
Update [Fri 25th Mar, 2022 10:00 GMT] - Well, that didn't last long. Last week, we reported on a stunning collection of online scans from the 1996 Super Mario 64 guide; a true relic that would likely cost a hefty sum if you wanted a physical copy today.
Thanks to an update from Kotaku, we can now report that the scans have now been taken offline after a copyright strike from Nintendo of America, which Internet Archive passed onto the original uploader, Comfort Food Video Games.
Before we give our own opinion on this, here's a quote from the uploader courtesy of Kotaku:
"Sadly archive.org sent me their usual takedown notice email telling me Nintendo of America challenged the copyright of the scan and it was removed. Frankly I’d love to challenge the legitimacy of that and how Nintendo of America would have anything to do with a Nintendo of Japan licensed Gem Books guide from 1995 but I can’t really fight the Nintendo legal team here. It’s incredibly disappointing.
While I fully understand protecting one’s IP and copyrights I didn’t think I was hurting anyone by scanning and uploading a 27 year old guide that is extremely out of print. Truthfully I think it helps Nintendo while only hurting the people selling this guide for literal hundreds of dollars. All I wanted to do was spread my love of this incredible guide and to a larger extent my love for the company.
I’m a rookie to the video game preservation scene but I can’t think of anything more depressing than how it’s a bunch of hard working people spending their free time and money painstakingly archiving and preserving history while major corporations like Nintendo are doing nothing to help. In fact they’re actively hindering the cause."
This is obviously a disappointing turn of events, although not especially surprising if you're familiar with Nintendo's previous takedowns. On the one hand, of course, the guide remains Nintendo's copyright and it has every right to defend it, but let's be honest here, it's been out of production for years at this point. The likelihood of Nintendo reissuing such a product - particularly outside of Japan - is incredibly slim when you consider the number of times Super Mario 64 has already been released on various platforms; we daresay it's missed its chance.
On a more positive note, we'd wager that the cat is now out of the bag. With something like a collection of online scans, you can bet that this thing is already in circulation outside of the Internet Archive. Nintendo has proven itself thorough when it comes to copyright claims, but we doubt that even it will be able to nail this one down completely.
Were you able to view the Super Mario 64 guide before its takedown? Do you own a copy of the original? Let us know.
Original Story [Tue 15th Mar, 2022 14:30 GMT]
Proper game guides really feel like a thing of the past now, with online walkthroughs and YouTube guides being a far more convenient, if a bit sterile, alternative.
One of the best examples of a game guide done right is the original 1996 Japanese guide for Super Mario 64, complete with commentary from the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto and a set of gorgeous dioramas based on the game's levels.
The guide is fairly difficult to get hold of these days, and you'd be looking at parting with a decent wad of cash to bag one on eBay. Thankfully, all 152 pages have now been scanned online in HD, so everyone can view and appreciate the incredible work that's gone into it. Granted, the whole thing is in Japanese, but we'd wager most readers know Super Mario 64 inside and out by now.
Here's a sample of the delights held within, but you can check out the full guide over on Internet Archive (link removed due to copyright claim).
Be sure to take a look - maybe its time for another playthrough of Super Mario 64!
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 132
Cool. Still have mine.
I've always drooled over this, great to have a full digital copy after all these years.
@Nontendo_4DS
It's probably the least accessible 3D Mario. It's my favorite, though. I played it for the first time in 2019. But I had to get pretty good at it before I started to really love it. And I still have trouble with the camera, even after 100%-ing it three times.
Love the original, and had to play it through again when it was on Wii and then when 3D All stars came along, dont think I need a guide anymore, and to be honest never used one, except for the flying hat, how was i supposed to know that you just look up
I still have the official Nintendo player’s guide. Question for anyone who knows the answer: Were the Nintendo player’s guides published by Nintendo of America direct translations from a Japanese guide or were they original publications? It appears they still publish video game guide books in Japan up to now.
