Throughout time, companies have vehemently protected their intellectual property. While most video game developers monitor YouTube and other sites for IP violations, a new PlayStation 4 game is creating even more challenges. On Friday, Nintendo discovered that a gamer was using Dreams for PS4 to feature a popular video game character. The industry giant quickly responded.

When Dreams Become Reality

It is no secret that fans continue to modify existing games using a series of homemade development tools. Gamers have modified Super Mario World and the Half-Life series to produce favorites, such as Mario rom hacks and Counter Strike. But what happens when a video game company places sophisticated development tools directly in gamers’ hands? Media Molecule created this exact scenario with its recent game, Dreams for PS4.

Dreams is a customization tool that gives players the ability to create their own games. Unlike Super Mario Maker, players can use the Dreams tools to create a replica of any video game character. In addition, they can place these characters into almost any video game genre. From shooters to platformers, a creators’ work is only hindered by their own imagination. But some video game developers are not happy with this breakthrough.

Twitch streamer Piece of Craft found out the hard way just how persistent Nintendo can be in protecting its IP. On Friday, Piece of Craft tweeted the following from his official Twitter account:

Good news and bad news
We flew too close to the sun boys! A big video game company who i will keep nameless obviously didn't read my "be cool" note in dreams
no worries though have a back up plan. But for now Mario projects in dreams are on hold until i put said plan into effect pic.twitter.com/ifGDM0jFZ3

— Piece of Craft (@Piece_of_Craft) March 20, 2020

Piece of Craft had been working on a Mario 64 replica within the Dreams tool. In addition, PoC had been streaming his progress on Twitch. Nintendo took notice of PoC’s growing audience and pressured Sony to remove the content. On Friday, Sony responded by removing all of PoC’s progress within the game. Fans can still find remnants of PoC’s on YouTube and Instagram; however, he removed all of his progress videos Twitch.

It will be interesting to see if other creators develop content within Dreams that violates intellectual property rights and how video game companies respond. Could Sony eventually remove the game from its library? Only time will tell.

Conclusion

While it is not unusual for a company to protect its IP, Nintendo is notoriously aggressive with the Mario franchise. But we want to know what you think. Do you believe that Nintendo should allow players to create Nintendo characters in Dreams for PS4? Let us know in the comments below or the social media links on the right. Also, be sure to check out our other news items on Pokemon, Modern Warfare, Capcom, Blizzard and more.

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