Spike Chunsoft shared a special Christmas Eve surprise for Let’s Players and streamers. The company announced that starting on December 24, 2022, it is fully lifting the long-standing ban on streaming or recording video of the first Danganronpa game (called Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc in English) past chapter 1. Now the rest of the game, including the Danganronpa ending can be viewed by all and sundry, with no permission needed.
Check out the tweet below.
『ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生』のプレイ動画配信規制を、本年12月24日からフル解禁してエンディングまで公開可能といたします！#ダンガンロンパ
詳細はこちらをご確認ください。https://t.co/FNmlaeDl4H pic.twitter.com/za6ydyQ4m1
— ダンガンロンパ公式 (@dangan_official) December 15, 2022
On a blog post posted to the official Danganronpa website, Spike Chunsoft noted that since its launch in 2010, it has discouraged game streamers and creators making “Let’s Play” videos from recording the story of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc past chapter 1. After the ban is lifted, players can distribute play videos as they wish, up to and including the Danganronpa ending. The motivations for this ban were simple: As a linear mystery game, the story of Danganronpa is particularly vulnerable to spoilers.
But thirteen years have passed since its release, with several sequels out in the wild and versions of Danganronpa are available available on contemporary platforms. As such, Spike Chunsoft believes it is time that more people “experience the shock and surprise” that comes from experiencing the story, whether they play it directly or not.
As an additional hint, Spike Chunsoft stated that the lifting of the ban on December 24th coincides with a special date related to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. It encouraged fans to deduce the connection and reflect on it while they wait for the embargo to expire.
To be clear, the spoiler ban lift only applies to the first Danganronpa game. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, are all still under embargo. Spike Chunsoft discourages the sharing of video or strreams past the first chapters of the subsequent games. The lifting also only applies to personal, non-commercial use. Corporations and businesses seeking to capitalize on streams of Danganronpa should contact Spike Chunsoft for permission. As an aside, it should be pointed out that these rules mainly apply to those based in Japan, where rights-holders like Spike Chunsoft have more control over videos that would fall under “fair use” doctrines elsewhere.
More details about Spike Chunsoft’s “Play License” with regard to video creation and streaming may be seen here (in Japanese).
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is available on the PSP, PS Vita, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Android, and IOS. Check out Siliconera’s review of
