Flipnote April Fools' Prank Results In Immediate Backlash And Abuse Towards Its Creator

The backlash... isn’t great, but really this might not be the year to play any AF pranks if you can help it. Tensions are running rather high right now.

That being said, maybe this will push them into porting it over to the Switch because there’s clear interest in the project.

LOLOLOLOL that's why I wait for Nintendo to announce stuff. April Fool's ! People should not be mad about this.

I can't check the Tweets for myself now since the account is locked, but like, is there any chance that them claiming the leak was an April Fool's joke is the April Fool's joke? I supposed it's unlikely but revealing your April Fool's joke on April Fool's day seems kind of weird.

Would probably be one of the greatest April Fool's pranks of all time if that is the case.

I'm not a big fan of the "jokes" done on this day, most are just not funny though admittedly a few good ones exist. That being said, the backlash seen here is a bit entitled.

I hear that the Mario 3D leaks are April fool's too.

It's honestly been a while since I have seen one so genuinely believable. Last time I saw one this good was early Blizzard WoW jokes.

I hate April fools jokes. Come on people what are we 12 years old.

@Wilforce The Mario rumors have Kotaku’s Jason Schreier backing them... his record for leaks is pretty much spotless. I’m inclined to believe at least the ones he’s reported on.

Everything about all of this story has been disappointing.

How on earth is it an April Fool’s joke when the information came out a few days before April 1st? Poor logic on their end. I would not be surprised if the Mario stuff ends up being fake, or at least partially fake too.

im fine with april fools but they uhh released it in march

@BenAV what other drama has happened with flipnote

I don’t get aiming a April Fool’s joke at a niche title that a dedicated fan base was annoyed in the first place to see terminates.

I would be angry at something like this too TBH. But I relented figured on something being wrong on how to import the pictures on the computer.

Gotta be careful when making pranks like this folks.

Haha. This was a great April Fools joke. They shouldn't have to apologise for it...that's the point to fool folk! Hey, I fell for Sol Cresta lol.

Serves them right, April Fools is garbage.

@readalie high tensions explain but don't excuse going ballistic over a disappointment regarding digital entertainment (and how much "escapism" this entertainment "provides in these trying times" doesn't excuse anything in the particular context either). It's apparently acceptable to make countless CoViD and quarantine memes to help discharge the very aforesaid tension somewhat (and I'm not debating this acceptability here myself), but a harmless April Fools' prank about a video game release is unadvised? Like the home self-isolation and toilet paper are the only allowed topics for humour now?

Let's not sugarcoat what is a simple perrenial quality of fanship and consumerist kneejerks in the age where ODE-drunk people can barely seem to have or express any degree of negative impression without a truckload of hyperboles and expletives in general.

@BenAV oh yeah the European version too forever to come out

They should've waited until today to do that, then people might not be as upset. As it is now, everyone's probably going to expect them to actually do it.

@nhSnork @readalie So they have time to be angry and rude towards a innocent developer despite these ‘tense times’...but not for April Fools when the reality is most people affected by it are under lockdown and could do with a laugh. I hear Italy’s on the verge of unrest...

Maybe its coming now, and this was to gauge its demand...am I reaching!?

While I do feel like something like this wasn't the best thing to have as an April Fools joke, nobody should be harassed over this. Remember people, people like sucks, but nobody wants you acting like one

1) April fools jokes can be risky for any company, best to make the joke really obvious and cute or stay away all together.
2) anyone mad about it or going as far as lashing out are maybe some of the dumbest people on the planet.

Well, that’s it. I officially give up. My underdeveloped, child like emotions just can’t handle a prank about an app. Time to scream on Twitter then stick my head in the oven.

I understand why people get mad.

But the comments were not okay. (Checked Eurogamer to see the comments). Please just cool down people!

Wow people love April’s fools day still don’t they. Many on here have a terrible sense of humour. How is this or any of these “jokes” funny???

I don’t get it at all.

I don’t think people should be going crazy but people “loving” these “pranks”..... seriously??

