Nintendo has Super Mario 64 Complete Clear Guide Book archives taken down
Nintendo ninjas strike again
Well, we all knew it was just a matter of time, and that time is up now.
Just last week, retro enthusiasts were elated to see that the highly sought-after Super Mario 64 Complete Clear Guide Book had been scanned and uploaded to Archive.org. These scans were uploaded by Comfort Food Video Games to not only preserve the guide, but give others a chance to see just how amazing it is. Obviously, Nintendo sees things a bit differently from CFVG.
As you’ve guessed by now, the guide has now been scrubbed completely from Archive.org at Nintendo’s request. Kotaku spoke to CFVG to confirm the guide’s removal, and you can find their full statement below.
Sadly archive.org sent me their usual takedown notice email telling me Nintendo of America challenged the copyright of the scan and it was removed. Frankly I’d love to challenge the legitimacy of that and how Nintendo of America would have anything to do with a Nintendo of Japan licensed Gem Books guide from 1995 but I can’t really fight the Nintendo legal team here. It’s incredibly disappointing.
While I fully understand protecting one’s IP and copyrights I didn’t think I was hurting anyone by scanning and uploading a 27 year old guide that is extremely out of print. Truthfully I think it helps Nintendo while only hurting the people selling this guide for literal hundreds of dollars. All I wanted to do was spread my love of this incredible guide and to a larger extent my love for the company.
I’m a rookie to the video game preservation scene but I can’t think of anything more depressing than how it’s a bunch of hard working people spending their free time and money painstakingly archiving and preserving history while major corporations like Nintendo are doing nothing to help. In fact they’re actively hindering the cause.
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d_says_hi
2y agoThat's a shame. Nintendo should either release an official pdf or allow things like these to happen.
jake_a
2y agoUnless Nintendo plans to re-release their strategy guides, I think this shouldn't be an issue.
rawmeatcowboy
2y agoIt's really such an amazing guide. It's more a piece of art than a standard guide. I'd love to own a copy, but it's just too darn expensive right now!
streex
2y agoC'mon Nintendo. Where's the harm? Can we at least get an explanation in understandable terms so people aren't wasting their time trying to preserve what you refuse to?
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