Nintendo Says Action Will Be Taken Against Inappropriate Creations That Make Players "Uncomfortable"
Nintendo plans to dole out the consequences for using its characters for "inappropriate" creations.
Nintendo has no shortage of beloved characters across franchises like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, audiences that continue to grow as more excellent gaming entries are released and the characters find themselves crossing into new media types. Along with these characters being loved comes fan-made content along with it, and if you've been on the internet for longer than a day you know these representations are not always the most PG rated – even often far exceeding PG-13. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has addressed this content and how the company plans to handle it going forward, and while there weren't specific consequences outlined, he made it clear Nintendo intends to protect their IP and its overall image to the best of the company's ability.
Speaking during a recent shareholder meeting, Furukawa was asked to speak on how the company will approach "cases on social media where Nintendo IP and games are used inappropriately," with the shareholder pointing out this type of content poses a "risk of damaging the value of Nintendo IP."
"Our company aims to achieve our management policy to 'bring smiles through entertainment' by proposing unique games that anyone can intuitively enjoy. I will refrain from commenting on individual cases, but we believe that appropriate action must be taken against any behavior that undermines this policy," his statement begins. "Our goal is to create an environment where everyone can enjoy playing games. We will continue to make every effort to ensure that our consumers are not made to feel uncomfortable, not only in our games but also anywhere they come into contact with our IP."
It's not just the inappropriate use of the characters that the shareholder meeting addresses, as Furukawa was also asked to speak on "cases where other companies are offering products and services that appear to infringe on those IP rights." Regarding this matter, Furukawa says that the company will continue to take appropriate action against infringement in order to "continue to create new ways to play so people deepen their attachments to our characters and IP."
Inappropriate and unauthorized use of Nintendo characters and IPs were far from the only topics in the shareholder meeting – Furukawa also spoke about game development time, when the company will be passed on to younger developers, and the fact that he'd like to consider distributing Nintendo game soundtracks. You can read the full thing for yourself here.