Obviously the personal attacks are unacceptable.

Speaking about Flipnote itself... it's just so disappointing that Nintendo still won't implement any sort of messaging service within the Switch OS. Even a little mail feature to send cute e-letters to your friends would have sufficed. At this point my friends just talk over the phone when we game.

And now my right Joy-con began drifting heavily, completely ruining my BOTW play through, as well as every other 3D game... My disappointment with Nintendo is piling up this month.

Imagine if Nintendo said today that Metroid Prime 4 was an elaborate prank three years in the making.

@Wilforce I REALLLLLLLLY hope not. The flipnote prank stinks, but the Mario one would be down right dirty and evil

@Octane Nintendo never said anything about Flipnote Studio Switch, you weren't robbed of anything.

I 100% called it

April Fool's is fun when it's about silly jokes, and announcements out of left field. Joke's on actual products or events like this are why people hate the holiday-it's annoying and disappointing, and there's only so much you can get away with by saying 'it's just a prank bro'. Honestly, if this wasn't from the ACTUAL DEVELOPER of the game, this would just be another rumor people hyped themselves up for.

We all just need a hot cuppa tea.

I was never a fan of Flipnote Studio anyways even if this was coming to Switch or not as without Hatena it's no fun.

Fanboys are cancer. That, and AFD pranks are stupid.

I feel like any prank that attempts to get peoples' hopes up for longer than 24 hours is asking for trouble.

Obviously not to the point of physical threats, as those are NEVER okay... But it shouldnt be surprising that people will have a few choice words/feelings towards you upon finding out you got their hopes up over a long-played lie.

And cheesing the technicality only makes matters worse. Making an April Fool's Day joke so far outside of April Fool's Day just doesnt count in a lot of folks' eyes.

@readalie I disagree. I want more pranks. More outrage. More scalping. More pork-barrel, moneyball politics. I want it all to get so bad that people understand just how flawed everything is, how flawed people are, and we start fixing problems.

@DTFaux Agreed. It's more disingenuous than a prank if it's conceived before April Fool's Day and intended to be revealed on the day. It's a morning of silliness, not a period of a few days.

I don't condone overly-abusive posts to the creator, but if you're committing your trickery days before April Fools Day, then it's not an April Fool's prank. You're just cheating and lying, and you should expect some backlash.

@TheDavyStar What?

The backlash is way over the top, and really some people need to take a long hard look at themselves with how they treat others. I don’t get why they released the images a few days ago and I do think people are allowed to voice their disappointment in it, but personal abuse against the owner to that level is uncalled for & unfair.

@readalie I'm inclined to believe most of the rumors, but it just sounds too good to be true - especially the Mario 3D All-Stars compilation rumor. Which with E3 cancelled it just puts so much up in the air at this point. This is not a good year and I really hope it's true.

I get being disappointed when something someone genuinely wants turns out to be an elaborate fake. I do think some chastisement and "Dude, seriously?" comments are in order.

But to wish nothing but ill on someone, or worse? That, in my opinion, is unwarranted bullying. People need to grow up. This world has enough problems without adding to them.

Can't take an April Fool's joke it seems!

2020 is not a year where April Fool's should be celebrated IMO.

@Octane Point being that Nintendo revealing Prime 4 is a prank is absolutely not the same and this Flipnote stuff isn't worth getting worked up over, if at all you were trying to make a point.

Imagine getting angry about what's essentially an MS Paint game.

@Tyranexx i don't know if "the world has enough problems right now rarrghh!" really works as a defense to "we made a lot of people believe something was real before the day designated for lying, where it would've been okay to lie"

@Wilforce Please no. I need something that gives me hope, damn it!

Can’t say I feel sorry for eurogamer.

Why do people not know the difference between a prank and a straight lie?

Nah, he deserves it. Had he had done this TODAY the backlash wouldnt have been as strong as it was. He didn't follow april fools rules.

Well to be honest, if there was a rumor flying around that Psychonauts was getting a Switch remaster and it all turned out to be a hoax, I would be livid. Still though, being abusive towards the dude who created the 'prank' is just pathetic. Just grumble to yourself and move on.

