Staff Blog / New upload rules
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by Blake Whitman
July 21st, 2008The Vimeo staff has decided that we are no longer going to allow gaming videos on Vimeo. Specifically, we are no longer going to allow game walk-throughs, game strategy videos, depictions of player vs player battles, raids, fraps, or any other video gaming videos that simply depict individuals playing a video game. Videos falling into this category will be subject to deletion as of September 1st; new videos of this type will be removed.
There are many reasons for the decision, two of which we would like to elaborate on.
1) Vimeo was created with the intent of inspiring creativity and providing a place to share video with friends and family. The Vimeo staff does not feel that videos which are direct captures of video game play truly constitute "creative expression" [Note: Some users in the comments have effectively defended their work as creative. We apologize to those offended. Our decision remains for the other reasons]. Further, such videos may expose Vimeo to liability from the game creator(s), as we have already seen action from popular video game companies against videos such as these.
2) Gaming videos are by nature significantly larger and longer than any other genre on Vimeo. Over these last few months they have been the single biggest reasons for our transcoder wait times.
This decision was not easy, and there was much debate internally; however, we feel this decision will benefit Vimeo in the long run and better benefit the video makers it was created for. Our resources are limited and they must be channeled towards maintaining our goals.
Two questions you might have:
1) Are my gaming videos going to be deleted?
Starting today, all new gaming videos are subject to deletion. Videos uploaded before today will be hosted until September 1.
2) I make Machinima films! It's not the same thing! Am I banned?
We currently do not feel that Machinima films fall under the category of gaming videos described above and, therefore, assuming compliance with our site�s general terms & conditions, we will continue to accept such videos on Vimeo. We are not, at this time, banning films that fall into the Machinima genre.Showing 100 of 724 comments. Want to see the rest?This conversation is missing your voice. Take five seconds to join Vimeo or log in.
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Just, you, wait...
Best decision ever Vimeo!
It's been established many times that this decision has nothing to do with the quality videos either removed or kept, and is entirely in line with Vimeo seeking to preserve the kind of videos that they feel preserve their mission, over those that they feel do not.
It's not really about keeping "Youtube" videos off Vimeo, and many such videos are still here and will not be removed.
Film is not the only medium. I have seen some of the BEST editing on video game captures. If you delete video game captures then you should also delete some of the other mundane banality on the site.
From the oppressed to the oppressor so quickly vimeo...
Perfect.
There is a lot of CRAP videos in a LOT of categories here. The "Vimeo was created with the intent of inspiring creativity[...]" is nothing else than bullshit.
If Vimeo staff dont like video game videos, or dont have infrastructure for that, just have balls to say that.
You guys can do what you want with Vimeo, its free, but even the decision being bad, the fake excuses are really worst.
It can also be described as a portrait of two kids in a pool.
The video is obviously processed. There were creative decisions made, there were things left in and things left out.
It's sentimental. You think it's bogus. That's your opinion.
But with any artistic endeavor, it's the creative vector of the piece that's important.
vimeo.com/1126012
Tell me what you think.
the transitions between the levels are done in such a way you almost don't notice the transition (linking similar actions or views in different maps together), so if you scroll through it, it looks like a regular gaming video even though it's not.
but in the end it is a video depicting someone playing a game.
so it's about how vimeo defines 'simply'.
either way, i don't watch them. i prefer trailers of metal gear solid, those deserve a place on vimeo :D
Best of luck to Vimeo in the future. If you guys make a video game specific site, I fear it will be riddled with trolls :( I dunno.. I guess I'm going to be a pessimist from now on.. I finally had some REAL videos ready to upload that I literally just finished editing tonight. But they are vg related so BLah.) :P
Yeah Professional crowd, exactly youtube is nothing but 7 year old shouting at each other with racial comments, online bullying, and ridiculous outbursts. This is definitely a good thing.
I guess you can still use videogame references and be creative like this awesome Donkey Kong video
vimeo.com/910099
If it's not vimeo it will be somewhere else - i make short films and EA skate. video's - i'm not going to let vimeo tell me that one is creative and the other is not -as i dont do anything if it's not creative. But if theyre going to delete or not host my creative skate. video's i'm going to take all my productions elsewhere.
hooray for exposure room :p
You might be able to say Vimeo was just being mean if it wasn't actually affecting the other users. True, I can just continue to ignore your videos, but apparently those videos are causing the 1 minute video I shot to take hours to transcode.
I think the main point of this site is to express and share creativity, so if you use the CG environment to create scenes, a la Machinima, then I think that though it's different than most videos on Vimeo, this is the place to showcase that. If you're just playing the game, no matter how fancy your editing is, you were just playing the game.
I really support this decision, especially because Vimeo has become so popular and the amount of videos that need to be processed is increasing.
It IS a video game but its used to make skateboarding videos. not soldiers blowing themselves up. the videos are made with creativity, not just bragging rights at how good they are.
There is a massive difference that a lot of people are failing to grasp.
He posted the reasons above. These videos DO belong at EA Skate forums, and if they want you to make them, they should host them.
I've played a lot of skate, and I've messed around quite a bit with the replay editor. That doesn't make me a skateboarder, a skate video DP, or an editor. It makes me somebody playing a videogame.
bk. it also makes you ignorant. to not realize the creativity in the videos created. shutting the ability of video game videos truly is a terrible decision, your upsetting, and officialy losing about 40% of users.
but you dismiss my work as not deserving to be hosted here because its based on video gameplay? you've got HD footage of two kids stuffing marshmallows in their mouths...
nice.
djadam12, I won't say you did not put a lot of effort into your video game video, but I will say that Vimeo will not host it.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play Guitar Hero on a streetcorner, and come home crying after people don't respect my talent.
just because your a professional video editor doesnt give you the right to tell people what they can or cannot post here, especially if your not part of the staff.
I'm posting my personal opinion on people who call video captures from 'Skate' skate videos, and who can't see the difference between that and the real thing. You can have your opinion, I can have mine.
i'm 36. i used to skate, now i make video game videos in my spare time as a hobby (i enjoy playing the game and now i enjoy making videos). i completely respect vimeo's right to not host my video game based vids and perhaps someday i will use the service to host any "real life" projects i may produce.
i (at it seems like most of the rest of my community) only took offense at statements like "The Vimeo staff does not feel that videos which are direct captures of video game play truly constitute 'creative expression'." this comes across as extremely snobbish.
tell me you wont host my stuff, but i don't need you to say i'm not being creative.
i'm bummed i can't use the site, but whatever...
Hahaha, ok.
I don't doubt that the editing that goes into those videos is creative, but the rules here say that it's supposed to be content you create, and I think video games were riding that fine line, so it ends up splitting up between who's using a video of a videogame to show off playing the videogame, and who's using that videogame to create something new.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but in the past I've heard of Vimeo being pretty quick with the Delete button as far as supposed violations go. Someone I know actually had his videos deleted and the staff later apologized because it actually wasn't a violation, but they were unable to put the videos back up.
Is there going to be any sort of warning to specific end-users (an e-mail saying "Your videos X, Y, etc. are marked for deletion") and some level of recourse if we feel this marking is incorrect?
Thanks.
Great decision guys! Keep it up!
I agree with what was said above. If someone wants to show off their editing skills then they can do the same things with a camcorder/camera and edit that.
If I want to see a video game being played I'll go over to my friends and watch him play or watch G4. If I want to see user made, TRUE indy video's and windows in to other users minds then I will come to Vimeo.
I love video games but when I'm here I am here to see video's that users took the time to actually make.
Those wanting to do video-game uploads should look in to exposureroom.com
as I think they even offer a video-game section to chose when uploading and no size limits.
Vimeo is still better but that might be a good second source for those with video-game video's.
haha just kidding.
dun dun dun
what a pity.
Vimeo will probably lose me as a regular user
but I can absolutely understand your move
good luck, I'll check back from time to time... :)
Well, time to backup my movies and to find another site, id check your other content if i where though, much content there which cant be classified as art nor creativity.
I think it would be perfect for video game video's and the such though.
Oh. So much for that idea. I'll try it when I can actually TRY it, I suppose.
Your advertising doesnt belong here. A videogame clip showing minimum creativity is still worth more than a clip of people talking about something no one cares about anyway.
Here's a difference: That podcast is one of the top ranked shows in the world, and I was commissioned to make that promo, and the DVD that it was promoting. I operated A camera, hired B camera, animated the logo, and cut that clip from the 40 minute comedy show that I put together. Figure out what you're talking about, before you convince yourself you have a point.
vimeo.com/163993
Now, banning Drunk Frat Boys Hitting Themselves In The Balls videos is a concept I can get behind. Though they seem to do great on the Youtubes!
Thanks for the little time I had.
Vreel is likely not an option, as moving a ton of videos there and generating views would likely end up having the video removed due to BW usage.
Oh, and you people linking awful quality alternatives. I don't want something that reminds me of youtube.
It seems to me that stuff like "Me right now" or "Video of my room" makes Vimeo look like Youtube even more than gaming videos do.
But is this really a bad thing? Are you that desperate to feel "better" than youtube that you'll come up with any excuse to elevate yourselves and put others down?
Someone should start a "Gameo" HD video hosting site and I'm sure people will flock there. Toss up some Google Ads and live the sweet life.
A more appropriate question here is "Will Vimeo host it?" The answer is no.
Casey, the "Gameo" HD idea is quite a sweet one. Hey you guys at vimeo, can I have the code of the site, I will take care of the hosting and stuff :)
It's kind of the point...
vimeo.com/1394681
Actually, it's me and my friend playing a video game, but I don't think it would be deleted (Dalas, maybe I'm wrong?).
And I'll reiterate the only point that matters. Vimeo has all the evidence here (whereas most users have none), and they think that booting a certain class of videos will help their business. Done deal.
Watch the sky! Don't make videos about it!
See how you can turn that around?
Good luck in finding a new place to host your video's. If worst comes to worst, you could just use quicktime or a similar tool and purchase a hosting account such as MediaTemple's grid service with a lot of bandwidth included. H264 encoded quicktime video's are of higher quality than vimeo's, though Adobe has been making efforts to integrate H264 codec support in to Flash, so hopefully this will change in the future. :)
how about a separate special selected group of members, (lol) that can help sift through videos and tag them to be deleted, or at least have the power to start a removal process.
I'm sure this would help you guys out tremendously!