@Nontendo_4DS
Yeah, the turning... I mean, I now love Mario 64's controls. The skill ceiling and creative freedom are sky high. But the game really punishes you for being too careful with your movements — which you inevitably are when you're starting out. So you keep doing wide U-turns on small platforms or slipping off... However, in my case, this issue started to fade over time, because by now I'm side somersaulting and long jumping all over the place, and performing skidding about-faces at full speed, and it's awesome. Later 3D Marios are more polished and comfortable right off the bat — namely Galaxy and Odyssey — but the platforming isn't as visceral or inertia-based anymore. Mario 64's roughness becomes an asset in high-level play. Yet it's a roadblock until then.
I still never touched my Mario 3D All Stars for 1 year. Mario 64 was not even something I want to play. Too archaic for me.
@Beaucine Without Mario 64, I wouldn’t have been able to “git gud” at Dark Souls 2. They use the same sort of movement scheme for the characters basic walk/run animation. I agree that the hardest part of Mario 64 are it’s controls, though. Feels pretty slippery!
@BloodNinja
Haha! In my case, it's kind of the other way around. Dark Souls taught me the patience and confidence I needed and didn't have for many other games (and areas of life!)
I miss gaming manuals!!! Wish they would bring them back
This makes me happy.
@Nontendo_4DS
Yeah, exactly! I had the opposite experience: I dabbled in SMB when I was very, very young, practically a toddler, but it wasn't until 2020 that I sat down to actually finish the thing. And it was hard at first, because it's a lot like Mario 64: if you're not basically playing like a speed runner and leveraging your inertia, you can't pick up altitude in your jumps. So you keep falling. Once that clicked for me, I absolutely loved SMB. But I had to forget everything I learned from SMB 3 and World.
@Beaucine Have you played Elden Ring?
Mmh...only guide I've ever bought for a 3D Mario game was Super Mario Sunshine by...uhm...Prima Games, if I remember correctly.
I finished Mario 64 without a guide. Then did the same for SM64 DS. But I didn't care about the collecting part.
@BloodNinja
Not yet! I'm holding off because I know that once I get started on it, it'll just be Elden Ring for months. Haha. So I want to finish the games I've already begun (Death's Door, Majora's Mask, and A Plague Tale) before that.
Awesome!! This is the kind of article I’m really grateful you’ve posted, thanks!
@Beaucine those sounds amazing too!
@Beaucine Wait, there are other games besides Elden Ring?
@Nontendo_4DS Was it the controls? I remember back in the day really wrestling with the control scheme for a while before it clicked. After that it was bliss.
My favourite 3d Mario.
The only 3d Mario that lets you wall jump from a long jump.
@Nontendo_4DS Very fair assessment! It's true, though. I find that I need to practice the game a lot before I get good at it again, even though I've played it on and off since childhood. Could definitely use some refinements!
@Nontendo_4DS I saw in the comments of another article some months ago that quite a few people found Mario 64 didn't age all that well. I played it a couple of times when it was new, so I know it felt like a big leap forward and it was impressive. But I didn't have an N64 so I never played the game long enough to get to know its flaws. I decided to dive in deeper recently. Frankly, I only enjoyed it for a short while. I had too many issues with the controls, the camera, and lots of wasted time from all the collecting and stuff like the races. That stuff bothered me in other games in those days, so I suspect the novelty of Mario 64 would have worn off quick with me in its time. I had my fill in one stage with controllable moving platforms and Mario seemed to have a mind of his own including falling down for whatever reason. Point is, you're not alone if you end up not liking it. However, if you do try again to get into it, I wish you luck.
You've got to be kidding me.
i suppose i have to wonder the veracity of the claim but considering the effort required to counter-claim etc. is so weighed against the one who was copyright struck, does it even matter
Removed - unconstructive
Played Super Mario 64 twice back in the day and finished it. Played some of it again on the DS when it launched there and tbh I hated it and the only reason I played it at all is because I love Mario but Super Mario 64? can't stand it and I think it's one of the most overrated N64 games in existence.
Won't be surprised if Nintendo re-releases the guide. Clearly there is interest.
