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Having come down hard on YouTubers in the past, Nintendo has now unveiled a new initiative that will share ad revenues with anyone making videos related to their games.
The Nintendo Creators Program allows those who sign up to upload videos to YouTube with gameplay footage of Nintendo games, and receive up to 70 per cent of advertisement revenue share.
"In the past, advertising proceeds that could be received for videos that included Nintendo-copyrighted content (such as gameplay videos) went to Nintendo, according to YouTube rules," the firm wrote. "Now, through this service, Nintendo will send you a share of these advertising proceeds for any YouTube videos or channels containing Nintendo-copyrighted content that you register."
There are, of course, conditions. YouTubers are only allowed to use footage for a specific yet extensive list of first-party Nintendo games – with titles dating all the way back to the NES – and not include copyrighted footage that belongs to any third parties or unconfirmed games.
There is also a disclosure that users are expected to post under their videos or announce orally within the footage itself. Nintendo warns that the share rate may change, but it will begin at 70 per cent for channels and 60 per cent for individual videos.
It’s an interesting move following Nintendo’s clampdown in 2013, when the platform holder issued ‘content ID match claims’ on Let’s Play videos that featured footage from their games. Last year, it also made copyright claims against videos of Mario Kart 8.
The Nintendo Creators Program is presumably the expansion or evolution of a similar affiliate program that the firm proposed back in May.
