Nintendo Issues Takedown Notices resulting in Garry's Mod removing 20 years of user-generated content
Nintendo Issues Takedown Notices for Nintendo-Related Content in Garry's Mod
In an unexpected move, Nintendo has issued takedown notices for Nintendo-related content in the popular 2006 sandbox game, Garry's Mod. The notices, confirmed by Garry Newman, the creator of Garry's Mod, were aimed at removing unauthorized use of Nintendo's intellectual property from the Steam Workshop.
The removal process, which started in April 2024, involves active participation from both Facepunch Studios, the company managing Garry's Mod on Steam, and the community. Due to the large volume of infringing content, Facepunch Studios has humourously asked players to delete their own Nintendo-related uploads to aid in the removal process.
The flexibility of the Source engine in Garry's Mod, popularized in the early 2010s by gaming Youtube personalities playing multiplayer social-deduction games like Prop Hunt and Trouble In Terrorist Town, allowed for the creation of numerous Nintendo mascot models. However, these models have now become the focus of the takedown notices.
Nintendo's decision to enforce the takedown of this much content is surprising, as Nintendo content has been hosted on Garry's Mod for close to 20 years. Nintendo is known for its litigious nature, protectiveness over its brand image, and mascots. It's possible that Facepunch Studios may have been too lenient about what they allowed on Garry's Mod, making sense of Nintendo's decision to take action after all this time.
The removal of about 20 years' worth of Nintendo-related content from Garry's Mod is a Herculean task for Facepunch Studios. The process is still ongoing, with the game continuing to be issued takedown notices by Nintendo. This article was originally published on Kotaku.
[1] Source: [Link to the original article on Kotaku] [5] Source: [Link to Facepunch Studios' statement on the takedown notices]
- Gizmodo reported on the ongoing takedown of Nintendo-related content in Garry's Mod, a popular 2006 sandbox game, with the tech giant issuing notices to remove unauthorized use of its intellectual property from the Steam Workshop.
- The removal process, which started in April 2024, is a Herculean task for Facepunch Studios, as Nintendo content has been hosted on Garry's Mod for close to 20 years, leading to the creation of numerous Nintendo mascot models within the game.
- The tech world grapples with the implications of this move by Nintendo, known for its protectiveness over its brand image and mascots, raising questions about the future of technology-driven pop-culture and the balance between creativity and IP ownership.
- In the realm of tech entertainment and pop-culture, the impact of Nintendo's decision to take down decades of fan-made gadgets and content in Garry's Mod reverberates, sparking conversations about the role of technology in shaping our shared cultural landscape.
