As expected, Nintendo is making efforts to remove the eye-catching unofficial Super Mario 64 PC port from the internet. But it’s quite a challenging task. This week, TorrentFreak reported that the executable of the Super Mario 64 PC port vanished from some file-hosting sites, indicating a DMCA takedown by the US-based Wildwood Law Group LLC on behalf of Nintendo from a Google Drive link. The notice stated that the copyrighted work was Nintendo’s Super Mario 64 game, including its audio-visual elements and fictional character depictions. It said the reported file had an unauthorized derivative based on Nintendo’s copyrighted work. It seems Nintendo’s lawyers are also targeting YouTube videos of the PC port. The video mentioned in a VGC report is no longer available due to a copyright claim by a third party, likely Wildwood. Google search results, Reddit posts with direct download links and file-hosting services have also been targeted. While this DMCA takedown has been successful in removing the file from the mentioned Google Drive link and one video from YouTube, Nintendo’s lawyers face an almost impossible task of completely scrubbing the PC port from the internet. The executable is still freely available on social media and other platforms, and YouTube is filled with gameplay videos of the port. According to Eurogamer sources who confirmed a VGC report, Nintendo Switch’s first-party lineup for the rest of 2020 will mainly feature old and new Mario games to mark the 35th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. So it’s not surprising that Nintendo is taking action against the unofficial port of this seminal 3D platformer. The question is, at what point does it become more troublesome than it’s worth?
