Nintendo Seeking NicoNico Creators

Nintendo is seeking NicoNico video creators to help promote first party Nintendo games. Called the, “creator encouragement program,” it is a partnership between video makers and Nintendo. If a NicoNico user desired, he or she could pick from one of Nintendo’s 250 pre approved titles and publish a video of it. From there the creator would be paid, depending upon the popularity of the video. The games span many games across the Wii U, 3DS, GameCube, Nintendo 64, DS, and even all the way back to Famicom. However, there is no virtual boy listed as of yet. Classic titles such as Super Metroid and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past are included. Modern titles are available to choose from too, with Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D Land being listed.

Registration is done through NicoNico, and this change reflects a decision earlier this year to team with YouTube content creators. This is also a big change from two years ago when Nintendo was seemingly cracking down on those who were uploading gameplay from Nintendo first party games to YouTube. Many users experienced copyright claims on their Let’s Plays, causing a bit of a stir. Eventually it was forgotten but Nintendo earlier this year said that Twitch would not be coming to the Wii U. The reason? “It has to be fun. And, from Nintendo’s perspective, streaming live gameplay just isn’t.” Reaction was somewhat negative, and their opinion seems to contradict the fact that Twitch has only gotten more popular since 2011. It eventually eclipsed and caused its parent company to re-brand and then become acquired by Amazon.com for almsot $1 billion.

Nintendo also started taking interest in NicoNico last November. It was reported that Nintendo bought a stake in Dwango Co., parent company of NicoNico. They had used NicoNico already to promote its titles but this incentive program is the first big official push. Nintendo also livestreamed its E3 conference instead of doing a live presentation. Nintendo Treehouse frequently have livestream sessions on Twitch showing off upcoming games, such as Captain Toad Treasure Tracker which releases this Friday on the Wii U.