken down and I downloaded it to my hard drive to play all I want.

@Utena-mobile
Good point, but as @Lzeon said, a Metroid Zero is frighteningly likely.

@nhSnork
As nonsensical as it is, it seems to be an actual strategy. Or so it has looked like that so far.

I wonder when we'll get some good nintendo news

breath of the wild needs to come out and work some magic because it's almost painful being a nintendo fan right now

Btw. in general - if you like betting, if you like the idea of stock market on which Nintendo is on... if you know more or less the structure of the current value of Nintendo ... shhhhh...... sell them short... for all the kids on here, here u go for a basic concept of it:

"When you short sell a stock, your broker will lend it to you. The stock will come from the brokerage's own inventory, from another one of the firm's customers, or from another brokerage firm. The shares are sold and the proceeds are credited to your account. Sooner or later, you must "close" the short by buying back the same number of shares (called covering) and returning them to your broker. If the price drops, you can buy back the stock at the lower price and make a profit on the difference."

Perhaps Mr. Moffitt of Nintendo can guide u through hahahah (up urs scott)

Ah and if the trolls want to continue.. why you dont tell us why you think Nintendos value will "rise" hahah.... for 3 years it was a great trick.. remind me again, why you have a rational idea of them rising? ... dont know why i post it here, but fits perfect to this long-dead attitude they are trying to push through ... a bit more, Nintendo, I know you can do it .. I will start denouncing the use of your images on websites like this and please, start reporting ANY unlicensed use of Nintendo products you see... fansites... names... profile pictures... whatever u see with Nintendo on and they dont make money off it .. first denounce, and then lets see if its ok with them.

You all kick ass!

@Bolt_Strike To be honest I think it is fine to wait if the final product is worth the wait for a game in a mainline series. Deus Ex: Invisible War came out in 2003 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out in 2011 and the end product was well worth the 8 year wait. Pikmin 2 came out in 2004 and Pikmin 3 came out in 2013 and the 9 year wait was also well worth it (closer to 11 years if we are talking about just a good Deus Ex game). Doom 3 came out in 2004 and Doom (2016) came out in well... 2016 that is a 12 year gap between installments and Doom (2016) is one of the best FPS games to come out in forever! (I could stop there as the list if I continue will consist of Starcraft, McFee Alice, Sam and Max, Luigi's Mansion, Donkey Kong: Country, NiGHTS, Sin and Punishment, and so many, and many more)

Copyright law is there so that way the creator may retain the rights of their blood sweat and tears for their lifetime. While it sucks that big corporations may take their sweet time to release a "worthy" sequel sometimes it takes a while for the creative spark to go off for someone passionate at the company to come to the series and direct it to excellence. That and MP:FF left a post credits stinger that just so happens to hint that a new Metroid title is probably coming sooner rather than later.

Still makes me lol that Nintendo is shutting down a fan made project that everyone wants while their BS (Federation Force) is only selling 4000 copies in Japan.

@ereHemanresUoN Oooh don't remind me Square Enix is far worse than Nintendo when it comes to sitting on my nostalgia for sequels to some of their old franchises. Oh how I want a new Chrono game so bad!

@Wexter The only way we're getting a true Metroid game soon is if someone is already working on a 2D game (and even then, I have my doubts). Tanabe basically confirmed that Prime 4 is coming no sooner than 2018.

@-DEMISE- "Nintendo owns Metroid and they can do whatever they want with it. It honestly baffles me that I have to even type that sentence. You don't get to appropriate (read: steal) property from its owner just because you don't approve of their use of it. That's another sentence that I can't believe I have to type, and yet here we are."

You shouldn't have had to type it all as it is basic common sense, but here's 2 reasons why you had to:
1. Metroid fans.
2. Nintendolife.

Welcome back by the way.

@WiltonRoots haha yup that pretty much explains the situation. And thanks! It was fun operating under my secret identity for a while. Or maybe I still am?

@-DEMISE- That sounds like a personal attack against me...

MODS!!!!!!! Report Report Report!!!! lol

I was gonna say you haven't missed much in here although the Metroid Prime Federation Force Japanese sales charts article was an absolute barrel of laughs...

It does make me wonder sometimes how long some of these people would last running their own business. Even funnier when they tell a bunch of people who don't care and can't do anything about it how much they're angry about this.

It's like me telling my neighbour how annoyed I am about my train being late every day rather than telling the train company.

I think there are two groups here.
Group one = Fanatic. They really want Metroid (with Samus) come back again whatsoever but Nintendo never granted that little wish. So, when those people created the fan version, some other people interested while making Nintendo upset and shut down those projects.
Group two = Normal. They may like Metroid games but don't like fan project and feel it infringe the copyright.
So basically these debates are about Pro and Contra about Fan Project. Some people said Nintendo shoud accept those mock up concept to be implemented for next Nintendo games, but for other people fan project like that could be a copyright violation. Please calm down. I know that was very difficult decision for Nintendo to protect their IP. Maybe Nintendo's decision seems harsh but there is a reason behind that.
BTW, i'm not either Metroid fan but i feel sorry when heard people keep arguing about Best Metroid game that should be created.

