It’s happened again. The US government, specifically the White House X account, used Nintendo’s IP to brag about its “successes” in Iran, combining footage of the games with clips of US strikes on Iranian targets.
The official White House account on X once again utilized a company’s IP, presumably without permission, to forward and showcase its political content. Like one of the last times, it’s Nintendo’s IP, specifically Wii Sports, which was combined with clips of US strikers on Iranian targets, such as ships, with the White House declaring the US is “UNDEFEATED” in this war with that Middle-Eastern country.
Trump’s administration used Nintendo’s IP on several occasions prior to this post, leading to sharp reactions from The Pokémon Company, which said that it did not give permission to the US government to use its content for political marketing. Furthermore, Nintendo itself filed a lawsuit against the White House, albeit not for its use of its IPs, but rather for the tariffs that it’s been pushing since Trump took office last January.
The post has since garnered over 30 million views on the site, and it’s only one of several videos the White House has published related to Iran, using video game footage like GTA‘s CJ to drive its points. Neither Rockstar nor Nintendo has commented on the matter yet.
The United States and its allies have been carrying out strikes against targets in Iran, killing several prominent Iranian officials, including long-standing leader Ali Khamenei. The Trump administration has labeled its action as preemptive action amid fears of an Iranian attack on Israel.
The war is still ongoing, causing a major crisis over oil prices due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as leading to a large civilian death toll in Iran, Israel, and other Gulf countries.
