Nintendo on Inappropriate Use of Its Intellectual Property and Games: “Action Must Be Taken”

During the “84th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders‘, company president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked how Nintendo handles “cases on social media where Nintendo intellectual property and games are used inappropriately” when the “behavior poses the risk of harming the value” of its brand.

Although Furukawa declined to comment on “individual cases,” he said that “appropriate measures must be taken against any behavior that undermines” the Japanese company’s policy of “bringing smiles through entertainment“It will also continue to “do everything possible to ensure” that its “consumers do not feel uncomfortable” when they come into contact with Nintendo’s intellectual property “not only” in its games but also “everywhere else” they come into contact with it.

Shuntaro Furukawa: “Our company aims to realize our management policy of ‘bringing smiles through entertainment’ by providing unique games that everyone can intuitively enjoy. I will refrain from commenting on individual cases, but we believe that appropriate measures should be taken against any behavior that violates this policy.

“Our goal is to create an environment where everyone can enjoy playing games. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our consumers do not feel uncomfortable, not only in our games, but also anywhere they come into contact with our intellectual property.”

Although no specific cases were mentioned, Eurogamer NotesThere was a time in 2018 when a fan creation known as Bowsette (a mix of Peach and Bowser) went viral on social media and elsewhere online. Nintendo’s official response at the time was “no comment” and eventually the craze for the fan-created character died down.

Beyond social media, Nintendo has targeted fan projects it deems inappropriate and potentially damaging to its brand value. In September 2020, it took aim at a naughty fan-made game featuring Princess Peach. More recently, it filed a DMCA complaint against a Rhythm Heaven remix project, and this week it continued its crackdown on Switch piracy by filing two new lawsuits.