Nintendo moves in a new direction with mature content

[Cal Jeffrey]

Nintendo has long carried a reputation for being “the platform for kids,” cemented over the years by a lack of M-rated games and the censoring of violent content (remember Mortal Kombat on the Super Nintendo?). However, the Switch seems set to change that image.

Bethesda just announced that it is bringing Doom 2016 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus to the Nintendo Switch. Both are very mature titles featuring heavy violence and gore as well as adult language. This is not the light and whimsical fare for which the game maker is typically known.

These aren't the only mature titles destined for the portable console. Bethesda is also releasing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Rockstar is launching L.A. Noire. Capcom’s Resident Evil Revelations 1 and 2 are on the way. Overkill Software said it is porting Payday 2 to the Switch.

These games (including Doom) are arriving this holiday season (The New Colossus won't make it to the Switch until sometime in 2018). All the Switch needs now is a high-quality mature exclusive to solidify that Nintendo is really starting to cater to all tastes.

Unless these games are stripped-down, censored versions of the originals (which I can’t see producers going for), Nintendo seems to be trying to shake its tame reputation. With an already solid library of games for all ages, the addition of more adult-oriented content seems like a good move.

Being known as a “kiddy console” significantly limited its audience. I, for one, have avoided Nintendo consoles, including the Switch, for precisely that reason. Not being able to play some of my favorite franchises is a big turnoff. Seeing Nintendo open the handheld console to more mature games has me seriously considering picking one up for Christmas... you know, "for the kids."

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https://www.techspot.com/news/70986-nintendo-moves-new-direction-mature-content.html

 

[Squid Surprise]

When do they add Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball?

hhehehehehehehehe!!

 

[J spot]

I don't like the title that much, it doesn't express the true point.

It's not Nintendo moving into a new direction. It's these publisher creating games on a Nintendo system, because it's selling so well.

The only time Nintendo the company had rules against such content were around the Mortal Kombat 1 time, because of the whole political controversy surrounding it. But after the introduction of a rating system due to such controversy, games like Mortal Kombat II had full gore. They also had DOOM for the SNES, which was more controversial during that era than the current DOOM.

I want to play Resident Evil 4 for the Wii. That game was good. I have one of the Mortal Kombat's for the Wii, the fatalities were pretty graphic.

It all has to do with money.

 

[fimbles]

With the switch being so cheap and easy to develop for, I guess its less of a risk to release adult games for a company that traditionally has poor sales of the genre. Lets hope they sell well.

 

[amstech]

Nintendo has long carried a reputation for being “the platform for kids,” cemented over the years by a lack of M-rated games and the censoring of violent content (remember Mortal Kombat on the Super Nintendo

This is not entirely accurate.
I remember playing many M-rated games on my Gamecube, True Crime Streets of LA, Resident Evil 4 (initially a Gamecube exclusive) Mortal Kombat 8 (Deception) and many others.

 

[oldikes]

The title and commentary in this article are far off base, and the author seems to lack a basic understanding of the difference between publishing games in house and letting third parties publish for your platform.

Not to mention the large quantity of M rated games being published on nintendo consoles for almost 2 decades.

 

[ghostf1re]

I mean it's clear the author of this article doesn't really know how all of this works. Also with his lack of Nintendo knowledge, it doesn't help. He even clearly states he's stayed away from Nintendo systems. That alone just tells me he probably shouldn't have been the one to write this article.

 

[davislane1]

When do they add Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball?

hhehehehehehehehe!!

If they do, they must include exclusive licensed characters (I.e. Princess Peach and Zero Suit Samus).

 

[davislane1]

This is not entirely accurate.
I remember playing many M-rated games on my Gamecube, True Crime Streets of LA, Resident Evil 4 (initially a Gamecube exclusive) Mortal Kombat 8 (Deception) and many others.

Nintendo went "family friendly" with the Wii. That was over 10 years ago. If 10 years isn't accurately a long time in marketing years, nothing is.

 

[Evernessince]

A bunch of old games with turned down graphics. If I wanted that I would game on my Surface Pro.

 

[enemys]

A bunch of old games with turned down graphics. If I wanted that I would game on my Surface Pro.

Better to have more choice than not. Yes, most of these are ports of games that are already out, but they do share a platform with high-quality exclusives like Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey or Mario + Rabbids. And the more options there are, the better the console becomes in the eyes of customers - Nintendo exclusives can't drive the console alone. I'll probably get some of these titles, for I love the idea of having "large" titles on a "small" platform.

As for the article itself, it does hold some truth... But only a little bit. It's true that Nintendo is widely associated with "childish" games (their most famous exclusives aren't very dark and mature), but there actually was some mature content for every console of theirs for years. Even Wii U got Mass Effect 3, Darksiders 2 and some others. I don't think there's been a change of heart at Nintendo's HQ, it's mostly coming from 3rd party devs.

 

[Evernessince]

Better to have more choice than not. Yes, most of these are ports of games that are already out, but they do share a platform with high-quality exclusives like Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey or Mario + Rabbids. And the more options there are, the better the console becomes in the eyes of customers - Nintendo exclusives can't drive the console alone. I'll probably get some of these titles, for I love the idea of having "large" titles on a "small" platform.

As for the article itself, it does hold some truth... But only a little bit. It's true that Nintendo is widely associated with "childish" games (their most famous exclusives aren't very dark and mature), but there actually was some mature content for every console of theirs for years. Even Wii U got Mass Effect 3, Darksiders 2 and some others. I don't think there's been a change of heart at Nintendo's HQ, it's mostly coming from 3rd party devs.

It better considering how much they are charging for it, the cost of the controllers, and the requirement to buy additional storage. You could spend allot less on any other console and get allot more power.