And nothing of value was lost... from dozens of torrents and other internet stashes the copies of this scan collection undoubtedly inhabit by now.
As far as this goes? Nintendo can have my middle finger. Jesus Christ talk about petty.
@ShadowofTwilight22 Took the words right out of my mouth.
For every one thing Nintendo take down another 10 will spring up in their place.
Hadn’t grabbed it yet. If anyone has a copy or knows where it’s up still - ping me……please
Thanks in advance
@Enigk yeah Nintendo has picked a pretty bad hill to torch their reputation on.
@Stocksy check the twitter mentioned in the body of the article (para 2 for ref), numerous people have mirrored it and been retweeted
@Stocksy
Dig around Comfort Food VG's Twitter and you'll find it within a few posts anyway.
@RupeeClock @somebread thank you very much! Cheers for the replies
@Nontendo_4DS Agreed, despite how revolutionary Mario64 was back in the day, I think it hasn't aged well at all. It's nowhere near a classic as Super Mario Bros. 3, or Super Mario World will ever be, for me. The controls are way too clunky. I'm glad that I'm not alone.
I don't play Mario 64 even I already have 3D All Stars last year. Not interested to play archaic 3D platformer games with frustrating gameplay.
So, another day of Nintendo being Nintendo? I'm not surprised this is being taken down, but I am disappointed that they're so adamant about taking down really old stuff that should be considered public domain by now.
as a side note, messing with me that mario 64 is very nearly 30 years old
Waiting for a google drive link so I can preserve it myself. This is ridiculous.
@RubyCarbuncle Aye gotta agree. It was great at what it did for the genre but holy crap it needs a remake.
Now this is where I think Nintendo has gone too far. I mean it's a 27 year old guide book and it's out of print plus everyone already knew all the ins and outs of Super Mario 64 anyways. It definitely wouldn't hurt to archive these for historic sake. A guide is like an FAQs or walkthrough, it's just information not a cheat or an exploit. What if I just need to know how to get a specific item or need help with a specific obstacle that is impossible to get through normal mean? This is just lame.
This is getting beyond ridiculous now even for Nintendo's standards....
Nintendo gonna Nintendo, no matter how much it might hurt them
Well, good thing I downloaded scans of it the other night. This company's legal eagles are getting beyond ridiculous at this point.
Eh? Super Mario 64 controls better than the overwhelming majority of 3D adventure games before or since. Are people playing it with a keyboard? Is the stick sensitivity off in the 3D All-Stars version (not inconceivable due to the N64's weird stick response)? What's going on here?
People who support eternal copyrights and keep defending companies when they copyright strike things: "Stop mooching the work other people made, go make your own stuff."
This is a strategy guide from 1996 that is not only out of print and extremely rare, meaning that it can disappear forever, if people don't upload it on the internet, all the physical versions of the guide may disappear and the guide will be lost forever, but out of print means Nintendo is not going to lose a penny if people read it on the internet instead of buying it second-hand.
The Internet Archive is not about mooching the work of other people so they can get money from things they didn't made, it's about preserving things for the future generations.
@Anti-Matter Are you waiting for a response? That’s the second time you’ve said that in this comment section alone
Grabbed it the day you told us of it.
Same with any fan effort, you have to get it fast if possible
I'm not going to defend nintendo legacy publicly anymore, maybe 20 years from now it will sue me...LOL (Nintendo: gimme your money....MONEY....no money? You useless!! GET OUT)
So let me get this straight. You can copy, paste and redistribute classic works of art like the Mona Lisa and no one bats an eye. But scans of barely a quarter century old, out of print game guide being made public online to enjoy and Nintendo drops the legal hammer?! Just because Nintendo has the legal right to do so doesn’t mean they should. This wasn’t hurting them the least bit. It’s causing more bad publicity rather to actually helping defend their ip.
If it was a game takedown, I find it justified. Everything else? Unacceptable.
@Markiemania95
I mean, am I not allowed to say my opinion about Mario 64 ?
I have a different idea about that game.
