The reason why I think any changes to Nintendo’s guidelines only apply to new games is based on comments like these:
”In response to a request for additional information, an Idea Factory International representative told Gematsu, “Although the Neptunia series and the Death End re;Quest series have prior entries on western Switch eShops, we were informed that the contents of the Re;Birth trilogy and Death end re;Quest: Code Z did not comply with Nintendo Guidelines. As a result, we are unable to release these titles physically or digitally for Nintendo Switch.””
There has been a lot of similar statements from other game developers and publishers within the last few years. Also, if the changes were retroactive, we would have already seen previously published games being removed from the eShop for failing to comply with the new guidelines.
And yes, there are reasons to question AdHoc’s credibility, but for now, I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
I think I have now said everything I can about this whole subject with the information currently available. If I try to say anything else, I will probably just end up repeating myself. I will keep looking how this situation develops.
Oh, I absolutely agree that AdHoc, regardless of their intentions, needs to be held responsible for being quiet so long about the censorship. They should have said something the moment they knew about it. (Edit - I slightly edited my previous sentence and added a new one.)
However, doesn’t Red Dead Redemption receiving an unaltered Switch 2 edition support my speculation that Nintendo quite possibly differentiates between realistic nudity and cartoon nudity?
I am of course merely speculating based on the information we currently have. If it turns out I am wrong about all this, I will gladly admit it.
When looking at games in regards to Nintendo’s guidelines, it is important to keep in mind when a game was released.
Any game released before Nintendo made changes to its guidelines will be safe, while any game released after the changes will have to abide by the new rules.
Perky Little Things and the Leisure Suit Larry games were all released on Switch between 2019 and 2021, which should be before any changes to the guidelines.
In regards to Mara from Shin Megami Tensei, I am again speculating, but perhaps Nintendo is only strict about clearly humanoid characters, while Mara is clearly an inhuman monster. I think this is a safe assumption, considering Mara is in Persona 3 Reload, which was just released on Switch 2.
Of course, it is impossible to say anything for sure without knowing what Nintendo’s guidelines actually say.
I’m pretty sure those titles simple pretend to contain more explicit content than they actually do, otherwise they would face heavier scrutiny from Nintendo.
I have been thinking about this whole situation, looking at all the different arguments, trying to figure out some sort of explanation. While pondering, I remembered this particular article from a while back. Some of the comments here even touch on this topic.
To summarize, in December 2024, Idea Factory announced that the Switch versions of the Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth trilogy and Death end re;Quest: Code Z were canceled in the west due to the contents “not complying with the Nintendo Guidelines.”
The games were still released on Switch in Japan and Death end re;Quest: Code Z was released here in the west on PlayStation in 2025, and later on PC.
So in other words, Death end re;Quest and Dispatch comply with PlayStation’s content guidelines, but fail to comply with Nintendo’s.
This got me thinking, and this is speculation on my part, that Nintendo most likely has (at least here in the west) strict restrictions on anything that can be categorized as cartoon nudity, while being more relaxed about realistic nudity.
A guideline like this would explain why Cyberpunk 2077 and Dispatch are being treated so differently. And since it was mentioned earlier in the comments, why Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy on Switch had to censor a couple of cake-related images.
This would mean that Nintendo really is the cause for this censorship, and that while such guidelines are in effect, it is unfortunately highly unlikely for Dispatch to ever be fully uncensored on Nintendo’s platforms.
Comments 7
Re: Hollow Knight's Latest Update Is Now Live On Switch 1 & 2, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@Sylamp Maybe they borrowed some file compression magic from Nintendo.
Re: "People Have A Right To Be P****d" - Dispatch Dev Says It Intends To Address "At Least Some" Censored Switch Content
@Discostew
The reason why I think any changes to Nintendo’s guidelines only apply to new games is based on comments like these:
”In response to a request for additional information, an Idea Factory International representative told Gematsu, “Although the Neptunia series and the Death End re;Quest series have prior entries on western Switch eShops, we were informed that the contents of the Re;Birth trilogy and Death end re;Quest: Code Z did not comply with Nintendo Guidelines. As a result, we are unable to release these titles physically or digitally for Nintendo Switch.””
