How Was AM2R “A Commercial Product” In Nintendo’s Eyes?
Metroid fans the world over were absolutely pumped to find out Nintendo is releasing a remake of Metroid 2 this year. Samus Returns looks like a gorgeous second look at the Game Boy title. Indeed, many fans of the series have never even played Metroid 2 before. Of course, there was also AM2R, that fan project from last year…
During a recent interview, Reggie Fils-Aimé talked a little bit about Samus Returns, as well as AM2R, the ill-fated fan project Nintendo dropped the hammer on days after it’s release. According to Reggie, Nintendo allows “homages to exist in a variety of different ways.” Presumably, this includes art, entertainment and other free fan projects that use Nintendo’s characters. Unfortunately, the fan project in question crossed a line for Nintendo. It went from an homage to “a commercial product.” The game was free, which feels different from commercial, causing months of speculation about Nintendo’s decision to shut down the game.
But in light of the announcement of Samus Returns, suddenly all of this makes more sense. Of course Nintendo doesn’t want any imitators crowding the collective consciousness when they have their own product coming out. This isn’t something Reggie was able to come out and say, although he was repeatedly pressed to in the interview. Instead, we got the explanation that the fan game was “a commercial product,” which forced Nintendo’s hand. After all, there’s no point spending money on a remake when you can get one for free, right? If nothing else, Samus Returns looks really, really good. Good enough to situate itself as the only remake worth mentioning when it comes out this fall.