Nintendo ends controversial Creators Program

Nintendo is ending the Nintendo Creators Program. The program will end at the end of December 2018. Participants such as YouTubers and Twitch streamers will then no longer be able to submit videos. The NCP website will go offline in May 2019.

Nintendo reports on its website that it plans to discontinue the program. No specific reason is given for terminating the NCP. Nintendo has indicated that it will replace the program with new guidelines.

The guidelines on how to produce videos with content from Nintendo show similarities with the guidelines from Sony and Microsoft. For example, content creators are free to produce whatever they want, as long as the video is provided with commentary that discusses the content.

Through the NCP, participants could claim a share of the advertising revenue by registering their videos about Nintendo products. Before the program’s arrival in 2015, that proceeds only went to Nintendo. Small channels received sixty percent of the proceeds through the NCP, and large channels seventy percent. In addition, they were not at risk of their videos or channels being taken off the air due to a Nintendo copyright claim.

However, the NCP was not undisputed. It took three days for a video to be fully viewed and approved. Many YouTube users feared that they would become too dependent on the program, so that they could no longer freely express their own opinion. Live streams were also no longer allowed in 2017.