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Long In-Development Fan Creation Pokémon Prism Cancelled Due To Nintendo Intervention
Pokémon Prism, a fan-created ROM-hack of classic Pokémon that is essentially an entirely new game, has received its inevitable cease and desist from Nintendo.
Detailed earlier this year in the trailer you can see below, Pokémon Prism had a new story, a new region (named Naljo), 200 Pokémon, 20 badges, customizable trainers, and more mechanics, many of which have never appeared in a Pokémon game.
This morning, the game's creator, @Koolboyman on Twitter, announced the game's cancellation right before its planned December 25 release date, and shared the letter he recieved from Nintendo requesting he cancel the project.
I'm sorry everyone, but Pokemon Prism is cancelled. Thank you for your support. https://t.co/rD5LSr1bQA
— Adam (@Koolboyman) December 21, 2016
In the letter Nintendo wrote the following passage:
Nintendo understands that you are a fan of its original products and its Pokémon Franchise. Whilst it is appreciated, it unfortunately does not alter Nintendo’s important role to ensure that all of its valuable intellectual property is fully protected and that there is no use made of any of its intellectual property rights without proper supervision and authorisation.
@Koolboyman gained notoriety for his previous ROM hack, Pokémon Brown, which Nintendo additionally requested be pulled offline.
[Source: @Koolboyman, via Polygon]
Our Take
Nintendo is fully within its rights to request Prism be taken down. We spoke with Pokémon producer Junichi Masuda earlier this year and asked him if he had any thoughts on the fan-made Pokémon Uranium and he said, "If they have the skill and ability and stamina to create something like
that, they should definitely get a job at a developer somewhere!" Nintendo recognizes and acknowledges the fandom and dedication it takes to build these sort of fan projects, but it cannot risk Pokémon Prism, a game it has no control over that uses its trademarked materials, being confused for a true Pokémon game. These sort of projects are impressive, and it's fascinating to see what fans come up with using the core games they love as a base, but I don't fault Nintendo, or any other company for that matter, for requesting development be ceased. I hope that @Koolboyman takes, what is clearly a substantial amount of talent, and creates something entirely original. He certainly seems more than capable.
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