The coolest part of this guide which Nintendo themselves should have provided by now in greater quality are the model shots photographed as level maps. If anything they should be behind glass in a Nintendo Store or at Nintendo World.
A simple case of unauthorised distribution. The book isn't eligible for public domain until 2091. It is why there are copyright rules and regulations. Oh, and no, Nintendo aren't paying me. I would support any company defending their copyrighted material from unauthorised distribution.
This just prompt me to look for my SM64 manual, I got the box, I have two copies of the cart... but no manual!!! Damn you Nintendo!! Damn you all!!!!
@Anti-Matter By all means. You’re allowed to say it twice in the same comment section, in fact. But doing so the second time when not responding to anyone just seems a little odd.
Smh Nintendon’t. Tbh I’ve always thought it would be a cool feature to add game manual scans as part of each of the official Nintendo Switch Online emulator apps on Switch.
Overall, Nintendo really needs to do better with preservation and accessibility of their gaming history… maybe they’re working on some official ways they plan to unveil soon behind the scenes i.e Square making official music channels on YouTube of late finally… and/or y’know just not strike don’t fan support… it really does more good than harm most times (free fan marketing, promo, spread, sharing… how they don’t see it this way, I don’t know).
… Wun can only hope.
@Trikeboy In 2091, we may not have physical copies of the guide around anymore, since even now they are rare.
Organizations like these need to be allowed to make copies for preservation, not for easy money, and since in this case, Nintendo is doing squat to preserve the guide themselves, allowing anyone to read it for free is not going to take away any money from Nintendo.
Typical Nintendo 😒. They only like their fans when they can profit from it.
"While I fully understand protecting one’s IP and copyrights I didn’t think I was hurting anyone by scanning and uploading a 27 year old guide that is extremely out of print."
It's not hurting anyone. Nintendo doesn't care that you aren't hurting them. They just seemingly hate the idea that a published work belongs just as much to the fans as it does the creators.
And this is just further evidence that pirating Nintendo content is morally justified. If they are this petty over a nearly 30 year old out of print guide, how do you think they feel about more recent content (including anything that will disappear from the Wii U and 3ds eshop soon)?
They 100% do not have plans to use this content. They certainly do not want you to enjoy content that they don't directly profit from.
The guide book wasn’t even published by Nintendo. Also they really should have localized that guide back in 1996 for the West.
@Fizza Your PFP checks out.
This is petty.
Why does Nintendo hate its fans so much? Awful Youtube policies that punishs fans, terrible pricing for the expansion pass thing, sueing anyone that dares to host ROMS despite most of them being unplayable through any other method, ignoring fans entirely about Switch features and now copyright strikes that cause them absolutely no harm.
Why is Nintendo so far behind the rest of the gaming world. They keep acting like the internet is this new scary thing.
For me, the movement in SM64 feels natural and easy, but that's because I grew up playing it. However, some of my friends who never played it have said it's hard to control.
Don't Nintendo (EDIT: and some Nintendo fans) make you feel ashamed of being a Nintendo fan?
@Nontendo_4DS I was never a fan of SM64 either having loved the 2D games before it.
Weirdly though, I like SM: Sunshine...
❗️You know what's happen now; It'll appear on MyNintendo where you can download it for 400Points🥈
@Richnj Published work belongs to the people making the work or the IP holder unless the work has been made royalty free/shareware etc. Fans aren't entitled to it just because they are fans.
@earthinheritor they sued websites SELLING access to ROMs, not simply hosting them.
@victordamazio preserving it is up to Nintendo and the publisher of the book, not randos on the internet who have an over inflated sense of entitlement to just take things that don't belong to them.
@Rosalinho I agree, what are these people talking about? Nothing wrong with Super Mario 64 controls. I even beat the game on DS using that funny thumb pad thing.
I'm going to go out in a limb and guess everyone knocking super Mario 64 in this thread is under 30.
@Trikeboy Some of the ones they went after didnt sell access to the ROMs, they made money on the site from banners like everyone else. Nintendo went on a rampage shutting down as many ROM sites as they could.
