Nintendo has recently taken action against a fan-made remix tool for its popular Rhythm Heaven series. The tool, Heaven Studio, was removed from various sites after Nintendo issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice.
Nintendo's Rhythm Heaven Fan-Made Remix Tool Got Taken Down
Nintendo Wanted Only the Removal of IPs Used, but Software Got Taken Down Altogether
According to a report by TorrentFreak, Nintendo contacted the developer platform GitHub, demanding the removal of sprites and sound effects used in Heaven Studio, a fan-made Rhythm Heaven remix tool. However, instead of just removing the specific copyrighted files, GitHub opted to take down the entire Heaven Studio repository.
Heaven Studio was also available on itch.io, but it has now been removed from that platform as well. The site now displays a takedown notice stating:
"It has been brought to our attention that the content available at https://rheavenstudio.itch.io/heaven-studio infringes copyrights owned by Nintendo. This notice is provided pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 USC § 512 and Itch.io’s Terms of Service."
Additionally, the notice highlighted Nintendo's request:
"Nintendo requests that Itch.io immediately remove or disable public access to https://rheavenstudio.itch.io/heaven-studio. This web page provides access to and distributes unauthorized derivative works that incorporate elements of Nintendo’s copyright-protected Rhythm Heaven video games, including the audio-visual work, software, music, and imagery covered by [U.S. Copyright Regulations]."
Heaven Studio was part of a fan-created software that allowed players to create their own remixes based on Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven series of rhythm action games. Users could upload their own music tracks, select from a variety of Rhythm Heaven mini-games, and join them together.
The developers stated on Twitter (X) today that it is not the end for Heaven Studio and that they will shift their "goal for core development from ‘recreating Rhythm Heaven’ to ‘making tools and frameworks for creating rhythm-based games’."
Source:
Nintendo Takedown Wipes “Rhythm Heaven” Remix Tool & 250+ Forks Off GitHub
