Like many other video game companies, Nintendo does not tolerate piracy. Over the past year, we have heard about the Japanese publisher and developer taking action against individuals selling modified systems and sharing ROMS online. This has resulted in a number of legal battles and some hefty fines.
As part of its measures to prevent piracy, a long time ago, Nintendo set up an "anti-piracy" website –allowing viewers to report, detect and learn about internet piracy. Now, Twitter user @AkfamilyhomeAK has discovered it has been shut down, redirecting browsers to the modern Nintendo site. According to The Internet Archive, the anti-piracy site was last active on 18th February 2019. The earliest archived image dates back to 2002 and the page got redesigned in 2008, with copyright covering 1997-2008.
Following this discovery, some replies on Twitter suggested Nintendo had officially won the battle against piracy, while others joked the company had "finally given up" on the fight. Realistically, though, it was an old website and one that probably should have been closed a long time ago. We're sure the legal section on Nintendo's modern site is more than enough.
Are you sad to see such an old Nintendo webpage go? Will you miss angry Mario? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source twitter.com, via web.archive.org]
Comments 45
To be quite honest I didn't even know this website exist. Weird that now it won't exist.
Gotta love that N64 era render of angry Mario.
lol, they had a snitch website
A: when was this put up? B: Why? C: Why doesn't anyone know about it?
I will summon Angry Mario here!
I wonder if anyone actually ever bothered to use that in like at all? Ain't nobody wanna snitch, how else are we gonna be able to play games like Fire Emblem Path of Radiance? Nintendo is never gonna re-release that game and buying it online is out of the question with those ludicrous prices...
cmon Nintendo, pirating old 8bit games that nobody sells ain't a crime
@BlackenedHalo Nintendo still sells them. What you talking about Willis?
@Chibi_Manny liked your comment because it's right but the only reason people don't want to pay those prices is that you can get more games per pound.
Plenty of people buy special editions of modern games for more money.
If you REALLY wanted it you could get it.
Not like some arcade boards.ouch.
Can we get angry Link and Zelda now?
@Chibi_Manny Beg them to re-release GameCube games.
Irrelevant site, irrelevant arguments, wont change some of the greatest programmers from making great games. Some of my favorite pokemon games are ROM hacks, some of the best Mario games are fan made. Straight up piracy is wrong but shutting down huge undertakings that Nintendo never would have attempted to make is worse.
So who is going to claim that this article is NintendoLife promoting piracy?
RANDOM: Nintendo Shuts Down Its Anti-Piracy Website.
NEWS: Nintendo Had An Anti-Piracy Website.
I didn’t know this existed
I didn't know either...
Nintendo subtly opening the floodgates to piracy.
Nintendo always has those whiny pages.
They still have this one about emulators:
https://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#emulator
"How Does Nintendo Feel About the Emergence of Video Game Emulators?
The introduction of emulators created to play illegally copied Nintendo software represents the greatest threat to date to the intellectual property rights of video game developers. As is the case with any business or industry, when its products become available for free, the revenue stream supporting that industry is threatened. Such emulators have the potential to significantly damage a worldwide entertainment software industry which generates over $15 billion annually, and tens of thousands of jobs."
rofl
They didn't need the website, they just follow the articles on Nintendolife.
The switch, being a hybrid system is the perfect system ever to port every past Nintendo game (aside from ds and Wii U games that used the game pad)
It has the motion control of the Wii, the regular console style of the all the regular consoles of Nintendo and the portability of the game boy the power to easily run everything
Nintendo should make a virtual console emulator and just and just drop each and every game that was ever on their consoles
No need for re makes or improved versions, just drop everything on for affordable prices and watch the money rolls in
It will cost and take very little resources and time and will earn billions for them and shut down a lot of pirates naturally because there’s gonna be a way to get it legally
@vitelus a lot of the morale highrounders here had it as their homepage....
But what if Nintendolife puts up an article on...em..em..emu....lat...ion...is there a new tip-off website? Fans need to protect their corporation of choice’s copyrights. Think of the copyrights! Anarchy and chaos!
@BlackenedHalo ...yes it is
I didn't even know they had a specific anti-piracy website. Huh.
@Morrow the Hyrule warriors gauntlet hack is legendary.
https://youtu.be/QYAsIm_xyHs
So many Zelda type hacks and ff6 hacks honestly, it's a part of history.
Mission Accomplished!!!
Nintendo has clearly won the fight against piracy by getting a few sites to shut down. Surely the hundreds of others must've thrown in the towel in fear of the examples made. checks the internet wow. Nevermind. 😅
I always preferred the more cheerful and tan Mario from the N64 era. I'm sad he got so angry, GameCube era onward. Maybe the anger on the anti-piracy site is where it began.
I actually used this site a few times whenever I saw legit retailers offering bootleg products (recently including woot.com). I'm fine with users getting their own emulators and roms, but selling a $40 device with 500 copyright-infringing games is something no retailer should be doing. Did it make a difference? Probably not but some retailers don't know the difference and a nice legal letter to educate them.
@GrailUK Nintendo didnt just go after their own IPs, they went for ANY roms including stuff that is literally abandonware at this point
Sorry if people want to preserve history opposed to trying to wipe it off the planet, 2nd hand physicals dont last forever you know?
@Notshane If I had to take a guess, they made angry mario to try and give the message "look, adults can enjoy mario too" as weird as it sounds
Angry Mario shall forever be in our hearts.
I recall years ago seeing Nintendo's examples of pirated games compared to real games, and they used an example of a Metroid Fusion cart that had more detailed artwork than the real one.
And then one of those "how to spot a fake" sites I remember having a Famicom pirate Duck Hunt that was like a photo of a swamp with a cartoon duck pasted on it and I remember it was so cheap and ugly I almost kind of liked it.
Did they pay people rewards for successful reports?
If not no wonder people prob didn't use the site that much.
People want money and prizes so once you start attaching those to surveys and shiz as well as piracy reports then people will actually fill stuff out.
That's cute, roms still exist out there and plenty of it to go around
This is HORRIBLE!
After all this time, someone just now gave Mario a Snickers bar?
What the.. I never seen this before..
What the I never seen this before..
@TempOr Not sure your plea of inconvenience will stand up in court lol.
@Anti-Matter Thanks for that. Saved to my iPhone for the rest of eternity.
"Farewell, angry Mario" xDDD
I think they incorporated its anti-piracy measures in their regular terms and conditions everyone accepts while using a Switch. Also, they have... ninjas..., who sometimes do their job 🤔
I'll definitely miss angry Mario
@Tantani I think if they did that, you wouldn't be able to prey my Switch from my hands
@Illusion
🤣🤣
Nintendo embracing piracy (just joking).
@Doktor-Mandrake I don't enjoy him anymore because of that, being much older than I was before.
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