Game news This player is sentenced to two years in prison… for showing the end of a game on YouTube
Published on 08/09/2023 at 12:35
Share :
In Japan, a man was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 1 million yen for posting the ending of a 2011 visual novel on YouTube.
A prison sentence… for showing the ending of a game?!
This is what we call a particularly harsh sentence. Recently, the Japanese news site Asahi spotted by VGC tells us that Shinodu Yoshida, a 53-year-old man, was found guilty of violating Japanese copyright law by distributing unauthorized videos. The judge sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for five years. (which means that he will not be imprisoned as long as he does not reoffend during this period) as well as a fine of one million yen, which is more than €6,000.
Among the facts with which he is accused, Shinodu Yoshida posted three videos on YouTube between September 2019 and May 2022. One of them featured in-game footage from Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace, a visual novel released in 2011. It is a romantic comedy-style spin-off of Steins;Gate, one of the visual novels of the genre, particularly thanks to its 2011 animated adaptation. One of the prosecution’s main arguments concerns one of the videos that features the ending of the game. However, since visual novels are experiences with little gameplay, playing or watching a game of the genre on YouTube is pretty much the same thing.
A “loss of sales” for the publisher
The publisher Spike Chunsoft therefore suggests that some players might prefer to “watch” the game on YouTube rather than play it, which would represent a loss of sales for the company. The prosecution argued that Shinodu Yoshida’s actions were a “malicious act that attacks the content creation effort” by discouraging the purchase of this genre of game. Conversely, the defense argues that his actions were not “particularly malicious”, which prompted a request for a suspended sentence, which was accepted by the judge. According to the Asahi media, This is the first time that someone has been convicted of violating Japanese copyright law by broadcasting images from a video game. Paradoxically, the ending is still easily found on YouTube in Let’s Plays…
About YouTube
News culture
YouTube is not dead! Here are 10 videos that shouldn’t be missed in 2022!
News culture
“can’t wait for YouTube to die” This famous YouTuber talks about his future
News culture
Youtube loses one of its historic stars
Game news
YouTube: The 10 most watched video game videos in 2022 are… surprising