@RubyCarbuncle I will preface by saying that I don't like Mario 64. However, if you enjoyed the game back in the day and then didn't like the DS version, that is totally understandable. It's quite difficult to play a 3D platformer with the freedom of movement as Mario 64 when all you have is a D-pad that realistically only allows you to move in 8 directions.
It was a weird decision, as well as the one to add more characters and stars imo. All I'm saying is, if you enjoyed the original but didn't like the DS version, maybe try out the original again.
@BlueGBAMicro LOL See, that's the problem. The guide is not available anymore and if it is it's at a massive price. At least if Nintendo offered this guide through My Nintendo, I could see them taking it down from Archive. But because it's really not accessible by any other means, it's like... why?
Ugh.. This is really the first time I'm looking at one of their takedowns and I'm like.. why, Nintendo, why!?
At least the other things were understandable at least in some degree.
@ChromaticDracula Probably publication contracts. Outside of us technically not being able to post pictures or anything of the sort that is copywritten (we do because no one is going to police the entire internet over minor infractions), the fact this is a complete guide does open a larger can of worms. Nintendo probably does not want to sue anyone so a simple cease and desist is the most minor thing they can do.
Agree with it or not this does violate copywriter law and Nintendo does have the right to do it. Though it would be nice in the future if Nintendo added old Nintendo Power Guides or other published guides as part of Expansion Pass. That would probably avoid these messy situations. As @Trikeboy pointed out (a little rudely) when it comes to stuff like this it is the publisher's discretion to publically release this material. Provided it is on a server or an archive somewhere it is preserved. This has been a discussion I think we should have more of if preservation and access are mutually exclusive and if we as fans are entered to access.
Grrr I hate Nintendo. Everything thy have ever done, ever is so cool and needs to be available for free. They also hate money. Otherwise, they would still be making everything they have ever done, ever. And don't get me started on the partners they had when they made everything. Man...this hurts my brain.
@GrailUK I think I smell sarcasm. Is that sarcasm I smell? Though yeah I think people need to understand there is an upward limit on what Nintendo can and cannot keep available.
@Wexter When you word it this way, I suppose I can also understand the circumstances that lead to a take-down. I wouldn't want someone posting my art or photos without my permission. Although I guess I wouldn't mind toooooo much so as long as I was given credit.. Anyway, thanks for explaining!
Hey, if they purchased it they have a right to scan it for future generations to see for free. It's not as though Nintendo reprints old manuals, and they can be useful. Furthermore paper doesn't last forever. They've never had a problem with old manual scans for all these years. Petty, petty, petty.
Yeah this just screams petty like everyone else is saying even if its their "legal right".
This is probably the worst Nintendo has been PR wise in a while.
@Wexter Not really. People will put up photos of their book covers, their movie posters, and their CD tracklists with artwork and no one sues. Nintendo is being overzealous.
How long before people wake up and boycott this stupid company..?
@Trikeboy This isn't about taking things that don't belong to them, public domain is not about mooching the work other people made, it's about improving the work other people made, ideas are not supposed to be owned, they are supposed to be expanded and improved, since in this case, the guide is out of print and expensive on the second-hand market, just uploading it on the internet is a great improvement over the original.
While legally, Nintendo did nothing wrong, this shows how copyright laws are wrong and need to be reformed.
@Wexter I love the smell of sarcasm in the morning.
He didn’t have the legal right which is why he didn’t challenge this. Would have been a big waste of money and time on his part.
@Tempestryke I'm going to play devil's advocate here (as I don't really care that much either way) but I reckon posting a book cover online is a different proposition to posting the whole complete work. Pretty much sure a musician would take issue with someone posting the music and the track list. I dunno. Media is media I would imagine.
@Trikeboy and without the fans, IPs mean nothing.
Entire subcultures form around these IPs, and this is what turns an IP from being an idea is someone's head in to a mega franchise worth billions.
