Nintendo Files DMCA Against Fan-Made ‘Rhythm Heaven’ Remix Software

Sniper


Rhythm Heaven Chorus Kids
Image: Nintendo Life

Nintendo has filed a DMCA takedown against fan-made software ‘Heaven Studio’, a tool which enabled people to upload their own music and pair it with one of the rhythm-based minigames from the Rhythm Heaven series.

As reported by TorrentFreak (thanks, VGC), the Heaven Studio GitHub repository has been removed following Nintendo’s request, which cites copyright on the assets included with the software.

The makers of the tool shared on Twitter that, despite receiving bogus takedown complaints from people purporting to be Nintendo, this latest one appears to be the real deal.

Nintendo’s legal eagles have been active recently issuing takedowns against musicians and sheet music. The details around that are a little greyer, although with Heaven Studio making use of the game’s original assets — both art and sound effects — it seemed like only a matter of time before Nintendo would deploy the ninjas.

The Heaven Studio GitHub page now displays only the takedown notice:

Heaven Studio GitHub DMCA Notice
Image: GitHub

Why now? It’s difficult to say, considering the popularity of the videos on YouTube (see below for an example). From the perspective of a Rhythm Heaven (Rhythm Paradise in Europe) fan, the best-case scenario is that perhaps Nintendo has a new entry lined up for release and is looking to clear the decks so people don’t confuse Heaven Studio and its videos with an official game. The last game in the series to be released was 2016’s excellent ‘greatest hits’ on 3DS, Rhythm Heaven Megamix, so Switch owners don’t have a Rhythm Heaven of their own yet.

For their part, the makers of Heaven Studio insist that this isn’t the end, saying that, “Heaven Studio isn’t dead, or going to die, but it’s going to be quiet for a bit. We need to make some major changes, and those changes are going to take time.”

“Do the D.M.C.A., the way you move is a MYS-tery…”

Let us know below if you ever used Heaven Studio or enjoyed any of the videos. Do you think this could be a sign of something official in the works (be still our bea-bea-beating hearts!), or is Nintendo just protecting its IP in the usual way with a random-looking strike?