Sparing me from having to use more movie sequel titles are some new games this week and even a couple of unconventional Friday releases: Sniper Elite V2 for the Wii U and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D on the 3DS.

But looking ahead, prepare for “TWIG 2: Back in the Habit (of Not Releasing Anything).”

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Earlier this month, Nintendo became a YouTube partner and they’ve now begun filing “content ID match” claims on several Let’s Play and fan-produced videos featuring Nintendo games and franchises. The claims allow Nintendo to monetize these videos by inserting ads for the company before, next to or at the end of videos.

By doing this, Nintendo is preventing possible ad revenue for Let’s Players and the owners of Nintendo fan video, some of whom make a living producing these videos.

These content claims should only be for ad purposes, but according to sources speaking to Gamasutra, Nintendo has gone so far as to have certain videos removed from YouTube entirely.

“So far it’s mostly been affecting bigger channels and mostly videos posted recently,” said their source. “The main problem is that no one seems to know why they’re doing it or what their eventual goal is.”

In an official statement to the press, Nintendo denies the accusations of shutting down videos, even saying they do not want to block people using their intellectual properties.

“As part of our on-going push to ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media channels in an appropriate and safe way, we became a YouTube partner and as such in February 2013 we registered our copyright content in the YouTube database. For most fan videos this will not result in any changes, however, for those videos featuring Nintendo-owned content, such as images or audio of a certain length, adverts will now appear at the beginning, next to or at the end of the clips. We continually want our fans to enjoy sharing Nintendo content on YouTube, and that is why, unlike other entertainment companies, we have chosen not to block people using our intellectual property.

For more information please visit http://www.youtube.com/yt/copyright/faq.html“

Many in the fan gaming community are seeing this as a very negative move from Nintendo. They feel that these videos are practically free advertising and praise for Nintendo and their games, and by going after them, the company is cutting off the nose to spite the face for no good reason.

Source: Gamasutra, Game Front

Another week of no releases, another week of movie subtitle ripoffs.

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Once again, zero games are coming out this week and if you search your feelings, you’ll know it to be true.

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Nothing’s coming out this week!

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In addition to Nintendo’s regular weekly maintenance on its online services, they are performing “extended” maintenance today and tomorrow on the eShop, shopping channels and Pokémon games.

It’s suspected that the work being done to the eShop is for the upcoming launch of the Wii U Virtual Console, which comes out later this week as part of the spring Wii U update.

The following services will be affected:

From Tuesday, April 23, 2013 12:00 AM
- Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:00 PM Pacific Time
Affected Services:

• Nintendo DS

• - Network Services for Pokémon Black Version
• - Network Services for Pokémon Black Version 2
• - Network Services for Pokémon White Version
• - Network Services for Pokémon White Version 2

From Monday, April 22, 2013 1:00 PM
- Monday, April 22, 2013 7:00 PM Pacific Time
Affected Services:

• Wii U
  • - Nintendo eShop

• Nintendo 3DS
  • - Nintendo eShop

• Wii
  • - Wii Shopping Channel

• Nintendo DS
  • - Nintendo DSi Shop

Why Chase McCain hasn’t been asked to turn in his badge and gun, I have no idea. Reckless driving of donut vans? Destruction of public property? Base jumping off cranes? There should be no place on the force for someone so set in their renegade ways.

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Super Black Bass 3D is the only game coming out this week. The latest entry in the long-running fishing series lets you experience the joy of winning a fishing tournament and having people clap for you in unison.

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Who cares if making a Ghostbusters reference for a game about catching ghosts isn’t original? There’s never a reason to not link to some Ray Parker Jr.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity also comes out today.

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Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate leads the retail charge this week, heading to both the 3DS and Wii U. Will you choose the convenience of portability or online play and HD visuals?

The LEGO series’ take on Grand Theft Auto, LEGO City Undercover, also comes out this week. If you’re opting for the eShop version, be sure to watch your hard drive space – it reportedly has a 22GB file size.

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