Hello, I am new to datamining and I would like to upload the 3d models of Nintendo Switch that I find on the web as other users do, but how legal is it?
I do not want to get into trouble if I upload the 3d models of video games here and then nintendo claims the page
Model ripping is
*technically* illegal I since it is stealing and / or against a game's terms of service, but most game companies do not care about model rips unless they are being sold for real money.
Budding modelers/texture artists for games have to learn how game models are made somewhere, right?
Fan art made with ripped models can drive attention towards a game [I often think of SFM animations in this case]. Taking down model rips can cause resentment in a game's community. In the end, it helps more than it hurts a game company to ignore model rips.
Sometimes games on the site are requested to be taken down from their creators. Those creators are claiming DMCA against the distributor, the models resource site, not the individual who uploaded the models.
In those takedown cases, tMR removes those games' pages and models and forbids anyone from uploading anymore models from that game and then the game companies are satisfied presumably. No harm done!
If you want a list of games taken down by their creators: check here:
https://www.vg-resource.com/thread-29509.html
There's some big, popular games on that list including Fall Guys and Fortnite, but the models resource site is still here after all.
[Anyone, please correct me if I am wrong about any of this].
I myself have ripped from some popular games, including Little Nightmares 1/2, and nothing bad has happened to me in the years I've been model ripping.