Developers Of Cozy Title Unpacking Are Asking Nintendo To Remove "Egregious Scams" From The eShop

Witch Beam, the creator of the popular indie game Unpacking, is asking Nintendo to take down several fake games from the Switch eShop. These copycat games have similar names and designs, which they say trick customers into buying poor-quality products. This issue raises questions about how well Nintendo checks the quality of games and protects intellectual property on its platform.

Witch Beam has pointed out several games on the eShop that look and sound like its title, including one called Unpacking: Universe Dreams by a developer named CGI Lab. Per Eurogamer, Witch Beam claims these games and their extra content are "egregious scams" that exploit Unpacking's success and trademark. It also claimed that Nintendo hasn't responded to reports about this situation for over two weeks, even though the copycat games are still available on the eShop. A similar case happened in 2022, leading to the removal of a copycat game from the iOS and Google Play stores.

It's been over two weeks and these are still on the eShop. Nintendo hasn't responded to any of our reports of these egregious scams which are using our trademarked game name and purposely tricking Nintendo customers into buying cheap fakes. — Wren Brier (@wrenegade.bsky.social) 2024-12-16T05:55:21.046Z

Scammers Are Using Unpacking Title To Trick Nintendo Customers

Copycat Games Plague the eShop

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While many BlueSky users are commenting on this Unpacking issue, Bobby Jack, in particular, makes a great point: "If it were a fan game that lovingly celebrated some Nintendo IP, it would be gone in a heartbeat..." Nintendo likely has its own team dedicated to protecting its property and another team for the eShop. Tiny Newt pointed out that "Nintendo has so far refused to refund me for buying one of these."

Related Unpacking Review: A Calming Lifetime of Memories in Moving Boxes Unpacking is a zen-like indie game experience of life, love, and moving. Although short, the story and experience are well worth the effort.

The situation shows how hard it is for independent games like Unpacking to protect their ideas on big digital stores. Nintendo's slow response to these scam games could encourage more developers to make similar knockoff titles, which can hurt both players and genuine developers. These copycat games can reduce trust in the eShop, making it less appealing for indie developers to share their games there.

Fans Of Unpacking Say Nintendo Has Done This For Too Long

It's A Bold Accusation

I'm normally pro-competition, but this doesn't look like it's competitive, just exploitive. The fake games start with the game name Unpacking and then have a colon, as if they're an add-on. User Chalkitdownn seems to voice what many comments say: "They won't though... It's been like this since, what, 2018? The eStore is so awful. I wish Nintendo actually cared."

Even still, it isn't fair to say that Nintendo doesn't care. Knockoff products have been an issue for hundreds of years, and there are plenty of sketchy games on many other online retailers. However, it's hard to deny that copycat Unpacking games don't break the rules when the description for the copycat Unpacking: Deluxe Edition is, "This all-in-one package includes the main game alongside all previously released DLC." It’s unclear how Nintendo will address this situation, but it certainly brings attention to the ongoing problems within the Nintendo eShop.

Source: Unpacking: Deluxe Edition, BlueSky, Eurogamer