Game Theory: My Fan Game is a CRIME?!

We live in an age of gaming where fans of a franchise can easily spin off their own games and post them for others to play. And it's AWESOME! Some of the best games I've played in the last year have been made by fans. And yet, as we've seen recently with Pokemon Uranium and Another Metroid 3 Remake...the original companies might not be so thrilled this is happening. And all of this is beginning to call up some…difficult...legal questions. So today, I'm asking the question "When is a fan game TRULY a fan game?" The answer to that question has changed A LOT recently...and it could produce some truly scary results.

For more information on these court cases check out this article:

Watch us play some of these FAN GAMES on GTLive Channel ►►

YouTube Theories:

Pokemon Theories:

FNaF Theories:

Twitter: @MatPatGT
Instagram: @MatPatGT

GAME THEORY MERCH!

[animdude]

A lot of copyright law is gray area and creators do make mistakes, but I think most creators, including myself, are very welcoming and encouraging of fan games. I've always been a fan of TJoC; I've never said a negative word about it. In fact, if it had used its own characters rather than the FNaF characters then it could have been its own game. I've never claimed ownership of animatronic robots; I've said that many times on forums. The games used as examples here were self-described fan games.

All anyone can do is handle these things on a case by case basis; trying not to abuse the system while also protecting the brand that made the fan games and fan community possible.

[hihowareyougood]

Sega: Oh, you made a fan game? Come work for us.
Nintendo: Oh, you made a fan game? We'll see you in court.

[tacticalcactus]

The reason that claiming copyright over an entire genre is especially concerning, is because it removes competition. Without competition, the developers don't feel a need to invest as much money and effort into the game, resulting in a noticeable drop in quality. A drop in quality could be the start of a decline the video game industry, possibly leading into another video game crash. One example of this is in EA's Madden games. NFL2k was considered by many to be a superior game to Madden, and as such EA made an exclusivity deal with the NFL to make sure that only they can create NFL football video games. We now have low-quality yearly releases of Madden, because EA has no competition to fear. With developers claiming copyright over an entire genre, we would see this effect in all of gaming.

[thedorkknight]

There's someone that i feel is integral to this argument: Tyson Hesse. Anyone who's a fellow Sonic fanatic should recognize him. Tyson's story is a huge inspiration to a lot of people. He was a Sonic fan who began making Fan comics. Sega saw him and basically said, "This guy is pretty cool, and he's very passionate. let's hire him." He was an artist for the Sonic Archie comics, and is behind the phenomenal animated "Sonic Mania Adventures." He was also the head of the Redesign team for the Movie. Basically, Sonic fans owe this guy BIG TIME. and that's just it. He's a fan himself. Sega sees the fans as talented and passionate, which leads to stories like Tyson's. By learning from and taking into account the people you depend on, it ultimately makes gaming a better place.

[dawsonlaughren]

The law should not use blogs as a way to measure copyright. Most often the term, "It's a lot like ___" is used to help others understand the game, comparing one game to another inorder to make it easier to understand and play. This is total BS, the law should not use this kind of a system, it is terrible flawed, on top of this the people who wrote these reviews would have had no idea that their words would have been legally binding, and no way to have obtained there consent.

[wimpdkc]

THANK YOU SCOTT CAWTHON AND TOBY FOX FOR NOT TAKING DOWN THESE FAN GAMES

[eryuu]

This is terrifying. What would this mean for fanfiction and fan art?

[GameTheory]

I'm here early...I gotta say something funny...

Nevermind. Why start now?

[Alhelir]

Come on man copyrights on mechanics in video games is so laughable and ridiculous as trying to copyright a single word in the Internet, it's inevitable to REACT to such dumbfoolery.

[benjaminwilks]

In no world can you realistically claim copyright on a game mechanic. That means that the witcher 3 would lose to something like dungeons and dragons because theyre both rpgs. It's like a banana suing an apple because they're both fruit. It's lunacy.

[Ztarduzted]

Scott Cawthon and Toby Fox are like, video game making saints with full love for their community. I love that.

[theminiman]

I failed test today. Come home. New gt vid. YOU KNOW THAT TEST DIDN'T MATTER ANYWAY

[lunarbronerz]

Does anyone else want “Superb Bario Siblings” as a game no just me.

[fluffernal]

Random person: **makes a fan game to show appreciation of that game**

The creators: Hippity Hoppity, your game is now my property.

[blue_bird]

The news article says "Earlier this evening, popular YouTuber Matthew "MatPat" Patrick was arrested after uploading a copy of the hit game "Super Mario Cart" (idk what that part said it was to blurry so I just tried to fill in the blanks here) Mr Patrick was quoted as saying "Trowser shall rule! Feed Skip!Don't Photoshop me onto a bigger man if you can't find a better image!" Before being imprisoned for an unsuspected amount of time. When the editor was questioned about the image, he shrugged and continued typing up text that will only show up for a brief period of time, finishing the sentence with gibberish purple monkey dishwasher thirteen Lockwood horaho 134 ginger babe bird noise.Many bystanders watched Mr Patrick enter the police car without resisting arrest despite his petty crime. MatPat will go to Alcatraz, specially reopened for the entire duration of the sentence.
Although many consider this insane or needless, many other rip-off games were found in his basement including.

[BlueEyesWhiteTeddy]

The legal system is so stupid when it comes to creativity... :(

[Ealiis]

if i was nintendo i would have hired the guys behind pokemon uranium they made a fan game better than some of the real pokemon games

[rubyyates]

I am a simple person.
I see Gaster. I see Pikachu.
*_I cLiCk_*

[lm]

Pretty much:
The legal system is weird and needs to be reworked.

Then again, No Mans Sky got a copyright claim because someone sued for using the word "sky" in the title.

[ofekG]

If Terraria can wiped out for being a "Minecraft clone", I seriously don't want to live on this planet anymore.