I'm just glad that the Mario rumors weren't jokes

This is why I hate April's Fools. It always results in disaster.

@Ryu_Niiyama I didn't believe this in the first place, but it is obvious people are mad because it was an "April Fools" "joke" done in March. Of course people are going to be pissed.

@Ulysses

Lol

@mystman12 That would be the biggest plot twist ever. The Mario rumors were the fake outs for this

@somebread I'm not saying I agree with their methods, and I'm not against some backlash. But on the scale and intensity that the creator seems to be receiving it? Heck no. I haven't seen any of the feedback in question, but I'm assuming there are death threats and comments in a similar vein. Stuff like that is unwarranted.

Imagine if all the false rumours got this kind of backlash.

You want an understantment? It's not what you think.
I know the great Flipnote community very well, and this prank was misinterpreted as an insult to some. But that wasn't the case, so stay cool! And you know what day is today? I won't believe this until I deal with it face-to-face.

@Fulgor_Astral

I dunno how bad it (the backlash) was, but I am certainly more in agreeance with you. People are locked in which means that they're probably consuming more info to cure the boredom & get them by as they are cooped up. I'm pretty sure that most are used to these juvenile stunts being pulled, but the fact that this joker decided to get a jumpstart on it to maximize the effectiveness of their sham & his/her amusement at the expense of others was pretty damn cruel as well.

I mean given that they are using social media, they could've done this at a time much more in line with the appropriate nature of the silly @$$ "holiday" instead of misleading people for however long it was well before it. It wasn't like a magazine being put out to print where you have to make sure you include it ahead of time or whatever & somebody got a magazine early. I personally wouldn't have went to such an extreme, but at the same time I can understand people being po'd at that corny ish if it was something that truly spoke to them. Especially in times like this.

Maybe this will teach them that not everyone has time or the toletance for childish jokes. And if you're going to play the silly little april fool's games, then do it more in line with tradition.Also, maybe it will teach those that got bit to be more diligent in your research & not to automatically believe something right out of the gate or because it's what you wanna hear. That's how you end up with certain political figures, wondering if Morgan Freeman died again, and faux news et cetera.

Nothing sadder than a dork upset over vidya-games

That's sad... People are pathetic. If you can't take a joke, the internet may not be for you. Gamers are terrible.

I've been bamboozled once too many. Now, it's time to watch Ghostbusters 2016 and cringe to death.

Joke's on the devs for pulling a lame prank instead of actually making this app that, obviously, has a demand.

I saw that coming. I remember people begging for or selling Flipnote codes for the 3DS. I wish such reactions would stop these "leakers."

@daveh30 to be fair, if you cant take heat, the internet might not be for you either :V

Between folks getting worked up over this and the PlatinumGames stuff, lol. Are we for real?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, PEOPLE ACTUALLY BELIEVED THAT SH*T? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

I don't condone the threats but if they're going to make a fake leak, perhaps don't do it during a pandemic.

@Doofenshmirtz If there are pictures to go with a leak and they look legit, we have every right to believe them.

Maybe change the strapline for the article, as it suggests that the people abusing the guy responsible are representative of 'Nintendo fans' in general. That's not a good look for those of us who would consider ourselves Nintendo fans, which presumably applies to most of the people who visit this website...

@Entrr_username Oh yeah, pictures that literally anyone with any knowledge of photoshop can make, all right bud

The problem here was that their "April Fools" joke wasn't presented on April 1st. That's the biggest fail you can do with a prank like this. Do it on April 1st, and most people will just laugh it off. Do it well before April 1st, and then claim that it was an April Fools joke much later is just asking for people to be pissed at you.

That said, being abusive toward them is absolutely not okay. Make your disgust about their tasteless joke known, but don't be an abusive jack***.

I’m saddened we won’t be getting Flipnote for Switch; I very much enjoy using photoshop and note to make small illustrations/animations. I’m not great at making them by any real means but it’s still a fun little distraction and boosts my creative aspirations.