The whole thing is a symbiotic relationship. To be so possessive over your IP, taking the fun out of your franchise for fans, shutting down their fan projects and preservation of of that subculture's history is actually bad for that fandom and Nintendo's IP value.
Copyright striking a scan for an out-of-print, 27 year old guide for a N64 game? Really...?
This is honestly a new low for Nintendo. A lot of the copyright strikes before this one had at least some justifiable reasoning behind them...but this? This is just absolutely absurd. I bet you that the guide would have also NEVER been taken down if news outlets wouldn't have reported on it. Typical.
@Tempestryke Those are different. Technically we are not allowed to post anything that is copywritten on the internet unless it falls under fair use (even then we have international limitations. Look up TotallyNotMark v. Toei). If you want an example of a video being taken down due to the copyright of the album cover look up Alan Levenson and his takedown complaint of "Plastic Love." So, the example your listing has happened in the past. Once again we are technically not allowed to just use copywritten photos and pictures, but we do anyway because no one is going to police that (except on rare occasions like Plastic Love). This is a case of a complete guide being posted. Out of print or not, the copyright holder and publisher have the discretion if it is to be posted online or this was more being posted than just the cover or the odd piece of artwork. There are a number of out of print books you cannot just post online because they are rare or expensive. That is just how copyright works in print.
Man Nintendough are real dicks sometimes.
For the people defending Nintendo, how many people pirated this strategy guide because they wanted to see hints about Super Mario 64 without paying for the guide?
Internet has many free guides around that are better for those who want to finish the game, the real value this guide has is artistic and historical, people want to see this because it has cool artworks and they want to see a piece of Nintendo history.
This is another reason to prove why copyright laws are too restrictive.
@somebread thank you!
@GrailUK
In nintendos case a lot of people would buy a lot of these things if they could, the issue is less people expecting them for free and more that there's often no alternative way to buy them outside of maybe some expensive ebay listing where none of the money goes to nintendo.
the same thing goes with the likes of nintendos music, with quite a few companies these days having their music on spotify or for digital purchase in the west, ive ended up buying quite a bit of the FFXIV ost and a lot of falcoms work since its available digitally, some of segas stuff too (picked up a few of the sonic soundtracks)
also mentioned it before in comments but the virtual console is a good example, while digital isnt exactly ideal when it comes to the likes of ownership its definitely a hell of a lot better than having it exclusively tied to a service where unlike the wii or wiiu eshop people wont be able to access their games once the service is down, as mentioned before i would definitely buy a bunch of nintendos classics on switch if i could.
I feel like an issue with discussion often is the idea of people criticizing things like this because they have it out for nintendo, and while there are certainly a bunch of console war types around, often there are those who are more frustrated because they love nintendos games and systems but dislike some of their choices when it comes to the buisness side (another example would be the region lock on 3ds, since there were a few games like SMTIV which were digital only in europe and took up a lot of space)
apologies for the ramble again.
@RupeeClock thank you
People really should be focusing on copyright law more than Nintendo when it comes to their bs DMCAs. The law literally gives any company the right to copyright strike something as long as it features their property no matter the context. Seriously, the majority of what gets striked against wouldn't be taken down if context actually mattered to the law. Even if it's decades old and isn't even being produced anymore.
If Nintendo had half as many attorneys and twice as many developers, the world would be four times better off.
Nintendo really needs to step up their preservation game if they are going to pull stuff like this.
Would be NICE if Nintendo had someway to release this to the world... 😒
As with EVERYTHING Nintendo-related, download IMMEDIATELY before the Red and Blue Demon emerges from the depths of Lethal Lava Land to hammer it out of existence.
@victordamazio I think you confuse explaining with defending. Understanding and explaining the reasons why a company would take down an unauthorized distribution of their IP and the works related to that IP is not the same as defending the action to do so. I personally don't give an F' if this is up or not. But, to Nintendo, this is an unauthorized release of their works which they could have future use to distribute. Think of it from your perspective. Let's say you invested let's lowball this $10,000-$40,000 to have this guide made (I'm lowballing the cost as it was probably more) and while you're not selling it right now you could have a use for it in the future. Then someone takes said guide and uploads it without your consent and is just giving it away. I'd think you'd be rather miffed as well. That is the kind of perspective you need to take when understanding why a company takes down things like this.
