YouTube Confusion as Nintendo Blocks Ads on Let's Play Videos

Gameplay recorders are not best pleased.

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YouTube Confusion as Nintendo Blocks Ads on Let's Play Videos
Nintendo has been active on YouTube lately. Not only has it made waves in partnering up with the video website for its Nintendo Directs, but it is also issuing "content ID match" claims on Let's Play videos. That's according to one popular YouTuber Zack Scott.

Scott has been 'LP'ing Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon, you see. As a content creator on YouTube, he puts adverts on the videos he makes. With Nintendo's Content ID Match activity, Scott is unable to monetise the gameplay he records through such adverts. And he's not too happy about that.

In an open letter posted on Facebook, Scott decried Nintendo's actions. "I think filing claims against LPers [Let's Play authors] is backwards. Video games aren’t like movies or TV. Each play-through is a unique audiovisual experience.

"When I see a film that someone else is also watching, I don’t need to see it again. When I see a game that someone else is playing, I want to play that game for myself! Sure, there may be some people who watch games rather than play them, but are those people even gamers?

"I love Nintendo, so I’ve included their games in my line-up. But until their claims are straightened out, I won’t be playing their games. I won’t because it jeopardizes my channel’s copyright standing and the livelihood of all LPers."

Nintendo has since published a statement clarifying its activity, insisting that it is not requesting the removal of Let's Play videos. "As part of our on-going push to ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media channels in an appropriate and safe way, we became a YouTube partner and as such in February 2013 we registered our copyright content in the YouTube database.

"For most fan videos this will not result in any changes, however, for those videos featuring Nintendo-owned content, such as images or audio of a certain length, adverts will now appear at the beginning, next to or at the end of the clips.

"We continually want our fans to enjoy sharing Nintendo content on YouTube, and that is why, unlike other entertainment companies, we have chosen not to block people using our intellectual property."

So, Let's Play authors won't be able to monetise videos featuring Nintendo products, but such content will feature Nintendo-based adverts instead. Sound reasonable to you? Let us know in the comments section below.

Via GameFront
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