 

[enemys]

It better considering how much they are charging for it, the cost of the controllers, and the requirement to buy additional storage. You could spend allot less on any other console and get allot more power.

That's a valid argument - but it's obvious that Switch doesn't - and can't - compete just as a full-scale console. You can get a second-hand X1 for like $150, and Switch alone is over twice that price. My full setup (Switch + 2 games + 200GB storage) cost me over $500. But it seems the idea of a portable-turns-TV-scale got off pretty well, and it's not a direct competitor to desktop-like consoles. Maybe that dual nature combined with exclusives is why people are buying it anyway - it's won't replace your PC or X1, but it can supplement it nicely.

 

[JohnnyBlazeon]

This is not entirely accurate.
I remember playing many M-rated games on my Gamecube, True Crime Streets of LA, Resident Evil 4 (initially a Gamecube exclusive) Mortal Kombat 8 (Deception) and many others.

Nintendo went "family friendly" with the Wii. That was over 10 years ago. If 10 years isn't accurately a long time in marketing years, nothing is.

They didn't prevent M rated titles from being on the Wii. Their own titles have always been family friendly but it false to imply that Nintendo only wanted family friendly content on the Wii.

 

[JohnnyBlazeon]

It feels like the author has been in a news bubble as far as mature content on Nintendo hardware goes.

Or he may be also referring to the localisation controversies and conveniently forgetting how Nintendo dealt with Bayonetta's image

 

[Bubbajim]

This is not entirely accurate.
I remember playing many M-rated games on my Gamecube, True Crime Streets of LA, Resident Evil 4 (initially a Gamecube exclusive) Mortal Kombat 8 (Deception) and many others.

Nintendo went "family friendly" with the Wii. That was over 10 years ago. If 10 years isn't accurately a long time in marketing years, nothing is.

Nintendo upped the ante on the family friendly image with the Wii, but they didn't ban mature games. Publishers just didn't really port their mature games onto the platform. As already said in the thread, games like Resident Evil 4 were on the Wii.

 

[amstech]

I get what the author means by Nintendo's reputation, I didn't meant to shoot down his comment in a negative fashion.

A bunch of old games with turned down graphics. If I wanted that I would game on my Surface Pro.

You could spend allot less on any other console and get allot more power.

Many of todays games with amazing graphics $uck, or have little depth.
The Witcher 3 is a rare exception.
There was just an article on here about the most popular games and nothing in the last few years made the list besides the Witcher 3. It's easy to have a powerful console, its not easy to make a great game.

Breath of the Wild is arguably the best game available right now, and one of the best looking, and it doesn't take much power to run it. It doesn't need to bend visual boundaries or make hardware sweat to look amazing. It's rare I play a game these days and go 'wow, what a great experience'.

 

[davislane1]

They didn't prevent M rated titles from being on the Wii. Their own titles have always been family friendly but it false to imply that Nintendo only wanted family friendly content on the Wii.

It has to do with the way the console is marketed. They don't "prevent" M rated games from hitting the platform. Rather, they advertise the platform as being focused on E to Teen titles. This in turn steers developers looking to publish on that platform to target E to Teen content. Ergo, the Wii, Wii U, and Switch being "family friendly" consoles.

 

[HonestTony]

Nintendo now is completely different. Nintendo isn't the family, kid caring honest company it used to be. Once Iwata died, the guard changed. Hence is why Reggie now the front man can lie to the public about console shortages. When in reality these shortages have caused a hype over these systems Nintendo has been offering lately. Ironically 2 days after Walmart said they would not carry the new SNES over the holidays. Because Nintendo kept saying the shortages were not their fault. Walmart didn't want to be part of the blame game during the holidays. That is when Reggie said to the press that there would be no shortages this time. And Nintendo would continue selling the new SNES model thru 2018! See how Nintendo does control the availability of any console they make? If Nintendo senses profit losses from retailers supplying systems. Nintendo can ramp up production and avoid shortages. It has always been this way for Nintendo! Walmart forced Nintendo's hand and brought them into the light. Nintendo now is just pure greed and not worthy of my money any longer. The Wii U was my last console from Nintendo! I can play DOOM on my Xbox1, PS4, Xbox One S, and later this year Xbox OneX. I don't need Nintendo for great looking games. I will miss Metroid, but Nintendo is rarely ever in a hurry to bring out any Metroid games!

 

[Evernessince]

That's a valid argument - but it's obvious that Switch doesn't - and can't - compete just as a full-scale console. You can get a second-hand X1 for like $150, and Switch alone is over twice that price. My full setup (Switch + 2 games + 200GB storage) cost me over $500. But it seems the idea of a portable-turns-TV-scale got off pretty well, and it's not a direct competitor to desktop-like consoles. Maybe that dual nature combined with exclusives is why people are buying it anyway - it's won't replace your PC or X1, but it can supplement it nicely.

People always buy the latest Nintendo console. Same thing happened to the Wii U as well until sales dropped like a rock. A bunch of developers also pledged games for the Wii U as well but also dropped that with sales too. The same thing could happen to the Switch as well. $500 for essentially a gimped tablet is way too much for me.

 

[enemys]

People always buy the latest Nintendo console. Same thing happened to the Wii U as well until sales dropped like a rock. A bunch of developers also pledged games for the Wii U as well but also dropped that with sales too. The same thing could happen to the Switch as well. $500 for essentially a gimped tablet is way too much for me.

But Wii U sold in much lesser volumes than Switch and it had lackluster launch titles lineup. Switch, on the other hand, started with one of the most hyped (and best) games in the history and new titles come to the platform every week. It's future certainly isn't set in stone yet, but it looks like it'll be a solid platform for years. But I understand that it can be too expensive in your eyes - though you certainly don't have to pay $500 upfront, Switch + game bundle is more like $400.