By the "logic" of Nintendo's totalitarian lawfare-minded current leadership [source], any art that doesn't make Nintendo money, that depends on the existence of literally anything else existing before it existed, "doesn't count" as "real art."
So by that "logic," if God had to create the universe before cavemen could be inspired to paint cave walls depicting the animals they hunted, then any and all art done by those cavemen "doesn't count" as real art - unless Nintendo automatically acquires the rights to it by default, without having to pay a cent! And gets to do a next-of-kin count for every single generation of anyone who made any art ever that was never a Nintendo employee, and then demand legal reparations!
This isn't IP protection. It's extortion and IP robbery. Plain and simple.
Back in the good old days, after Nintendo's first bid to ruin the lives of modders got foiled by courts with common sense, they didn't give up. They got salty, and swore revenge.
What the automotive industry gets right that the gaming industry fails to
Along with the invention of the automobile, came the invention of mods. Custom accessories for cars. Some which might void a warranty, others which were harmless. Some sponsored by the company, others tolerated, some licensed to use company logos, some not.
The automotive industry figured things out. Custom accessory makers could, if they followed good faith practices, even profit from their work. Could sell products.
But somehow, when it came to the world of video games, the industry couldn't seem to wrap its mind around automotive industry best practices, and adapt them.
Thieves poisoned the well
So instead, chaos ensued. Life for modders-for-profit was going great, until one nasty game released. That game was That's Life. Thing is, it violated every ounce of good faith imaginable.
EA allowed mods for The Sims to exist, or even be for profit, as long as modders made clear who they were, that they were not endorsed officially by EA, etc.
However, That's Life changed the game. A group of shameless crapweasels deduced through their predatory logic that if most modders, out of respect, were no getting paid, and doing things as a passion project to better the world of gaming, then they probably didn't have the money to hire good attorneys.
So the predators who made That's Life compiled their giant Sims mod pack, and sold it on store shelves. Except: over 90% of all Sims mod content in the pack...was outright stolen. Full-blown plagairism against actual, competent passion project generators.
Moreover, becoming greedier over time and noting that these mods needed a base game ecosystem to operate, EA became more like Nintendo. It noted that it wasn't making any money off of That's Life. Instead, a third party entity of known and established thieves and con artists were making ALL the money!
So That's Life got pulled from shelves. Its creators sued to oblivion. And EA had a change of heart on mod policy. No one could make any Sims mod for any game, nor release any machinima or machinomic work generated from their product, and release it for profit, without express permission or a licensing deal from EA themselves.
For passion project generators, this was an absolute win. They weren't making money anyway. They were out to better the creativity of the gaming world. Or, use the platform and mods to serve as free advertising for other good, noble, upcoming things.
So EA's change of heart was tolerated. With exception of Rooster Teeth getting licensed to make and sell The Strangerhood, it was established in the Sims modding community as a general principle that profiteering was a no-no. Third party creators could make story packs to market their own IPs that existed outside the game, as is the case with Dozerfleet Labs and DzMD using Sims modding as free advertising for Dozerfleet Comics' current or up-and-coming projects.
And other modders were also free to create. There was a simple rule though: modders couldn't sell the game mod content they made. Except to the company itself. And even then, only if EA wanted to buy it. And in return, EA couldn't seize the work of a third party creator, steal it outright, take full credit for its creation, and profiteer off it.
These boundaries were common sense. And for 21 years, from the arrival of The Sims 2 until 2025 under The Sims 4, this was the established, accepted, understood rule.
Then, along came the new Nintendo.
Nintendo now wants to make it so that any game that exists that uses any mechanic that Nintendo also uses, even if Nintendo weren't the one to invent that mechanic, is now required to give over its entire IP for free to Nintendo, to do with as Nintendo sees fit. Just because Nintendo is salty.
That, in essence, is wholesale theft. And using bribery of courts and patent offices? Violation of RICO statutes!!!
This is racketeering, theft, extortion, and more. But on top of that, they're trying to set a legal precedent that art only counts as "art" if it makes Nintendo money. And under no other circummstances! Hence, Nintendo game mods don't count as "art," because they need a base game to function. And therefore, even if a mod is released FOR FREE, Nintendo now argues it has the "right" (read: thieving want) to steal the mod outright from the creator, compensate nothing to the creator, repackage and sell the mod's content, and claim full authorship of the mod! Thus, turning modders into slave laborers. Replacing community and innovation with exploitation.
And not even treating their slaves well! No. Instead, suing them and ruining their lives for daring to have a dream that wouldn't make Nintendo money!
And if allowed to get away with this RICO-violating aggression? Nintendo sets a legal precedent that then allows other companies, like EA, to not only do the same to modders of its games; but to also steal any IP that the mod refers to that doesn't belong to the company. And it ALL now becomes company property!
