Introduction to Customer Inertia feels like it should be a business training program.

But that’s different, because you’re a pure boy being seduced by an older woman who just has unfortunate circumstances!

Some people just want the horny fan fiction. They want that pure, sugary escapism. They don’t want to have to think about shitheads that will ruin their lives and don’t see anything beyond their nose as another human being.

I think the problem is that communism (at least as Karl Marx tried to envision it on the scale he envisioned it) pretty much inherently leads to fascism, though that was obviously not his desire or intention.

Well, probably not, but potentially yes. Nintendo is REALLY (and absurdly, I would argue) obsessed with their “family friendly” image (Disney is similarly aggressive, for another example).

Which most of Nintendo's properties are.  They have trademarks on damn near everything.

Probably more to do with their iron grip on their intellectual properties and refusing to have their brand tied to any mod of said intellectual properties. They’re just as aggressive in regards to Smash Ultimate mods
(like ones that improve their shit online functionality).

Metroid is a trademark of Nintendo, in fact, much like most of their IPs, for that matter.

When was the last time Kotaku (or any games publication) written an article about a Sonic fan game?

How many articles have they written about a Nintendo C&D in that span?

You may find the answer to your thought in between the answer to those two questions.

I star this because your honesty with yourself is refreshing.

It’s the same dynamic though. Audiences really aren’t drawn to original work... but lure them in with fan work of existing IP, and you get some bleedover.

That was your hypothetical, man. You brought AO3 into this. Not me. You can stop being disingenuous any time. I understand you were ready to be so very proud of that “gotcha moment,” and it kinda blew up before it could leave the hangar, but that’s not my fault.

It also would explain why these “fan” developers tend to target Nintendo IPs rather than the others mentioned above.

I approve of intellectual property being the domain of those who own the property rather than establish a hard and fast arbitrary line where they no longer have those rights, yes. I accept that means that some creators are going to use those rights differently than I would (like in your ridiculous hypothetical of…

There’s some truth to that. I’ve liked to say that if you want a clue that they’re going to revive the F-Zero franchise, wait for them to start dropping the hammer on those fan games.

If every single creator/developer said they didn’t want any or all fan works to be produced? Yeah. I’d have to respect that (sorry that your almost certain gotcha of linking my AO3 account has to go poof) and AO3 would either have to find a different angle or shut down.

No one should be allowed to make Metroid games as long as Nintendo is making them, yes. That company (which still includes many of the original Metroid developers) put forth the money, time, and effort to get it off the ground, and they should be able to reap the rewards for as long as they are willing to continue…

I’m on the side of that as long as you are actively developing an intellectual property, the copyright should remain yours, because yes, it WOULD be bullshit if some company produced Mickey Mouse and said, “ah well, it’s based off of the public domain Steamboat Willie version.”

To the estate of Tolkien? Yeah. They still occasionally license work to others.

Because once it becomes “legally distinct,” interest from the audience tends to plummet through the floor.