Nintendo being trash like always, what a surprise. This is why you pirate most of their stuff
@Wexter I get your point, but this is a motte and bailey situation, companies destroyed copyright, but every time people complain, they pull the card that copyright is important to help artists and creators to live and you wouldn't want people copying your work.
Since Nintendo abandoned this guide, they aren't selling it for years, and sharing it on the internet is not making Nintendo lose anything, we need copyright laws not to be abolished, but reformed, allowing this, making sure that Nintendo can only take down the guide if they reprint it.
Guess I'll torrent it. Bwahahaha!
Removed - flaming/arguing
@victordamazio I think you're not fully understanding what I'm saying. You're saying they should just reprint it. Let's take a look at how much a reprint costs. On average a unit for a strategy guide can cost to just print is $21.33USD (8x10 legal page size roughly 200pgs colour ink and standard shipping) and we print at a minimum of 40,000 units which costs us roughly $840,000USD to print a singular strategy guide. That is before we calculate how much we'd lose to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other distributors. That's a lot of money. Now we can lower that cost on bulk ordering and maybe use cheap quality paper. but... this is not so simple. Nintendo could host the guide as a Kindle, but that still costs money. That and these guides could have royalty fees to the original writers, editors and publishing houses.
Notice how this is a bit more complicated than you think? Strategy guides in general are a dying market and the print industry is not cheap. Nintendo could fold some of these guides into a bonus on Expansion Pass, but now we're playing a much more complicated game.
Here is a video explaining the complications you are suggesting https://youtu.be/uR6mzCs3hjg
@Trikeboy The real life Luke was pretty open to fans having some ownership of the franchise and didn't like the sequel Luke. I'd rather get my advice from him.
i wager that nostalgia and fan enthusiasm is more valuable to Nintendo than being "right" in their copyright claims over youtube music and strategy guides. they are making a mistake, "right" or wrong.
fortunately, if it's on the internet, it will never leave the internet. God bless torrents!
So glad to see that nowadays the over whelming majority on here seem to be firmly against Nintendos over the top legal stance on things like this- believe it or not as little as only a few years ago I remember when nearly every comment on articles (from this site in particular) regarding fan reproductions/re-releases such as this were nearly all firmly in Nintendos favour (only spotted one or two instances in the comments for this article where people have parroted “its their IP they have every right...” for example- THAT little gem used to crop up every other comment!) , can only imagine that several years of Nintendo banging the same C&D drum has taken its toll on even the most forgiving of their fans.
Archive.org is the best site on the net.
Surprised this of all things on there is getting a copywrite strike though.
I remember when some tried this with Nintendo power mags. And also got taken down. You got to remember, try to, that most things "Nintendo" means "nope, don't even do it".
It doesn't matter if they're outta print or whatever. Nintendo will find and put a stop to it.
f** nintendo
@Don To answer your question about the official guides from Nintendo, they were all original publications.
This is over the top, Nintendo needs to relax a bit when it comes to this stuff. Their IPs being used in games is one thing, but come on, this is an out of print, old guide being preserved.
If they really wanted to stop this stuff, they'd offer it up themselves as then there'd be no need for anyone else to do it.
@Trikeboy
List of things I have on my computer downloaded:
Many soundtracks of VGM, including some albums (such as the Mario Kart 64 on Club Circuit) remixes never released outside of Japan.
Out of print strategy guides.
English Translated ROMs of games never released outside of Japan (A few include MOTHER 3, Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Ōsōji!, and Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love.)
Many Satellaview Games (Some more notable ones including The Legend of Zelda remake, the new Excitebike game featuring Mario characters, and the semi-sequel to Link to the Past.)
Unless Nintendo actively tries to release crap that we can no longer get nor will ever get released, I will continue breaking Intellectual property.
