Meme Run

Meme Run

Part of a series on Meme Overload. [View Related Entries]

Updated Jul 27, 2020 at 08:00AM EDT by Y F.

Added Dec 28, 2014 at 01:51PM EST by Pat Bateman.

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About

Meme Run is an endless-running 2D platformer video game developed by Ninja Pig Studios for the Nintendo Wii U console and released via Nintendo's eShop in December 2014. Upon its release, the game has drawn much derision within the online gaming community for its overuse of internet meme references, including many outdated specimens such as rage comics, commercial exploitation of the Internet culture and its subpar gameplay experience.

Origin

The game was first announced in September 2014 via Ninja Pig Studios' official account on Nintendo's Miiverse, along with a trailer video featuring in-game footage (shown below). According to the developers, the game was heavily inspired by a variety of internet memes and in-jokes that are often referenced on Reddit's /r/montageparodies, including swag, rage comics, 360 no scope, WOMBO COMBO, Illuminati conspiracy theories, GET OUT Frog, ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) / Lenny Face, U WOT M8 and Airhorn Remixes among others.



"This was a game created by me Jordan (20) and my 14 year old brother Garrett. We love the Montage Parody subreddit, and wanted to create a parody game based off that subreddit. In our free time, we made the game. We ended up sharing the game on Facebook amongst our friends for free. Everyone we knew loved the game and thought it was so funny. We then asked some people on Miiverse what they thought of the game. The reaction from the younger audience was amazing, thus we want to bring the game to the Wii U. Me and my brother wanted to make the game very difficult to beat, and the trailer doesn't even showcase all of the crazy events that happen during the song so you will just have to play it for yourselves to find out how crazy the game gets."

Spread

On the day after the announcement, the trailer was picked up by NintendoLife and Kotaku Australia, and on December 18th, the game was released on the Wii U's Nintendo eShop for USD $5.00. Since its release, the game has been met with backlash and negative reviews from the online gaming community, as well as video game critics and review sites like Nintendo Life[1], Nintendo Enthusiast[2]. Meanwhile on YouTube, many MLG montage parodies of the parody game began to surface, taking the joke to the meta-level.



Despite the negative feedback from indie gamers and critics alike, Meme Run drew a lot of attention from the video game news blogosphere. By the end of December 2014, the title had climbed up the chart to the fifth best-selling title on Nintendo's eShop.


eShop Home Shovel Knight Purchased (5993) Wi U Download Only Yacht Club Games ESRB: E Add to Wish List $14.99 My Menu Mario Kart™ 8 Purchased | ★★★★★(84517) Balance $5.01 Wii U Retail/Download Nintendo ESRB: E V Add to $59.99 Wish List NEW Search Meme Run Purchased v i (43) Wii U Download Only Ninja Pig Studios Add to Wish List Back ESRB. E $4.99

Removal From Wii U eShop

On March 3rd, 2015, Redditor DerpDino reported that Meme Run had been removed from the Wii U eShop in a post on the /r/nintendo[10] subreddit, where it gained over 746 votes (90% upvoted) in the first 24 hours. Later that day, Twitter user @BalrogGameRoom[12] posted a screenshot of an eBay auction listing for a Nintendo Wii U console pre-installed with the title, gaining over 265 retweets and 250 favorites in less than 24 hours (shown below).


Balrog @BalrogGameRoom Follow IT'S HAPPENING MEME RUN-INSTALLED WIIUS ON EBAY わ다 *..。 ebay q1見 1/3 Wii ttlehoez04, Cluo Nintendo Wii U 32g with Meme Run installed RARE $666.00 Starting Bicd $4,200.69 Buy It Now 267 258 24 PM-3 Mar 2015

On the following day, Carlos Ramirez, the Oakland-based artist and creator of the Trollface better known by his online moniker Whynne, issued a statement on /r/Nintendo[11] to reveal that he was responsible for the removal of the title, which directly resulted from a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice that he had sent to Nintendo as the copyright holder of the Trollface meme. Whynne added that the game’s removal may be only temporary if he can work out a licensing arrangement with Ninja Pigs Studio.


Regarding Meme Run, and why I had it pulled from the eShop. (self.nintendo) Verlfed submitted 9 hours ago (last edited 7 hours ago) by Whynne EDIT: Some people want proof that I am who I claim to be (though I'm not sure why anyone would care to impersonate me), so I added a status update to my deviantArt that I haven't used in forever. http://whynne.deviantart.com/11 Hello Reddit. There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the disappearance of Meme Run from the eShop, soI thought I'd help clear things up since its creator doesn't seem to want to acknowledge it publicly. A handful of you might remember me, but (hopefully) most of you probably have no clue who I am. To keep it brief, I own the copyright to the Trollface image, and seeing as the image was the 'star' of Meme Run, I sent a DMCA takedown notice to Nintendo and want to try and settle the matter amicably. I don't really intend to have a discussion on fair use or explain my motivations beyond the fact that my business with other parties compels me to make sure that instances of copyright infringement are addressed and resolved. Typically the result in these matters is simply having the use of the image be credited, recovering some kind of monetary compensation, or simply have it removed from the work. To that end, takedown notices are a necessary first step to quickly open a direct line of communication with the offending party and work on remedying the situation I did try to reach out to the creator earlier this year and obtain the information I needed, but he claimed that he was not at liberty to speak about his relationship with Nintendo or any of the particulars regarding the game's sales data My lawyer had been busy working on another case (which I am actually not at liberty to talk about lest I void the terms of our agreement) and I prefer to let him handle the matter of my legal representation, so I sort of dragged my feet on actually setting this in motion so he could wrap up our current case So, whatever you may have thought of Meme Run, its absence might only be temporary. For those of you who were hoping to pick it up and missed their opportunity, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience

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