You may have read in The Washington Post that college student Josh Goldberg was able to recreate the original Super Mario Bros. to run in your web browser—an ridiculously impressive programming feat that has all the game’s original levels, and which also allows savvy players to create their own levels.
As one might expect, Nintendo is doing its best to shut down “Full Screen Mario” because it infringes on Nintendo’s copyrights:
“Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of other companies, and in turn expects others to respect ours as well. Nintendo is seeking the removal of the content, as we vigorously protect against infringement of our intellectual property rights.”
It’s worth noting, whether you have issues with copyright law or not, that Nintendo still actively sells the original game in their Virtual Console service, which means they continue to make money off the game. Giving the game away for free actually reduces revenue and is harmful to the business.
The Washington Post article isn’t keen on Nintendo’s move, but at the end of the day, Nintendo owns the game and it’s still one of their active products—so no one should be surprised that they’re doing everything they can to protect their property and potential revenue.
