Word recently got out that Nintendo has unexpectedly abandoned the trademark for Hyrule Warriors, a collaboration with Koei Tecmo that combines Dynasty Warriors' gameplay with the universe of The Legend of Zelda. A video game company abandoning their trademark for a franchise is a rare event—Nintendo itself routinely renews the trademark for Eternal Darkness, an IP that hasn't seen the light of day in years. But it's especially shocking considering Hyrule Warriors is still an active property with more DLC still in development.
This was one of the talking points on a recent episode of Nintendo Week, our Nintendo-themed podcast here at Gamnesia. Check out the discussion video above for our full thoughts, or keep reading below for a brief, brief summary.
It's astonishing that Nintendo abandoned the trademark, but we're not convinced it's anything to worry about for now—they're much smarter than to abandon the trademark for an IP that still has products actively in development. We can't speak with terribly great authority on trademark law, but the worst-case scenario we can see is that the renewal slipped their mind and they've since set out to correct it. More likely, we think, is that Hyrule Warriors has proven successful and they've allowed Koei Tecmo to take the reins with the series' trademark for distribution purposes. Either way, Hyrule Warriors doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
For our full in-depth thoughts beyond this brief write-up, be sure to check out the discussion video above. If you like it, you can subscribe to Nintendo Week on iTunes, where we release new episodes every Wednesday, or you could check out the full episode. If you don't like long-form podcasts, you can subscribe to us on YouTube, where our discussion segments are uploaded on Thursdays, and these select snippets from the rest of the podcast—which we call NWC—are uploaded throughout the week. If you like what you hear, we'd love it if you leave us a review on iTunes, where you can find episodes covering tons of other subjects, or send us your feedback! We'd love to know what you think of the show, and how you think we can improve it.