RTA, Japan’s biggest charity speedrunning event, has confirmed there’ll be no Nintendo games present at this year’s show due to Nintendo’s strict rules around the use of its products.
This year’s RTA in Japan marathon runs from 9th-15th August, and promises dozen of speedruns throughout the week, with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. Its lengthy 2025 schedule includes everything from Minecraft and Cuphead to Inscryption and Silent Hill 2, but organisers confirmed several months ago that Nintendo games would not be included at this year’s event – and they’ve now explained why.
In a statement shared on the RTA website (as translated by Automaton), organisers say they were contacted by Nintendo on 13th June and told that “as a legal entity, they would have to ask for permission in advance” to feature the company’s games. Not only that, RTA was informed their previous streams constituted “unauthorised use”. It seems Nintendo expects RTA to apply for permission to feature its titles on a game-by-game basis, but the complexity of the task meant it wasn’t practical to do so in time for this year’s show.
However, organisers have expressed hope of including Nintendo titles in future speedrunning events and are currently negotiating with the company.
Nintendo has, of course, long sought to control third-parties’ ability to utilise its games, particularly where streaming is concerned. While some might see YouTube fan videos and similar community content as an opportunity for free promotion, Nintendo has historically deemed such activities as copyright infringement, even going as far as to demand all ad revenue for streaming at one time. And while the company’s stance has softened somewhat over the years, stories sporadically emerge highlighting its strict – if not outright draconian – rules where third-parties usage is concerned.
Memorably, Nintendo was accused of trying to halt the Smash World Tour Championship in 2022 after it refused to grant a license to competition organisers.