The above quote is from this article: https://www.gematsu.com/2024/12/hyperdimension-neptunia-rebirth-trilogy-and-death-end-request-code-z-for-switch-canceled-for-the-west
There has been a lot of similar statements from other game developers and publishers within the last few years. Also, if the changes were retroactive, we would have already seen previously published games being removed from the eShop for failing to comply with the new guidelines.
And yes, there are reasons to question AdHoc’s credibility, but for now, I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
I think I have now said everything I can about this whole subject with the information currently available. If I try to say anything else, I will probably just end up repeating myself. I will keep looking how this situation develops.
Re: "People Have A Right To Be P****d" - Dispatch Dev Says It Intends To Address "At Least Some" Censored Switch Content
@Discostew
Oh, I absolutely agree that AdHoc, regardless of their intentions, needs to be held responsible for being quiet so long about the censorship. They should have said something the moment they knew about it. (Edit - I slightly edited my previous sentence and added a new one.)
However, doesn’t Red Dead Redemption receiving an unaltered Switch 2 edition support my speculation that Nintendo quite possibly differentiates between realistic nudity and cartoon nudity?
I am of course merely speculating based on the information we currently have. If it turns out I am wrong about all this, I will gladly admit it.
Re: "People Have A Right To Be P****d" - Dispatch Dev Says It Intends To Address "At Least Some" Censored Switch Content
@SirLink @Dm9982
When looking at games in regards to Nintendo’s guidelines, it is important to keep in mind when a game was released.
Any game released before Nintendo made changes to its guidelines will be safe, while any game released after the changes will have to abide by the new rules.
Perky Little Things and the Leisure Suit Larry games were all released on Switch between 2019 and 2021, which should be before any changes to the guidelines.
In regards to Mara from Shin Megami Tensei, I am again speculating, but perhaps Nintendo is only strict about clearly humanoid characters, while Mara is clearly an inhuman monster. I think this is a safe assumption, considering Mara is in Persona 3 Reload, which was just released on Switch 2.
Of course, it is impossible to say anything for sure without knowing what Nintendo’s guidelines actually say.
Re: "People Have A Right To Be P****d" - Dispatch Dev Says It Intends To Address "At Least Some" Censored Switch Content
@The_Nintendo_Expat
I agree. The excessive amount of those titles needlessly clogs up the eShop.
Re: "People Have A Right To Be P****d" - Dispatch Dev Says It Intends To Address "At Least Some" Censored Switch Content
@The_Nintendo_Expat
I’m pretty sure those titles simple pretend to contain more explicit content than they actually do, otherwise they would face heavier scrutiny from Nintendo.
Re: "People Have A Right To Be P****d" - Dispatch Dev Says It Intends To Address "At Least Some" Censored Switch Content
I have been thinking about this whole situation, looking at all the different arguments, trying to figure out some sort of explanation. While pondering, I remembered this particular article from a while back. Some of the comments here even touch on this topic.
https://www.gematsu.com/2024/12/hyperdimension-neptunia-rebirth-trilogy-and-death-end-request-code-z-for-switch-canceled-for-the-west
To summarize, in December 2024, Idea Factory announced that the Switch versions of the Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth trilogy and Death end re;Quest: Code Z were canceled in the west due to the contents “not complying with the Nintendo Guidelines.”
The games were still released on Switch in Japan and Death end re;Quest: Code Z was released here in the west on PlayStation in 2025, and later on PC.
So in other words, Death end re;Quest and Dispatch comply with PlayStation’s content guidelines, but fail to comply with Nintendo’s.
This got me thinking, and this is speculation on my part, that Nintendo most likely has (at least here in the west) strict restrictions on anything that can be categorized as cartoon nudity, while being more relaxed about realistic nudity.
A guideline like this would explain why Cyberpunk 2077 and Dispatch are being treated so differently. And since it was mentioned earlier in the comments, why Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy on Switch had to censor a couple of cake-related images.
This would mean that Nintendo really is the cause for this censorship, and that while such guidelines are in effect, it is unfortunately highly unlikely for Dispatch to ever be fully uncensored on Nintendo’s platforms.