"Pokemon Prism," a fan-made ROM hack of the original "Pokemon Crystal" for Gameboy Color, was scheduled to release during the holidays. Nintendo shut it down and issues a cease and desist just four days before Christmas. Despite this, pirates have released the game online, making it available for fans to download and play.
ROM hacking involves editing the data of an officially released video game. Most ROM hacks focus on making a video game harder or to introduce new features or altered graphics. Several ROM hacks are merely improvements such as fixing bugs or translating Japan-exclusive game to English.
The game had been in development by Adam "Koolboyman" and his team for eight years with the goal of creating a brand new "Pokemon" experience. It introduces a new region, two new Pokemon types and full character customization.
"Regardless of Nintendo's legal rights, we do believe that they are destroying their fans' hard work for no reason and at no gain," Kotaku quoted the pirates as saying. "Nintendo could have used this and any other good ROM hack as an opportunity to promote the Pokémon series in general. They don't even have to do anything other than let the games live."
It is uncertain if the original developers may have been involved in leaking the ROM files out to the pirates. The pirates reportedly do not even know who specifically gave them the files or who amongst them was the first to offer the files online.
The original developer quickly shut down the main website, which also included previous ROM hacks such as "Pokemon Brown." Because the developers could no longer update "Pokemon Prism," fans have been spreading and further updating it to be as close as it was originally intended to be, according to Polygon.
"Pokemon Prism" is not the only fan-made game shut down by Nintendo. As a part of their process to protect their intellectual property, Nintendo previously shut down "Another Metroid 2 Remake" aka "AM2R," Pokemon Uranium," "Zelda 30 Tribute," "Super Mario 64 HD Remake" and "Full Screen Mario."
The trailer for "Pokemon Prism" can be viewed below: