Nintendo Co Ltd is not exactly known for being very lenient when it comes to fans using its IPs to make their own content, not even in the form of free advertising through Let’s Plays or machinima, so it is no shock that the Japanese game maker has come down hard on a fan working on an HD remake of Super Mario 64.

The Cease and Desist notice did not even surprise the project’s creator, Erik Ross. “I received a copyright infringement notice on both the webplayer as well as the standalone builds,” Ross wrote on the project blog. “Which is fair enough, really.”

“In light of Nintendo recently making a deal to release some of their IPs on mobile platforms, it’s probably not in their best interests to have a mobile-portable version of Mario 64 sitting around,” Ross explained. “In any case, I didn’t really expect for this project to get so popular, and was hoping it would function primarily as a educational tool and a novelty.”

While Ross may have been expecting Nintendo’s decision, the company does sometimes look the other way when it comes to fan projects. For example, Nintendo maintains a tense but so far non-confrontational relationship with the fan-made Super Smash Bros. Brawl mod Project M, which remains extremely popular with competitive players and esports tournaments.

Project M attempts to remove many of Brawl’s more luck-based features to make the competitive experience more like that of the previous game in the series, Super Smash Bros. Melee. This includes fast-paced combat, a high skill cap, and a deep meta game. On the Project M website, the creators wrote, “In short, Project M aims to capture the essence of what made Melee a truly great game in our eyes.”

While Nintendo does not strictly support Project M or its intent – it is even a forbidden topic on MiiVerse – the game is less likely to get the same treatment as Ross’s Mario 64 remake because it is not a standalone product using Nintendo’s assets, as Project M requires players to already own a copy of Brawl in order for it to work.

Image credit: “Mario64 – Dire Dire Docks“. Via Wikipedia.