By Sagar V. Mankar Nintendo has once again flexed its legal muscle by issuing multiple DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notices against mods hosted on the popular game modding community site, GameBanana.
A GameBanana member known as ‘Waikuteru’ has reported that over a span of a few days, more than 60 separate DMCA takedowns were issued, with 40 of them specifically targeting their content.
Which Mods Were Targeted?
The targeted mods cover a wide range of popular Nintendo games, including a randomizer for the highly anticipated “Tears of the Kingdom” from the Zelda franchise, as well as custom maps like Lon Lon Ranch and Skyview Temple.
Additionally, mods for the beloved “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” have also fallen victim to Nintendo’s legal offensive.
What’s the Modder’s Reaction?
In response to the takedowns, modder Waikuteru has expressed interest in issuing a counter notice, citing doubts about the authenticity of the takedowns.
If the takedowns are indeed genuine, Nintendo would have 14 days to respond accordingly.
Meanwhile, Waikuteru has uploaded their questionable Zelda mods to MEGA, an alternative file-hosting service.
Nintendo’s History of DMCA Crackdowns
This isn’t the first time Nintendo has taken a hardline stance against mods and fan-made content.
Throughout the Switch’s lifetime, the company has persistently enforced its DMCA takedowns, issuing numerous notices against fan-created games in 2021.
Recently, they have targeted projects such as the Yuzu Switch emulators, even its forks known as Suyu and Sudachi on Discord and GitHub.
As a result, Discord has closed the discussion servers associated with these projects, and GitHub has taken down a few projects related to decrypting Switch software.