Bit more complex than you might think.
Per Automaton, A Japanese YouTuber has been arrested for posting gameplay videos online. Specifically, they were videos of the visual novel STEINS;GATE Hiyoku Renri no Darin (or Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace for those not familiar with Japanese). The Content Overseas Distribution Agency (CODA) announced the Miyagi prefecture man’s arrest, noting that the man uploaded the video (which contained the end of the game) without getting permission from the rights holder Nitroplus, and had monetization and ad revenue enabled on the video.
He also allegedly had other videos uploaded, including the anime version of STEINS:GATE as well as Spy x Family. The videos were edited down into a format CODA refers to as “fast content”. Such things might be most comparable to, say, Cliff’s Notes. Fast content is fairly popular in Japan, where it typically condenses down a game or show, including some captions or narration to summarize events. Netabare is a subcategory of these types of videos specifically detailing endings or plot twists.
According to CODA, the man had been uploading such content since 2019, and that the only got involved due to complaints from the rights holder. CODA’s statement on the matter details that they only act on “malicious” usages of gameplay footage (via Google Translate):
In particular, the act of combining only the movie scenes of a game with a story and editing it so that the content of the game can be understood in a short time up to the ending, and posting it, or the act of extracting and posting only the ending scene has been viewed as a problem these days. However, there are currently more and more cases where game makers and games have established guidelines that allow uploading gameplay videos, and in some cases it is possible to upload gameplay videos if you follow the permitted content.
This action was taken because the gameplay video of the game that was targeted this time was an extremely malicious example that matches the above problem example.
With regard to anime, as with the Fast Movie Incident, it is absolutely not permissible for creators to process, upload, and obtain advertising expenses without permission from copyrighted works that they have invested time, effort, and money into producing.
CODA claims this is the first time someone’s been arrested for posting game footage, and I’m inclined to believe them, especially in this case. STEINS;GATE is a visual novel, meaning that unlike many other games, there really isn’t any gameplay to allow it to be much of a transformative work.
The Miyagi Television Broadcasting station dug a bit deeper, identifying the man as Shinobu Yoshida (52), from Nagoya. Notably, the quoted him saying “I knew it was illegal, even as I was doing it.”
While This sort of thing is always a possibility even outside Japan, this is a fairly extreme case. Most companies take the streamer/video producer ecosystem for the free advertising that it is. Even when they take exception to certain things like game endings before a certain date and the like, they’ll usually just demand the video be taken down, at most ask for a penalty or strike from the site for the offending party. In this case, however, it’s just a step below brazen piracy, so it’s not much of a surprise.
Source: PC Gamer
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