Each page would've had info about the game & a paragraph or two talking about it, along with interviews, fan art, & developer profiles, plus a few other things like going into unreleased and homebrew games.
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Nintendo Forces NES/Famicom Visual Compendium Kickstarter To Change Name
- Thread starter DeathSparks
- Start date
Glitchesarecool
Member
Sure, but they're still not wrong to do this. Actually it's pretty surprising these guys tried to move forward with the project if they hadn't actually developed any kind of working relationship with Nintendo. They're one of the harsher defenders of their IPs.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
Get the hell over yourself.
Spiral Insanity
Banned
No. These guys make some of the best gaming art books out there. This isn't NES Screenshots: The Book.
Man, this thread. Grow up.
Oracle Dragon
Member
How do you love Nintendo so much that you want to put blood and sweat into a physical book like this, yet perhaps are not aware of Nintendo rather zealous defence of their IP? There may be worse offenders, but more than any other company I know it seems Nintendo will get even fan projects shut down, video game or otherwise. I'm not saying they are not within their rights, they are, just that if you were such a Nintendo fan as to want to make a book, surely you would know such an effort would almost certainly meet this type of end.
MisterHero
Super Member
Is the art actually from the games or are they from unofficial emulators
Elaugaufein
Member
Thats not an or ? An emulator is a method for running software on a different platform than its intended too. Judging by the image quality they are photos from the games running on unofficial emulators.
Ah ok.
ScientificPizza
Banned
It's weird that they didn't seek approval before kickstarting the project. And if they did and it got rejected and they still went ahead with it that's awfully bold.
I bought that big mega drive/genesis hardcover book and something similar to that for the NES would have been awesome, but it's also asking for trouble without the proper approval.
I bought that big mega drive/genesis hardcover book and something similar to that for the NES would have been awesome, but it's also asking for trouble without the proper approval.
Movalpolos
Banned
I feel like every year someone tries to make a kickstarter out of some already owned and well-known IP.
PataHikari
Banned
Try every day
Nitty_Grimes
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
That's fine if it's not for you however to call it / them pointless is a bit much.
Maybe the wrong kind of randoms sit on your couch...
Theanine3D
Member
They tend to go mostly for the ones that try to make a profit. Like this one.
There are free not-for-profit fanprojects like Zelda Classic that are still alive and kicking despite letting you basically play NES Zelda 1 for free (and hundreds of free fanmade Zelda games, some that would rival Nintendo's own).
I've made 3D fangames myself based on their IP and they've never come after me. I never tried to monetize any of them, not even with ads.
IMO: If you try to monetize something that clearly doesn't belong to you, you deserve every bit of punishment you get, and you should consider yourself lucky if all you get off with is a C&D notice.
meanspartan
Member
I find it weird that this got so far, and the day after a Reddit post appeared (with a bunch of people complaining about copyright in the comments) it gets shut down:
https://m.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/4qe7rj/nes_visual_compendium/
WaterAstro
Member
I wonder why people bother trying this. There's also that PlayStation one too.
The Dutch Slayer
Member
Sam Dyer says:
Hi
Nintendo have filed a copyright claim against the campaign. I have taken lots of legal advice prior to launching the campaign plus I also spoke to Nintendo UK. The use of game imagery is completely legal under FAIR USE' law.
I have now made some little tweaks to the campaign to make it even more watertight but I wholeheartedly believe that the book is 100% above board.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
Don't panic! The campaign is under review whilst I talk to Nintendo. Your pledge is safe and in the unlikely case I'm unsuccessful, it will go right back to you as it would with any stopped campaign. There's no need to panic and cancel your funding as your money is not at risk.
The campaign is essentially 'frozen' as is the timer. So fingers crossed when we're live again, the clock will start from with 24 hours left and we can complete the campaign.
The whole thing is frustrating but please stick with me. I've invested a lot of time and energy ensuring that this is legal and above board.
Will update you when I have some news.
Sam
Hi
Nintendo have filed a copyright claim against the campaign. I have taken lots of legal advice prior to launching the campaign plus I also spoke to Nintendo UK. The use of game imagery is completely legal under FAIR USE' law.
I have now made some little tweaks to the campaign to make it even more watertight but I wholeheartedly believe that the book is 100% above board.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
Don't panic! The campaign is under review whilst I talk to Nintendo. Your pledge is safe and in the unlikely case I'm unsuccessful, it will go right back to you as it would with any stopped campaign. There's no need to panic and cancel your funding as your money is not at risk.
The campaign is essentially 'frozen' as is the timer. So fingers crossed when we're live again, the clock will start from with 24 hours left and we can complete the campaign.
The whole thing is frustrating but please stick with me. I've invested a lot of time and energy ensuring that this is legal and above board.
Will update you when I have some news.
Sam
I think they mostly get through OK:
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-collectors-book-physical-nes-rpg/description
This is the first time I've seen one get the chop.
SinCityAssassin
Member
Hope the talks turn out positive then.
plentyofmilhouse
Member
Not surprised Nintendo acted, actually assumed if the campaign was allowed to continue this long all was somehow okay with the legal aspects. That'll teach me.
Sam's update is at least a bit encouraging, I hope there's still some way to make the project a reality as it looks like it could be really special.
If anything the success of the campaign, and the many other comprehensive unofficial publications, demonstrates there is an appetite for this sort of celebratory look at past systems and their software.
Sam's update is at least a bit encouraging, I hope there's still some way to make the project a reality as it looks like it could be really special.
If anything the success of the campaign, and the many other comprehensive unofficial publications, demonstrates there is an appetite for this sort of celebratory look at past systems and their software.
