People on the internet don't know anything about business. First, I'm not sure that allowing these guys to use that IP couldn't weaken any future attempt to take down an undesired fan project.

It's all pretty when it's a nice remake. But imagine if someone does a nice remake and them add fan made porn with your characters on a future update? It will damage your brand. I always remember of GTA San Andreas and the Hot Coffee mod. It wasn't made by Rockstar, but if you look at older news, a lot of sites reported things like "GTA has explicit sex". Parents don't know what a mod is, they just will think that the game has it and won't buy it.

The correct action is to send a cease and desist ASAP. If they insist, sue them to oblivion.

Of course, these guys aren't "innocent fans". They do that to get attention. A good game designer may launch great games that nobody will buy. But he can launch a HD remake of a famous franchise. The media will report it extensively and he will get a lot of buzz. Then he gets a C&D letter and takes it down. Next step? Do a new game, "inspired" by the game you copied: you made an HD Unreal Engine 4 Mario? So do a decent 3D platformer on Unreal with similar mechanics but with your own characters. Media will again report it like crazy: "Former Mario HD developers that got a C&D from Evil Nintendo do a new game". Free marketing. People will also be willing to support the poor developers bullied by the big corporation. You get sales, now everything is legal and maybe you even get rich.

All of this about fan made projects (specifically the fan made games) kinda give me this weird gray line vibe. I'm all for fan made projects like fanfiction and fanart and we've seen millions of those based on Nintendo IP and I rarely hear anything about them being shut down. However when it comes to games, especially if they're using assets and characters that are either stripped or borrowed from the original IP source material, this is where I have to pause for a while. It's like having Project M to me. I acknowledge it's there and I don't mind its there, but I'm not one to support mods or fan made games.

You can call me cynical or an a$&@?)/ for not supporting these things but because they use the identity of IPs that are known around the world and have already had a settled prestige...I'm not so sure about these things. I'd personally rather play the original creators work. I'm sure the fan made games are fine and dandy for some, but they're just not for me personally. Plus I don't know the full details about copyright and trademark laws besides the basics. How do they affect international IP? If Nintendo allows even one project to slide, what kind of precedent does that create for future fan made projects and how does that affect their trademark and copyright?

I personally don't know how these are anti consumer issues to be honest. I'm not turning an blind eye since I've read articles about these projects and issues on YouTube within the past few years. Some say YouTube provides free advertising while giving content creators money via monitization of content created by the game developers. It's interesting to think about. Especially when we're also dealing with an IP that was able to stand out and gain a big applause on a cameo appearance in one of the biggest stages in sports seen by billions of people around the world via TV or internet or an IP that has a new free app that has garnered millions faster than any other app, created a ,positive influence on the company's hardware and software, and easily put the IP in the mainstream spotlight.

Plus it's not as if Nintendo is completely against YouTube either. Why would Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime go out of their way to be guests on some content creators' YouTube channel? Why would Nintendo invite content creators to events like the Nintendo World Championships or the prerelease Splatoon events?

Sorry if I'm going all over the place but I'm just putting my thoughts on these. There are gray areas behind these things and I'm not really sure how much of an impact they can have on casual consumers or even core consumers. Just speaking as someone who's a long time Nintendo fan (and still is) who is aware of these lingering debates and issues.

OP, I agree with you.

There's a difference between liking Nintendo and being a corporate shill

It's called a rom hack, and yes, it is. As long as he doesn't try to profit off it, it's completely fine.

O/T: I'd be more inclined to believe that Nintendo is doing this out of genuine concern for the status of their IPs if they hadn't spent the first half of this year trying to monetize people's let's play channels.

The truth not a lot of people will admit.

The problem is that they are not making one. Why to shout down one free fan project?

1. Federation Force is not a traditional Metroid unlike AM2R.

2. That can play on both sides, so nothing is oficially announced. Therefore, no new Metroid in the making.

I love Nintendo but I do have issues with the company at times. However them taking down fanmade games is the least of their problems.

Its just purely logical, if they let people freely adjust their old games then what sort of precedent does that set? not to mention Nintendo still sells their old games on the E-Shop. Since they don't put their games on any platform except their own, they certainly aren't going to be okay with somebody giving out a free version of Metroid II online that has 1 million downloads and will make it unnecessary for loads of people to buy the title on the Eshop.

There are bigger issues with Nintendo at present in terms of how they operate and work with fans. I would say the biggest is their attitude towards social media and Youtube, the concept that no one can post content that includes footage from their newer games unless they opt into the Nintendo revenue sharing plan. In the big scheme of things that sort of thing just absolutely damages Nintendo's IPs being spread further in social media.

I mean obviously most people are aware of Mario and Zelda and Pokemon but it doesn't do them in any favors when they bizarrely limit when Nintendo game footage (at least stuff from current gens) can be posted online

Let me ask you a question. If someone is knowingly ripping off a company by copying their IP, posting it online when they know said company doesn't want them to and will threaten to sue them... how much of a fan can that person be?

In my opinion? That's not a fan. I am a huge fan of Nintendo and that's why I'd never attempt to rip off their IP to get attention. If I were to create a game, it would be totally original. If I wanted to pay homage to Nintendo, I'd make a game which was influenced BY one of their games. I certainly wouldn't use one of their characters or games without permission.