Advertisement

Nintendo shuts down fan-made Pokémon game downloaded by more than a million people

'Pokémon Uranium' was based on the original RPG game and had dozens of hours of content

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
The free, fan-made Pokémon RPG was downloaded more than 1.5 million times before copyright pressure from Nintendo forced the team behind the game to remove all official download links. Photo: Pokémon Uranium

Between the extreme popularity of "Pokémon Go" and the excitement over the upcoming "Pokémon Sun & Moon," everyone has the lovable pocket monsters on their minds for the first time since the late 1990s. 

Advertisement

The passion never died for millions of fans, though, and a couple in particular: The two-person development team behind "Pokémon Uranium" finally shared their work with the world last week after nine years of development. Within days, the free, fan-made Pokémon RPG was downloaded more than 1.5 million times.

Unfortunately, due to copyright pressure from Nintendo, the team behind "Pokémon Uranium" removed all official download links before the gaming giant could take legal action against them. 

"Pokémon Uranium" has traditional turn-based combat featuring more than 150 original Pokémon. Photo: Pokémon Uranium
"Pokémon Uranium" has traditional turn-based combat featuring more than 150 original Pokémon. Photo: Pokémon Uranium

The game was in the same vein as the traditional Pokémon RPG games that have existed on Nintendo's handheld platforms for decades. Here are some of its main features:
•A whole new world to explore called the Tandor region.
•More than 150 original Pokémon, alongside some from the official games.
•A new type of Pokémon called Nuclear Pokémon.
•A robust online trading and battling system.
•Dozens of hours of content, from eight gym battles to an original storyline for players to follow.

Advertisement

Unfortunately, this isn't the first fan project Nintendo has killed, nor will it be the last. Last week, Nintendo gave the same treatment to "AM2R," a remake of the GameBoy classic "Metroid II" that had been in development for four years.

loading
Advertisement