Nintendo has finally decided to create a YouTube affiliate program

Nintendo has a checkered and controversial past when it comes YouTube videos that feature its games. But it seems the game company has turned over a new leaf, recently announcing it would create a partnership program with content creators. The program was announced via a series of tweets from Nintendo’s Japanese twitter account. Details of the program are rather scarce, but what is known is that advertising revenue will be split between the gaming giant and content creators.

Last year, Nintendo made waves by initiating YouTube “Content ID” matches on videos portraying the company’s games. This diverted monetization from the video creators to Nintendo, and was heavily criticized by the Let’s Play community. At the time, Nintendo claimed its move to capture all video monetization was to ensure that that material “is shared across social and media channels in an appropriate and safe way.” Now, a two-part message via the company’s Japanese Twitter account signals a shift in policy. A translation of the two tweets indicates Nintendo will be working with YouTube to create an affiliate program to share revenue with authorized content creators. Specific details are not yet available. We’ve reached out to Nintendo of America for more information, and we’ll update should we receive a response.