Nintendo issues takedown notice for Super Mario 64 HD project
UPDATE: Creator pulls all downloads. "Fair enough, really."
UPDATE 1/4/15 13.40pm Super Mario 64 HD creator Erik Ross has admitted defeat and pulled all download mirrors for his free, Unity-based version of the platformer's first level.
In a new blog update, Ross explained that "the project is no longer playable, or downloadable in any form".
"I received a copyright infringement notice on both the webplayer as well as the standalone builds," he wrote, "Which is fair enough, really.
"In light of Nintendo recently making a deal to release some of their IPs on mobile platforms, it's probably not in their best interests to have a mobile-portable version of Mario 64 sitting around. In any case, I didn't really expect for this project to get so popular, and was hoping it would function primarily as a educational tool and a novelty."
Ross concluded his statement with a link to Nintendo's officially downloadable version of Super Mario 64 on the Wii eShop, where it is priced at 1000 Wii Points (£7).
"Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of others, and in turn expects others to respect ours," a company spokesperson told Eurogamer. "Nintendo is passionate about protecting its creative works developed to entertain its fans and takes the necessary steps to remove unauthorised content distributed via the Internet."
ORIGINAL STORY 31/3/15 12.15pm Nintendo's legal department has taken aim at Super Mario 64 HD, a free fan project that remastered the N64 game's first level.
The classic Bob-Omb Battlefield was released as a free download last week. It's the work of programmer and Mario fan Erik Ross, from British Columbia in Canada, who rebuilt the level using the free Unity engine.
You can still download the game via Ross' personal website, although other mirrors appear to be disappearing (thanks, Nintendo Life.
Nintendo lawyers appear to have taken issue with files ripped from other Mario games, something Ross admits to having used.
"All the art and animations were done by myself, with the exception of the Mario, Goomba and Power Star meshes, which are ripped (without animations) from Super Mario Galaxy," he explained.
"A large portion of the sounds are from existing Mario games, while the ones I found and edited myself are from freesound.org."
Nintendo's takedown notice mentions a breach of copyright for "Nintendo's Super Mario 64 video game (U.S. Copyright Reg. No. PA0000788138), including but not limited to the audiovisual work, computer program, music, and fictional character depictions".
We've asked Nintendo for more information on the takedown.
