For its YouTube video on a scrapped Zelda game, Did You Know Gaming just received a copyright strike from Nintendo. Did You Know Gaming claims that although it has produced numerous films on Nintendo games over the years, this is the first time the publisher has attempted to have one of its videos removed.
Did You Know Gaming focuses on the development and release of video games throughout their history (if they ever are released). Hearing about a Legend of Zelda spinoff that never materialized would obviously raise eyebrows given the popularity of the game and Nintendo’s penchant for secrecy.
The video, which was published in October, highlighted a tactics-based offshoot for the Legend of Zelda series that Retro Studios had proposed. The 22-page pitch document for the game, which was back then known as Heroes of Hyrule, as well as an interview with Retro programmer Paul Tozour, served as the video’s main sources. The video did not have any gameplay, but it did provide images from the paper.
After the deletion, Did You Know Gaming posted on Twitter, “This was a journalistic movie chronicling a game that Retro Studios pitched to Nintendo approximately 20 years ago.” “This is an attack on video game history preservation as well as an effort by a major corporation to stifle any media they don’t like.
Did You Know Gaming said to Kotaku that the film was produced “using the same method and manner of video editing as the majority of other videos on the channel. The video stands out since it is one of the few on the channel to feature a portion of Nintendo history that we independently discovered and reported on.
Additionally, the group informed Kotaku that it had heard from various sources during development that Nintendo was “getting irritated” over the sources’ willingness to discuss Heroes of Hyrule. This did not dissuade us and will not deter us from preserving video gaming history, the statement continued.
According to the movie’s producer, Dr. Lava, the channel is considering legal advice on a reupload since it believes the video qualifies for fair use protection.
Nintendo hasn’t made an official announcement regarding the removal of the Heroes of Hyrule video as of the time of writing.
