Gamers have long criticized Nintendo Co Ltd’s strict control over how fans can use its games to create content for sites like YouTube or Twitch, and Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester says he agrees, but not just because it benefits fans.

“When Nintendo tells people to take down their videos, they’re just cutting off the whole value creation from these people who freely market your game and tell people your game is great,” Wester recently said at the Montreal International Game Summit (via GamesIndustry.biz).

Wester explained that fan content creates more value for developers’ products without costing them anything extra in capital, and game studios learn how to encourage more fan-made creations rather than trying to maintain a stranglehold on their IPs.

“That is the real million dollar question… How do you invite people to create value for you?” Wester said. “That’s something you should go back to your studios and ask yourself. How do we get these 4 million Paradox customers to start creating value for our company for free? Or we could even pay them, because they create so much value.”

Paradox in particular stands to benefit from fan creations since many of its games, such as the Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings series, are notoriously complex and have a steep learning curve for new players. There are numerous tutorials and guides on YouTube for Paradox’s games, some of which have over 280,000 views.

Game videos: a $3.8 billion industry

Gamers have been creating web content for their favorite games since the earliest days of the internet, but video game fan content has exploded in the last few years thanks to platforms like YouTube and Twitch, both of which are home to thriving communities of creative fans.

According to a report earlier this year by game analytics firm Superdata Research Inc, game video content is now a roughly $3.8 billion industry, and it is continuing to grow each year. Twitch accounts for 43 percent of that revenue, compared to the 36 percent earned by YouTube.

Superdata’s report also showed that content creators tend to earn more money on Twitch than on YouTube. Of course, many content creators use both platforms, and Superdata’s analysis was conducted before the launch of the YouTube Gaming platform or the new subscription-based YouTube Red service.

Image courtesy of Paradox Interactive Inc