Captain Europe
Member
Seems like a sketchy/unoriginal way of earning money.
Even if these were screenshots. How is that any different from someone on youtube making money with a let's play?
These could literally be screenshots from a let's play together with the comment as text.
newtypepilot
Member
if you make a book with nothing but screenshots of movies, you'll get shutdown too. The key is that this is a pro-profit project. The fact it took Nintendo this long to act is surprising.
The exchange of money is likely the major red flag for Nintendo regarding this project. If they just made a website to host the "visual compendium" then they probably wouldn't have any issues with Nintendo sending them a cease & desist. Selling a product using someone else' intellectual property without their permission is a serious no-no, though. As soon as they were told "no" from Nintendo in the incubation stage of this project they should have gone back to the drawing board to think of a different approach they could legally do to still do their dream project even if they didn't have Nintendo's approval or support. Unfortunately Nintendo is really anal-retentive with their copyrights so I think the best option for this project would have been a Youtube series, but the use of any Nintendo visual I.P. would have gotten their videos deep-sixed. It really is a shitty situation where if fans want visual tributes or compendiums or retrospectives on Nintendo properties then they have to just hope that Nintendo does it themselves since they won't partner with anyone else to do them.
PataHikari
Banned
It's not
Which is why you can't make money off LPing Nintendo games.
....so a Let's Play?
What I don't understand is why it's ok for other recent books of this type, and magazines, to feature screenshots, yet Nintendo is getting antsy about this one?
I feel like it probably does fall under fair use but Nintendo being Nintendo will derail it anyway.
Nintendo are the worst right now. Maybe put those lawyers fees into game development. Star Fox Zero says hi.
I feel like it probably does fall under fair use but Nintendo being Nintendo will derail it anyway.
Nintendo are the worst right now. Maybe put those lawyers fees into game development. Star Fox Zero says hi.
Nintendo's not just bothered by the screenshots, they're also bothered by them using logos that are extremely reminiscent of the Nintendo Seal of Quality, for example.
One obvious issue with this project is that the percentage of editorial content vs. "here's a photo/screengrab of a thing" isn't very high.
One obvious issue with this project is that the percentage of editorial content vs. "here's a photo/screengrab of a thing" isn't very high.
Stiler
Member
You do not need permission under fair use (and this is something that's really eroding creativity these days, so many people say "ask permission or don't use it," even scholars/museums have started doing this) .
If you are making something for historical or educational purposes and you are using literally snippits (A screengrab from an entire game is clearly a very tiny snippit, like taking a frame from a movie) it should clearly fall well within fair use.
This includes for commerical sale. How do you think reviewers make money? Take someone like Cinemassacre (Angry Video game nerd) he makes money from reviewing games and movies and clearly uses them in his videos. Same principal applies, as long as you are using a snippit and not showing the entire thing, and you're providing commentary or eductation on the work it usually falls within fair use.
This is where this project might fall short.
The magazine Retrogamer in the UK does this all the time.
I imagine the issue here is the slick presentation and financial success of the project. Once the 'similar' seal of approval is removed there should be no legal grounding for Nintendo whatsoever.
It's one screenshot blown up across a two-page spread for goodness sake.
And there is editorial content. A paragraph or two on each game featured.
I imagine the issue here is the slick presentation and financial success of the project. Once the 'similar' seal of approval is removed there should be no legal grounding for Nintendo whatsoever.
It's one screenshot blown up across a two-page spread for goodness sake.
And there is editorial content. A paragraph or two on each game featured.
I'm confident it'll get resolved and the major issue is the Nintendo Seal. They'll probably remove that and slap on a "Unofficial & Unauthorized". This type of book really isn't different from many similar books which have seen the light of day.
Repeating this for those who missed it:
Repeating this for those who missed it:
smashballTaz
Member
That's a shame. I got their Super Famicom Box Art Visual Collection book and it's fantastic. Wonder why Nintendo didn't shut that down too.
Lupin the Third
Member
Periodicals are treated differently by the copyright system due to their fleeting, contemporary nature.
If that is the case, wouldn't that mean there is precedet for this type of book to exist under fair use and make Nintendo technically in the wrong for shutting it down?
Lupin the Third
Member
If the book was more about the "interviews, ... and developer profiles" then it would've been fine. Then they chose to make it, IIRC, "primarily visual" and use basically 1:1 enlarged screengrabs from games to fill nearly every single page. Including fan art as part of a for-sale project is probably a dangerous choice too, from a legal perspective.
COOLSKELETON95
Neo Member
It's a shame - I got the Amiga Commpendium and it was a really nicely put-together book, but I suppose given that Nintendo are still operating, it would have been a better idea to get authorisation beforehand. So I guess it's a shame but not a huge surprise.
LordRaptor
Member
Put that on a T-shirt and start selling it, and go ahead and see how far "Fair use" gets you.
MrCunningham
Member
I'm surprised that they didn't go after Pat The NES Punk's ultimate Nintendo Guide in the same manor, which was also a Kickstarter book.
Maybe Bitmap Books could just remove all the Nintendo IP's and just make the book about third party NES games? Perhaps even dedicate a section to Tengen games.
Maybe Bitmap Books could just remove all the Nintendo IP's and just make the book about third party NES games? Perhaps even dedicate a section to Tengen games.
I was wondering the same thing but didnt brought it up in the ks topic because people acted like it was normal.
SinCityAssassin
Member
Considering the likely culprit, I don't think Pat had a parody seal of quality for effect in his book.