Welp cant get mad at them.(He so deserve that) if your going to make a joke do it on April 1st, not days before.

Meh, flipnote... Now if that Mario All-Stars 2 game (64,sunshine,galaxy) was an april fools joke then I would of flipped my shed, cooked both sides evenly and fed it to Nintendo

@graysoncharles facebook...?

There is no reason to get so angry about this kind of thing. This kind of so-called "fan" backlash on social media is one of the reasons I don't use Facebook and Twitter at all.

I can't stand social media culture. Nothing but bile, arguments, racism, fighting, mud slinging, insults and complaints.

Everything I hear stories like this, I think of filthy frank.

Man, some folks need to chill out. Furthermore, never take a leak, rumor or whatever as 100% confirmation. Heck, even retailer listings which usually have a solid track record can be a mistake.

Well at least the Mario remasters didn't turn out to be a big hoax. Because THAT would've been pretty ugly.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill

I don't feel the least bit sorry for the creator. Play dumb games, get dumb prizes.

April fool’s jokes are fine, but they need to be funny and clever, you know, like a joke.

The external terraflop drive joke on NL’s sister site Pushsquare was perfect!

But this, along with Platinum, is trolling - hence the backlash

@KingBowser86 That’s not a usual way to approach April Fools Day, but whatever makes you happy I guess.

@nhSnork @Mince Like I said, I don’t like how people are lashing out against the studio here. I certainly don’t agree with their behavior.

@Wilforce It would certainly be a rare bright spot in a dark year.

@readalie Happens to one's outlook over decades of abuse.

I mean, the prank WAS pretty terrible.

i really wanted flipnote....

@Wilforce No, It can't be.

But seriously, what the hell did they expect, they basically teased Paper Mario, Pikmin and SMO2, like, come on!

They don't deserve the abuse, but you have to admit that the whole "pretend we're releasing highly anticipated game' prank that happens every single April Fools Day is getting very stale.

The backlash is insane imo, but there is a difference between a joke and a false promise. The latter results in disappointment. A joke should not.

This case unfortunately was a false promise.

I was among the angry commenters, mostly because I wrote an actual news article on Flipnote prior to the "reveal". It'd have been nice if I was the only one admitting to have fallen for a rumor, but doing so on behalf of an entire website is quite another beast entirely.

@gameboy1975 Wow, calm down there. It's a game-console app, nothing to get so upset to write multiple long paragraphs about.

I'd consider that almost as "childish" as the prank itself was.

is no one going to look this information up before believing this article? please do look this up because telling us a quote without no direct link to the social media post or showing any hard core proof really makes me think you are just lying here. which is very wrong -making people who are ignornat to believe this bogus stuff. no thank you. i rather look up the informaiton up then believe this article, sorry nintendo.

@SortingHat What the hell are you talking about?

@KingMike

Funny thing is, I don't even know WTF it is. So, how about YOU calm down? As I don't give a rat's bottom about that app or even knew about it"s existence. Like I said before, do your thing & be as childish as you want with it, but to mislead a lot of people who are actually excited about it, at least keep it an April Fool's Joke.

Nobody GAF what you think is childish as you probably still think April Fool's pranks/jokes are cool. Not to mention I can bet dollars to donuts that you are here posting here more than me because you have the time...child. Anyway, don't worry about WTF I am doing llil man. Anyway, tine to mute ya. Goodbye kid...

I am astonished that someone is calling someone else a child with such a foul-language response. I am calm down, can you not tell by how I am not using such language myself?
If you don't have the time to be reading these articles and writing a response, they why are you doing exactly that?
I am not angry, I am amused by the response.

I don't know why anyone would want Flipnote for the Switch in the first place, it's not got the type of touchscreen that allows for precise inputs with a stylus like the DS and 3DS had, you'd have to get one of those stubby styli that aren't at all accurate enough for detailed animations. I guess if you have the drawing abilities of a 3rd grader it wouldn't be a huge deal but forget seeing anything impressive like what used to be made.