This doesn't protect anyone's IP. It's wholesale theft masquerading as protection!
If Nintendo gets what it wants, and EA begins to follow suit, it will be the end of DzMD. Because if DzMD isn't gutted under those circumstances, then EA will presume the right to steal the ENTIRE Dozerfleet Productions project catalog for itself! Not gonna happen!
The wages of Nintend-overreach
Here's what's at stake if that were to happen:
- If EA went full-tilt Nintendo, then every single DzMD Sims 2 mod that is no longer available anywhere would become EA property.
- That EA could then sell or else distribute for free at its own discretion.
- The actual author would get no credit, and no payment. Unacceptable!
- This wouldn't just apply to actual custom content for the game. It would apply to literally any tool (such as the StretchSkeleton Cheat Calculator and Love Photo Doctor) that exists outside the game but which was made to assist players with understanding how to exploit a game mechanic for storytelling purposes. To steal the Love Photo Doctor and then sell it, especially given it's for a 21-year-old game? DISGUSTING!!!
- Under Nintendo logic, the entire Sims 3 back catalog of mod content made by DzMD to reference any Dozerfleet or non-Dozerfleet property now becomes EA property.
- Original Dozerfleet content would be shamelessly pilfered, exploiting the weak legal power of Dozerfleet's legal defense.
- Mods referencing other companies, such as the Doctor Strange mod, which Marvel could contest? EA would simply bury that, since they can't get Marvel to license them to sell it for profit. For a 14-year-old game!
- Under Nintendo logic, EA would be emboldend to steal for themselves literally anything mentioned anywhere in the DzMD catalog of Sims 4 content.
- They might try to steal Cherinob, even with proof existing in the handbook itself that she existed before The Sims 4, and that she exists in plenty of formats and art styles that aren't from EA!
- The same goes for the Trapezoid Kids, and anything else that's Dozerfleet-original.
- Nintendo would then swoop in on EA themselves, stating that since they bribed the US patent office to offer Nintendo a bad faith patent on mounting mechanics, that Horse Ranch now belongs to Nintendo. And by extension, the entire EA company. And by extension, the entire fan community's entire ecosystem! And not to celebrate them; but to extort them!
If Nintendo plays hardball, and the courts are that corrupt:
- All entries on IMDB would be removed immediately. Or requests would be made for their removal. This includes the Swappernetters packs, Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff, The Horrorday Gang, and Magic of Movies and Memes Stuff. Poof! Evidence on IMDB that these packs ever existed? Gone!
- The wiki? Scrubbed of anything that might still give these companies any grounds to steal any Dozerfleet IP!
- The mods themselves? Gone. Archived.
- The cast? Every single one of them still existing as a Sims character would be converted to AI faux live action or a cartoon character, generated outside The Sims. All Sims versions erased.
- The machinomics? Taken offline. Forever.
- Ciem 2007 would never get re-released.
- The failed Q-Basic Gorillas machinomic? All canceled project surviving art would have to be destroyed. All of it.
- Star Flops: Curse of the Medium Side? Gone.
- Blood Over Water: Dirty Laundry? Remade without Sims before being re-released.
- Purge-Flare: Stickin' It to Pencil? AI remake. Even the ad for Ciem: Inferno would be remade or removed. Because even though it was made with GTA V, it would still be at risk. What's to stop Rockstar from becoming just as greedy as Nintendo?
- Corando's "Don't Lose Hope"? Remade with AI. All other projects that were originally going to be made with Sims would also become AI, as is the plan anyway.
- The home blueprints? Only House Flipper 2 versions would still stand. Unless Frozen District were seized in a hostile takeover, and that also became legally radioactive. Then, those renders would go private.
Dozerfleet gaming would be dead. All comics would be remade with AI, or archived permanently. The novels could still function. The music could continue. Videos would hit differently. The trailer for Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff would be taken down, along with anything else that referenced the Sims franchise. The widgets that are unrelated to gaming? Could remain. But all Dozerfleet gaming would be dead. The wiki would be able to mention that there were plans. But those plans were canceled due to the Nintendo fallout.
Hopefully, courts moving forward will have enough good sense to see what all is happening here for what it is, and stop Nintendo's madness before it sets a dangerous legal precedent.
It's one thing for companies to want to stop pirates. It's another for them to become predatory on the fans that built them, rob smaller IPs into extinction, plagairize the original work of IPs they destroyed, and chill creativity itself out of existence!
DzMD isn't gone yet. But if Nintendo continues to poison the industry against the fandom that it needs to survive, if companies continue to become predatory, then the future of Dozerfleet will be an uphill battle for the right to exist.
Like so many on YouTube right now, no one at Dozerfleet has missed the irony that the lunatic currently ru(i)n(n)ing Nintendo has the last name of Bowser!
