Sony Registers ‘Legend of Zelda’ Domain, Sparks Buzz Over Movie Distribution Deal

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The story

Sony’s registration of domain names related to a live-action “Legend of Zelda” film has become a hot topic on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (“Geha”) board. It’s already known that Sony Pictures will distribute the movie, and the thread buzzed with questions like “why Sony?” and “aren’t these two rivals — so why are they cooperating on a movie?” Some posters brought up the infamous collapse of the 1991 joint PlayStation development plan, reviving discussion of Nintendo and Sony’s tangled 30-plus-year relationship. Much of the thread, though, leaned more toward playful “who’s really on top” needling between fanbases than toward pinning down hard facts.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:25
A Zelda movie reveal is coming in the Zelda Direct!
4AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:27
Lol, the Nintendo fanboys ("Nishi-kun," 5ch slang for die-hard Nintendo fans) are gonna go see Sony's Zelda movie
55AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:27
Re: #4
Sony's basically turned into Nintendo's subcontractor lmao
5AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:28
I bet they'll make a Legend of Zelda movie account on X and only follow Sony-related accounts
6AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:28
At this point this is basically a Sony Direct
7AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:28
Guess they had to go borrow Nintendo's IP after all…
9AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:31
Nintendo should borrow Sony's IP too. If Nintendo put out a PS5 with the Zelda logo on it, that thing would sell like crazy
11AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:32
Re: #9
Lol there's zero benefit for Nintendo in that
Too pathetic that the PS5 needs a stunt like that just to sell
13AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:34
It's just gonna get snapped up by a scam site in a few years anyway — quit registering a new domain for everything
15AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:37
Sorry you had to hand Zelda over to Sony, you Nintendo pig ("buta," a common 5ch slur for Nintendo fans)
16AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:37
Still, it's wild that Sony actually went and got Nintendo's blessing to make a Zelda movie. And it's just as wild that Nintendo said yes lol
These two have been locked in a 30-plus-year turf war in the game industry — like something out of the "Yamaichi War" (a term borrowed from a notorious yakuza feud, used here to mean a long, bitter rivalry)
18AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:38
Re: #16
There are only so many companies that can distribute a live-action film worldwide in the first place
Sony was bound to get picked eventually
69AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:50
Re: #16
Other studios were probably after it too, so either Sony offered really good terms, or Nintendo wanted to avoid putting all its eggs in Universal's basket
20AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:44
If Sony's handling production, distribution, and theatrical release, most of the Zelda movie's revenue is going straight to Sony
21AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:44
It's just that Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) got taken over by its American arm — Aniplex and Sony Music never actually turned down work from Nintendo
32AnonymousSep 6, 2026 16:55
Is Kennosuke staying quiet on this?
People are already calling it "Sony's Zelda," you know
37AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:01
Re: #32
He's just a hater anyway
36AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:00
At this point, shouldn't they just call it "The Legend of Sony"?
38AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:01
Re: #36
"The Legend of Sony" lmaooo
39AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:02
Is the disc discontinuation just for games?
Can they still put the movie out on Blu-ray?
93AnonymousSep 6, 2026 18:27
Re: #39
Since 2024, Sony Pictures has outsourced all disc manufacturing and sales to Happinet
They gave up disc distribution entirely through a licensing deal
Sony Music (anime division) apparently still runs its own factory
So this disc discontinuation only actually affects SIE
42AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:06
I wonder if Sony's game division complained to the movie division about this?
Like, did they go "you know our history with Nintendo, right?!" and pick a fight with the film side?
43AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:07
Re: #42
Sony, as Nintendo's big brother, wouldn't be that petty
46AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:15
Re: #43
You mean like the time Sony made a huge announcement at CES about the "PlayStation, co-developed with Nintendo," and the very next day Nintendo suddenly announced it was partnering with Europe's Philips instead of Sony on CD-ROM hardware? That massive betrayal — and Sony supposedly just smiled, forgave them, patted them on the back, and said "go get 'em"?
50AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:18
Re: #46
That's right
Only a big brother has the generosity to forgive little brother Nintendo's mischief like that
47AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:15
What does Sony Pictures even have to do with SIE anyway?
49AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:16
Re: #47
PlayStation originally belonged to Sony Music, after all
48AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:16
If anything, doesn't Nintendo "using" Sony just prove Sony still needs Nintendo's clout? Wouldn't that make it Nintendo > Sony?
51AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:18
Re: #48
There are way more people who want to make movies than there are companies that can distribute them, so Nintendo's just a third party here
56AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:29
Wait, weren't the Nintendo pigs (5ch slur for Nintendo fans) just mocking "lol, a movie" the other day?
The boomerang's already coming back around lol
58AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:31
Re: #56
It'd be hilarious if the Zelda Direct opened with the Zelda movie
61AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:41
They've already handed over the Pokemon and Zelda IPs — steadily prepping to go multiplatform and ditch Nintendo, huh
64AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:42
Re: #61
Doesn't it feel hollow saying stuff you don't even believe yourself? Trying to self-hypnotize or something?
68AnonymousSep 6, 2026 17:49
Sony can't lean on Spider-Man forever, so they probably fought hard to land the film rights to a globally recognized IP
100AnonymousSep 6, 2026 18:45
Re: #68
Kinda scary that Sony being involved probably means they'll shoehorn in some political correctness lol
80AnonymousSep 6, 2026 18:00
Sony Music has been cranking out Nintendo-related CDs this whole time anyway — the movie division isn't looking for a fight either
82AnonymousSep 6, 2026 18:03
Re: #80
So Nintendo can't even put out a CD without relying on Sony?
89AnonymousSep 6, 2026 18:20
Re: #1
Scary thought that they might declare "movie Zelda belongs to SONY" and hoard it the way they did with Spider-Man
90AnonymousSep 6, 2026 18:22
Re: #89
It's already Sony's Zelda though?
You confused about something?
94AnonymousSep 6, 2026 18:32
Re: #89
Meanwhile Spider-Man's over here like "Xperia…? (fiddling with a Galaxy phone)"

Background and Key Points of This Discussion

Sony and Nintendo compete directly in the games industry, yet they’ve maintained a long-running licensing relationship through their music and film divisions. For this live-action “Legend of Zelda” film, Sony Pictures was chosen partly because so few companies can handle worldwide theatrical distribution — so the two companies aren’t simply rivals here. The thread also revisited the story of the failed 1991 joint PlayStation development plan and the subsequent falling-out over the CD-ROM standard (sometimes nicknamed the “Yamaichi War,” after a notorious business feud), a reminder of just how long this history runs. That said, the domain registration itself is only an early sign of things to come — the actual terms of the distribution deal and how box-office revenue will be split haven’t been disclosed. Much of the thread’s chatter boiled down to “who’s really on top”-style needling, so it’s worth remembering that the only confirmed fact here is that preparations for the film’s release are moving forward.

*This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, “Geha”) board thread “Sony registers a “Legend of Zelda” domain lol.”

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