Nintendo Doesn't Seem to Be a Fan of That Pokemon FPS
Earlier this month, Reddit user Dragon_GameDev shared an impressive video of a Pokemon first-person shooter that they developed in just a few short weeks. The video gained a lot of praise from viewers, but it seems Nintendo isn't particularly fond of it. According to Kotaku, the video has now been removed from Twitter and YouTube. Nintendo is notorious for opposing fan-made projects like this one, and the fact that this one uses assets from Pokemon Sun and Moon probably didn't help matters. As of this writing, the original Reddit post remains intact, so readers can still check it out, if they haven't already.
Nintendo's views on fan-made games are a bit... outdated, to say the least. While companies like Sega have gotten more lenient when it comes to fan games, Nintendo strictly opposes them, and it frequently issues cease and desist letters over that type of content. That said, in the case of the Pokemon FPS, Nintendo's actions are somewhat understandable. After all, this is a game where Pokemon characters are brutally gunned down, and Nintendo probably doesn't want to risk kids or parents stumbling on to the video! It probably doesn't help that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is set to release on Nintendo Switch this week, and younger fans might be searching for information on the game.
It will be interesting to see if Nintendo's views on fan projects evolve over time! The company has always marched to the beat of its own drum, and can be slow to move forward. There's an argument to be made that fan-projects have helped young developers get their start. In the case of Sega, Sonic Mania was developed by Christian Whitehead, who got his start creating Sonic fan games online. Now, Sonic Mania is regarded as one of the character's best games in years!
That said, while Sega has been fairly progressive on this topic, Nintendo is hardly the only company sending case and desist letters over fan games; last year, Warner Bros. did something similar for a fan game based on the Tim Burton Batman movies. It seems the industry as a whole could be better on this issue!
Are you disappointed Nintendo removed the video of the Pokemon FPS from YouTube and Twitter? Do you think the industry needs to be better about fan games? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!