Retro Gaming YouTuber Threatened With Prison For Review Of Ganggam Game Console

Italian retro gaming YouTuber Francesco Salicini (photo: x @SenhorLinguica)

JAKARTA - Italian retro gaming YouTuber Francesco Salicini or better known as Once Were Kind, faces lawsuits and searches from the Italian government. His game consoles were confiscated and his YouTube channel threatened to close because it was considered promoting copyrighted piracy.

Some of the devices he reviewed, such as ANBERNIC, are often sent with ROM (game files) that have been installed before. This is the main source of legal problems that are being faced.

While game content continues to grow and develop on video platforms like Twitch and YouTube, copyright issues remain sensitive issues. Many companies usually let game streaming run without much interference, but game emulations are different.

Nintendo and several other companies often use copyright warnings to prevent creators from using emulations, but now the legal threats faced by creators are getting serious.

Italian YouTuber Once Were Kind, who discussed various retro gaming topics, is now under pressure after reviewing ANBERNIC devices. On April 15, Customs officers from Guardia in Finanza came to the creator's home and office with a search warrant to investigate allegations of copyrighted promotion of pirated material.

More than 30 ANBERNIC, Powkiddy, and TrimuI consoles were confiscated from their collections. The creator, who admitted that he had done nothing wrong, was cooperative and provided all the recordings of the conversation and communication with the manufacturer of the handheld device. The cellphone was also confiscated and returned only two months later, on June 15.

Until now, the authorities have not been obliged to reveal exactly what the charges were or who filed the lawsuit, because they are still in the early investigation stage according to Italian law.

After that, the case will proceed to trial or be canceled. However, the main complaint related to the reproduction of Nintendo and Sony's copyrighted material, although this case may come from the government itself.

What is worrying is that the authorities have the option to close their YouTube channel before evidence of proven wrongdoing. This is certainly very scary for creators who have been building their community for years, and unlike copyright warnings on YouTube, this step is difficult to fix or resist.

Currently, government officials consider a review of ANBERNIC devices such as RG Slides which are often sent with microSD cards containing ROM entitled to violate Article 171 of the Italian Copyright Law. This law was made in 1941 and allowed a maximum fine of 15,000 euros (or 30 million Lira Italia, before there was Euro) and three years in prison.

The creator of Once Were Kind confirmed that he had never published a paid review from ANBERNIC, in order to maintain independence, and did not even post an affiliate link in his content.

How is the continuation of this case still to be awaited, but this case is a dangerous precedent for game content creators, especially in countries with very strict and outdated copyright laws.