In this instance surely all Nintendo is doing is helping Ebay prices go up?! Just don’t see how they gain from this and it must cost them to do it. I have really enjoyed reading old N64 and NGC mags in recent years.
Nintendo portray themselves as a family-friendly company but when you look at their actions it's a greedy, selfish, petty, spiteful family that despises the community they are part of unless it can exploit them as much as they can.
This action feels particularly petty but it's building on years of similar practices to stop people enjoying and sharing being part of that family.
This is why the copyright laws are outdated. Whilst that is Nintendo’s physical rights they also do not provide an outlet for players to buy this 26 year old players guide.
If Nintendo lost no money from the upload then the law has not been broken.
It really confuses me how to a lot of Nintendo fans preservation just seems to mean "being available for free". Because if we are actually talking about copies of something being preserved, Nintendo does have a very good track record (and have helped other companies who didn't preserve code for some of their games before).
And I would very much guess that Nintendo also preserves all their strategy guides and stuff but of course they won't make them available for free.
I don't judge people for downloading things no longer available but pretending it's all about preserving those things is weird.
@jm816
Thank you for the confirmation. I was curious because I think the very first guide books “How to win at Super Mario Bros.” and “Legend of Zelda Tips and Tactics” were translated guides from Japanese publications. The earlier player’s guides says published by Nintendo of America in conjunction with Tokuma Shoten. I wasn’t certain because in North America there was usually only one official guide published with maybe few others from Bradygames and Prima. Japan published multiple guide books for each game and I think they still publish guide books in 2022.
Wow, I registered just to say this: As a scanner of old videogame magazines, I sincerely hope that this website and all others will do me the favor of NEVER writing an article about anything I've scanned. This same thing happened a couple of years back. Issues of Nintendo Power which had been available at Internet Archive FOR YEARS got taken down within days of some site like this one posting an article about their availability, which was then picked up by dozens of other news sites. That kind of exposure forces Nintendo to play their hand, and the stuff gets taken down (from the Internet Archive, anyway. Those files are all still available at the place they originated from in the first place.)
Magazine (or strategy guide) preservation is a moral grey area, in that as many people have pointed out, the material is long out of print and will never be reprinted, so making it available isn't financially damaging anyone. But it's still technically violating copyright, so if someone decides to take issue with it, there's no defense. So PLEASE, if you find something online that someone has scanned for preservation, download it, enjoy it, but for god's sake DON'T WRITE A NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT IT. Thank you.
@Trikeboy
Did you get TPC's permission to use tyrantrum as your avatar?
Another nail in why I'm done with Nintendo.
They don't need my money but hopefully more folks ditch N and just go with MS. I can't really recommend Sony since they're almost as bad.
@a1904 they are not pretending in the slightest and people preserve stuff other then video games or even digital media.
You don't get it, that's fine. But no one is pretending they want to preserve video game content.
Your kind of mentality is the reason things like Gran Turismo 7 happen
I don't like it, but I get it. If it's copyrighted material then of course it's not okay to upload and share it around. That's kind of the point of having things copywritten in the first place. Not that it really matters much since they don't sell it anymore, but I'm sure it's some kind of company policy made up by the lawyers that says copyrights are active for however many years the law says.
I don't see how you could be stealing something if it isn't for sale and was always meant for public consumption.
Nice but since I can't read Japanese that didn't do much for me. But since it still have the Name Nintendo on it they own it regardless in production or not.
Its probably a good thing nintendo makes some timeless, classic video games otherwise they could p... off lol
So everyone in here seems to want a free copy of a Nintendo guidebook. And Nintendo don’t want everyone to have a free copy of their guidebook. Well, naughty Nintendo for expressing what they want to happen with their stuff - don’t they realise people feel entitled to have it!!
@Bondi_Surfer but they're no longer selling the guide, I'm not saying they're not within their right, but it's still stupid
Why can't Nintendo sell at least digital copies of their old player's guides? It wouldn't cost hardly anything to produce and there would be something of a market.
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