@Dark-Link73 It's been talked about for years. First I heard about it was on Destructoid 3 years ago i think. Nintendo went after it because it's finished and fans love it!

@maukenboost I hate chibi art style, it's a turn off for me, a deal breaker. Am I somehow disallowed from not liking or not wanting to play a game due to hideous art direction? According to you and people on YouTube, that's a solid "yes" and as such, I deserve to be called out and verbally ostracized for not liking certain art styles in games.

Also 4000 sales in Japan, that's pretty sad.

"Oh no, he doesn't like a game due to the art style, we should gang up on him and make fun of him". Am I wrong?

Embracing this project isn't so simple. Nintendo embracing fan projects like this would more or less make them obligated to sift through or consider every fan-made game that comes their way, regardless of quality. It would create copycats of this project that have less time, effort and care into them than this one, simply slapped together in hopes of an easy payday.

It was Nin's duty to kill it, sure.
As it was the creator's to tell us to not hate & still support N..
But it is us fans, who have the duty to keep AM2R alive now

Nin. was too late, Am2r was completed on time and will root itself on the web now.

@WiltonRoots Honestly- and I sort of hate to say this- I think a lot of "gamers" just want something to get worked up over and complain about because they don't have much else to spend their time on. I'm not saying I'm the most productive/accomplished person in the world, but a lot of these people just seem to lack the life experience that would help them put this sort of thing into perspective and realize how absurd some of ther complaints are, and how unrealistic their demands of Nintendo are. And so many of them just permanently operate under the philosophy that all large companies are evil and have nefarious intentions simply because their first priority is to make money, which leads me to believe that most of these people have never worked anywhere in a meaningful capacity and probably never will.

@Smokingspoon NOT a duty, they could have just left it alone.

@-DEMISE- I completely agree. Some people just don't have other things to do so they get bored and get angry when things don't happen to their schedule or the way they want it. And yet they think they speak for everyone. Well they definitely don't speak for me.

@WiltonRoots
People seem to confuse "we" for "I."

Not sure why everyone is upset by this. It's simply someone trying to copy work and Nintendo protecting their own work. The creator knew this was going to happen. Anyone would do the same if it was their own. And any company would do the same.

Well if people didn't copy and remake other peoples work wouldn't be a problem.i got a idea make your own game and no one can touch it.

@LegendOfPokemon ummm because Nintendo created it,that's why.lol doesn't take a scientist to figure that out.or this guy could of had there permission first lol

@Smokingspoon and still takin down all that finished work of a NINTENDO GAME is done for nothing.wasted time if you ask me.instead he could have made a new game.

@Phil_Kavadias Nintendo have the right to protect their IP and copyrighted content. But I think the collaboration between fan creators and N could be more profitable in a long term. Nintendo could monitor the quality of those games, if they are afraid that a fan game could lead to confusion or creating a bad image of a franchise. A separate section of fan made games/hacks could highlight that those games aren't from the main source (N) and that they are iterations of Nintendo's franchises. Making those games available only if you own the original game the 'remakes' are based on could secure their profit.
I'm not a Sonic fan but I live with a Sonic fan here. I heard that various Sonic hacks/mods are supported by Sega (if you own the original game), that there is one game that began as a Sonic hack but ended as a separate IP, and that the recently revealed, so appraised by gamers, new Sonic game (that one with 16bit graphics) was made by guys who were originaly working on hacks. You see diffirent approach here, and the reactions are positive.
Nintendo, on the other hand, gives us Mario Maker, as the only official support for... Mario mods? All the other games with copyrighted content is going to be down, sooner or later, regardless if it's free and made for parody purposes.

@shaneoh Well, that's taking it a bit far. But Nintendo's always been borderline obsessive about their intellectual rights, so that's probably what they're thinking.

@Slim1999 @MrGuinea Sssshhhhh....they're trying to be angry at Nintendo.

I hope this goes the way of Freedom Planet and the guy removes all references to Nintendo and Metroid and make his own thing entirely. Worked for Galaxy Trail when SEGA was being idiots, it'll work for AM2R since it's so good. Nintendo's stuck in the past and they can't make a single good game anymore so they gotta strike down any attempt from anyone to do so for them instead of reaching out like Capcom and SEGA eventually did.
I guess in the end SEGA does do what Nintendon't. Meanwhile Mario's gonna get an iPhone game. If that's not pure unfiltered desperation I don't know what is. Just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean you should.
Honestly if the guy was smart he would've asked Nintendo for real statistics saying that the game was ruining their profit of Metroid 2 and if Nintendo didn't answer he could have counter-sued for attacking a student project that was released for free and made entirely from scratch.
Nintendo fanboys will be Nintendo fanboys though and no matter how much logic you argue or how much proper grammar you use(could of? really?) or how much actual knowledge of copyright law you have you they'll give you the same old shtick. You're part of the problem, you know. On the bright side Nintendo's stocks rose a little when Mario was announced on the iPhone. Neat.

@invictus4000 I would like a zip of the game please and thank you.

@BonziBuddy Sure man! I'm pretty sure I still have it. If you're on facebook, I am Colby Dunn in Utah (my profile banner has me kicking a heavy bag in a martial arts uniform). PM me!