Backlash Over Revealing Crucial Game Ending Gameplay
Impact Expected on Game YouTubers in Other Countries as Well
A YouTuber who uploaded game play videos without the consent of the game company was arrested for copyright infringement. This is the first time a game YouTuber has been arrested for copyright infringement in Japan. As game developers closely watch this case, there are also expectations that regulations and crackdowns on YouTubers who upload game play videos to social networking services (SNS) such as YouTube without permission will intensify worldwide.
On the 25th, Sankei Shimbun reported that on the 17th, a game YouTuber in his 50s, Yoshida Shinobu, was arrested on charges of uploading game videos and popular animation to his YouTube channel without the copyright holder's permission.
The suspect posted about an hour-long video including the storyline and ending of Nitroplus's game Steins;Gate Biikuenri no Darling, as well as an unauthorized edited version of the popular animation Spy Family. The YouTube channel has 10,000 subscribers, and the videos uploaded by the suspect are known to have a total of 5.5 million views.
The game broadcasted by the suspect is an adventure game, focusing more on unfolding the story than on action. However, in the video, both the storyline and the ending were revealed. Sankei pointed out, "Uploading such spoiler videos lowers the desire to purchase the game and can ruin the efforts of the creators, which has recently become a problematic issue."
Although this is the first arrest case, Japanese media pointed out that such video uploads are frequent. In Japan, videos where YouTubers play games live and broadcast them are called "game jikkyou" (ゲ?ム?況). The Content Overseas Distribution Promotion Organization, an association of video industry workers, criticized on its website, "Game jikkyou videos that are edited to reveal the ending in a short time or only the ending are becoming a recent problem." They added, "In principle, game play videos require the copyright holder's permission, and unauthorized uploads constitute copyright infringement," emphasizing, "This arrest was because the suspect's case was an extremely malicious example."
Game jikkyou is already a rapidly growing market worldwide. According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), the number of people watching such videos globally is close to 800 million. Because of this, some game companies provide content to YouTubers first for marketing new releases, but even in such cases, companies usually set guidelines that must be followed. For example, Nintendo clearly states that videos uploaded as game jikkyou that simply edit and upload the game's soundtrack, movie scenes, or illustration collections as is will not be accepted.
However, such copyright-infringing video postings continue steadily. Sankei analyzed that the background of this is the culture of the younger generation, which values efficiency relative to time. The younger generation tends to prefer watching related videos as a kind of information processing rather than directly enjoying and appreciating movies, dramas, or game content. Because of this, game jikkyou videos that allow viewers to quickly understand the content are gaining popularity.
However, a representative from an adventure game company said, "Revealing the content leads to significant business losses," and added, "Information should not be intentionally disclosed."
Sankei emphasized that to resolve such copyright infringement, it is necessary to educate video creators on compliance with game company guidelines as well as provide digital content education to the younger generation.
Meanwhile, the suspect admitted the charges, saying, "I uploaded the videos knowing it was illegal," and the police are investigating the details, believing the crime was committed to earn advertising revenue based on playback time.
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