If there are two things Nintendo isn't big on, it's violent video games and pretty much any use of its IPs. So if you mix them up in one, copyright claim-baiting package, it probably isn't going to end well. As the creator of a fan game has just learned.A Pokemon first-person shooter - a real game that was in development - has had its trailers removed from both Twitter and YouTube. The copyright strike has seen both clips shared to Twitter taken down, as well as every video on the developer's YouTube channel.
Trying to access the YouTube videos just leaves the message: "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by The Pokemon Company International, Inc". Both YouTube and Nintendo appear to be taking this very seriously, acting just days after the clips first went viral. Checking on the Wayback Machine, the video was originally uploaded in December without issue, so the recent wave of publicity didn't do it any favours.
Confirming what many suspected, Dragon told TheGamer that it was indeed taken down, rather than the content removed voluntarily. Nintendo hasn't commented on the project, and likely won't given that this is hardly a surprising move from the company. However, it is interesting to note that it didn't just go after Dragon's ability to sell or distribute the game, but also to just share footage of it at all. It looks like the studio really wasn't a fan of everyone seeing our favourite 'mons get mowed down.
It remains to be seen if Dragon will quietly continue the project, with no viral clips to drum up hype. At the very least, it's on all of our radars now - and I don't think it's an image that will be leaving our minds anytime soon. As much as we wish it would. Granted, it looked cool as hell from a gameplay standpoint, so best of luck to Dragon and their future, hopefully filled with fewer copyright strikes.