Earlier this week, a fully realized PC port for one of the most influential games in history was released to the public; Super Mario 64. This was more than just an emulation, where the PC pretends to act like an N64. The game was built with the original code and reverse-engineered to be compatible with modern-day builds along with 4k resolution support. It was dream come true, and it was also a dream that Nintendo did not condone. Reported by Torrentfreak, and as expected, Nintendo has taken legal action against the PC port, filing copyright claims with Google and YouTube to remove any media-related posts in regards to the port.
According to the post, Nintendo’s usual legal representative Wildwood Law Group has been attempting to get any and all videos of the game removed from the internet. While this endeavor is next to impossible, a majority of major publications and media, including the aforementioned Google and YouTube, have already complied and taken down all videos and images. As for the game itself, the law firm is also targeting websites that are hosting the executable file for the software, where anyone can essentially download it for free.
For any video game company, let alone Nintendo, this is business as usual when it comes to protecting their IP’s. While we would love to play Super Mario 64 on PC with it running flawlessly on DirectX12, we know that only Nintendo can allow such a venture to even exist in the first place. In addition, there have also been reports that the company is planning special Super Mario Collection for the Nintendo Switch as part of the Super Mario 35th Anniversary. It’s very clear that Nintendo wants to have that thunder for when they make the announcement, and not have it stolen by an unofficial PC port of one of their titles.