Nintendo claiming ad revenue for user-created YouTube videos

Nintendo is now claiming advertising revenue from user-created YouTube videos that feature the company's games, according to new reports.

The Japanese game giant is not following the path of music publishers and film studios in demanding this content be blocked, but rather wants to place ads surrounding videos featuring Nintendo games, like Let's Play videos. The revenue from these ads would go to Nintendo, not the video's creators.

This last point has drawn the ire of YouTube channel owner and self-professed Nintendo fan Zack Scott, who blasted the policy in an update to his Facebook page.

"I think filing claims against LPers is backwards. Video games aren't like movies or TV. Each play-through is a unique audiovisual experience," Scott said. "When I see a film that someone else is also watching, I don't need to see it again. When I see a game that someone else is playing, I want to play that game for myself! Sure, there may be some people who watch games rather than play them, but are those people even gamers?"

In response to the new policy, Nintendo provided a statement to GameFront explaining the matter.

"As part of our ongoing push to ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media channels in an appropriate and safe way, we became a YouTube partner and as such in February 2013 we registered our copyright content in the YouTube database," Nintendo said.

"For most fan videos this will not result in any changes, however, for those videos featuring Nintendo-owned content, such as images or audio of a certain length, adverts will now appear at the beginning, next to or at the end of the clips," the statement goes on. "We continually want our fans to enjoy sharing Nintendo content on YouTube, and that is why, unlike other entertainment companies, we have chosen not to block people using our intellectual property."

Nintendo's actions are in adherence with YouTube's policy guidelines, which plainly states that "just because you purchased content doesn't mean that you own the rights to upload it to YouTube." However, YouTube users who make a living from Let's Play videos or other such content are now facing an uphill battle.