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Working Super Mario 64 PC port hit by Nintendo copyright takedowns, of course

A recent fan-made PC Port of Super Mario 64 was out in the wild for a bit, but Nintendo's lawyers have sprung into action, scrubbing it from the internet.

TJ Denzer

May 8, 2020 12:34 PM

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If there’s anything you can absolutely count on Nintendo to do, it’s stomp and snuff out any and all unauthorized use of its IPs in recreations, remakes, and otherwise enjoyable content. Such is inevitably the case with a PC port of Super Mario 64 put together by fans. Though it perfectly brought the game over to modern PCs, complete with controller support, 4K, and ultra widescreen support, it wasn’t long before Nintendo began striking down the port from any and all access.

The takedown of the Super Mario 64 PC Port seemed to have begun on May 7, 2020, as reported by TorrentFreak. Nintendo reportedly began issuing copyright complaints on the port which have since started forcing its removal on YouTube and Google. The port was created by a group which apparently began a recompilation project in 2019. Though this, the group allegedly reverse engineered Mario 64’s code and made it possible to make unauthorized additions to the game.

Nintendo is well known for their efforts in removing and shutting down fan-made content. Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R), Super Smash Bros Brawl mod Project M, and another Super Mario 64 Land ROM have all met with legal troubles from Nintendo, though some persevered longer than others (and some of the Nintendo developers even appreciate the effort). Either way, Nintendo has shown just about every single time that it’s more than happy to stomp out those efforts.

Of course, it may also have something to do with the fact that Nintendo has hinted it may want to pursue a number of Super Mario remakes and remasters for the Nintendo icon’s 35th anniversary, but we get the feeling Nintendo would be going after the Mario 64 PC port regardless, given the company’s history. Either way, the PC port was an incredible achievement in the modding community featuring a lot of features that have yet to be seen in a port like it. We doubt this is the last scene we’ll see work relevant to this latest fan-made Nintendo project.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.