Report: Nintendo teaming up with YouTube for affiliate program

Could Nintendo be changing its tune about how to handle YouTube affiliates?

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Nintendo didn't exactly make friendly with a number of its avid users last year when it started a new Content ID match program on YouTube that shifted monetization from the video creators directly to the company. It stated it started this program merely for safety's sake, although many felt it was more of a cash grab for it. However, if a couple of recent tweets from the company's Japanese Nintendo account are to be believed, it might be looking to make amends with a new affiliate program.

The account (via Game Informer) indicates that the program is being launched so that the company can share revenue with authorized content creators, which would be a vast change of pace from what the Content ID program delivered. Nintendo of America hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but, if true, this could be a nice turn-around for the company.

Partnering with YouTube makes sense, especially when considering that Nintendo's latest release, Mario Kart 8, will fully support direct uploads to the video service when it launches this Friday.

Robert Workman was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    May 27, 2014 10:30 AM

    Robert Workman posted a new article, Report: Nintendo teaming up with YouTube for affiliate program.

    Could Nintendo be changing its tune about how to handle YouTube affiliates?

    • reply
      May 27, 2014 11:21 AM

      Glad corporate is seeing the positives of YouTube.

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      May 27, 2014 11:27 AM

      Still seems shitty to take a piece of the action, when other companies aren't doing as such.

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        May 27, 2014 11:36 AM

        Well other companies aren't taking a major hit to their bottom line with poorly planned ill-conceived hardware so they need to find new ways to remain profitable while slowing their decline into complete irrelevancy.

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      May 27, 2014 12:08 PM

      [deleted]

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        May 27, 2014 12:14 PM

        Hey, I can try to commentate over an entire episode of 2 Broke Girls, but in the end CBS is going to decide whether I'm providing a promotion for their content or whether I'm just trying to leech off their IP.

        They built it, they should get to decide.

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          May 27, 2014 12:19 PM

          [deleted]

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            May 27, 2014 12:20 PM

            [deleted]

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            May 27, 2014 12:24 PM

            Would it really be so bad if you didn't make ad dollars from putting videos of your family playing Monopoly on Youtube? I think that's the real question.

            Like, can I really run a Monopoly tournament with big prizes and monetize it through Youtube hits and somehow claim that Matel is wrong for wanting their cut?

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              May 27, 2014 12:53 PM

              [deleted]

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                May 27, 2014 1:13 PM

                Just because you bought a thing doesn't mean the cut is over. If you want to broadcast and monetize something you've bought (a book, a game, a film), you're going to need permission.

                Sometimes the free marketing is enough payment, but sometimes it isn't. That's really up to the IP holders.

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