Game over: Fan’s Super Mario 64 HD for browsers taken down after legal threat from Nintendo

The dream that was playing Super Mario 64 HD in your browser was as beautiful as it was short-lived.

As spotted this morning by TorrentFreak, the fan-made version of the iconic video game was taken down today after Nintendo threatened the developer with legal action.

Last week, developer Royston Ross created a global nerdgasm when he revealed he had rebuilt the first level of Nintendo’s 1996 classic using the Unity development engine. That meant the game could be played in browsers.

Ross said in a blog post that he created the game to demonstrate the ability of a “Super Character Controller” he had built using Unity. But no matter, because the global outcry of pure joy apparently brought the project to the attention of Nintendo’s legal eagles.

In a letter from Nintendo attorney Alicia Bell, the company said the game was a clear copyright violation. CloudFlare, the web host, took the game down and posted the email exchange with Bell.

While the joy may have been fleeting, we will always have the screen grabs and YouTube videos to feed our future nostalgia of this glorious moment. Unless Nintendo goes after those as well.

In any case, behold: