Nintendo wants revenue-sharing deal for YouTube videos

Nintendo has revealed a new affiliate program that we see the company take a share of YouTube videos that use its content.

The console giant suffered a backlash last year after it began issuing content ID match claims to videos in which users played its games, resulting in content creators no longer receiving revenues for their work.

Nintendo had seemingly backtracked following widespread condemnation, but has now revealed a new scheme in which it hopes to generate money.

The official Nintendo Twitter account states that under the program, ads will sometimes be shown on videos and Nintendo, Google and the user will all receive revenue from the videos.

To upload a video using Nintendo content however, users must first ask permission.

We have contacted Nintendo for more details on the proposed affiliate program to find out just how it will affect YouTube video creators.

Many developers have previously stated their intention to allow YouTube users to upload videos relating to their games, without any kind of charge, express permission or revenue-sharing deal.

But despite this, last year it also emerged some videos were falling foul of copyright claims from INDmusic on the audio content contained. This occurred changes to YouTube’s Content ID system, which allowed TuneCore and INDmusic to automatically identify potential copyright infringments, resulting in numerous invalid and legitimate claims.

Despite its actions, INDmusic CEO Brandon Martinez said the firm’s team "are not evil trolls", and was just protecting the rights of music artists.