While Nintendo may be riding a high from its record-breaking sales in the US for the Thanksgiving period, which saw a 115% increase in Switch sales in comparison to last year, it has also had to go back to the drawing board with regards to recently released mitigations for the well-known bootROM hardware exploit in the hybrid console. While the company spends some time pondering that issue, it has seen fit to wrap up one of its more controversial programs.
According to an announcement from the Japanese gaming company, the Nintendo Creators Program (NCP) will be shut down at the end of this year, saying that it is "no longer accepting videos and channels, and will not review any that have been submitted, but not yet registered". Following the wind-down, the NCP website will go dark on March 20, 2019.
While Nintendo thanked content creators for their continued support and dedication, the revenue sharing program has previously drawn the ire of content creators who have sought to generate revenue. Towards the end of 2017, YouTuber Jason Gastrow took issue with the gaming giant after it claimed copyright over a review video he had uploaded, leading to its demonetization.
Although the program still has a month to go before it is finally put out to pasture, its retirement will ultimately give creators more flexibility and scope in terms of the how they share and profit from their content. Plus, to provide extra clarity, Nintendo has published some content guidelines and FAQs to help people obtain a better understanding of what is and isn't permitted moving forward.
The move is likely to be a breath of fresh air for Nintendo enthusiasts although the guidelines still only permit the upload of "Nintendo Game Content" that has been officially released. This is of particular note given that two YouTube channels were recently wiped from the platform after publishing leaked tracks from the soon-to-be-released Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch, with one channel receiving a sizeable 21 copyright strikes.
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