Nintendo reportedly cracking down on ‘uncensored boobs’

Nintendo has reportedly revised its policies for smutty Switch releases
A screenshot from Hentai Uni on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
A screenshot from Hentai Uni on the Nintendo Switch eShop that doesn’t contain nudity
Big Way
Alan Martin6 October 2022

The Nintendo Switch may not be most people’s go-to destination for adult entertainment, but dig far enough into the eShop and you can find plenty of titles that blur the line between game and softcore porn. The £1.99 Hentai Uni, pictured above, for example, creepily boasts that it’s “a puzzle game that can be played with one hand”.

But it sounds like such titles won’t be allowed on the platform in future, if one developer of risque titles is to be believed. On Twitter, Gamuzumi — publisher of such titles as Elves Fantasy Hentai Puzzle, Insider Her (Bedroom), and Beauty Bounce — has lifted the lid on a new, more puritanical approach from Nintendo.

“We received an answer from Nintendo and now we have a confirmation that they do not allow uncensored boobs on their consoles now,” the company tweeted.

“Basically, obscene content could damage the brand and infringe its policies,” the Twitter thread continued. “This means that now all games with boobs nudity should be censored and that’s why our game (Hot Tentacles Shoot) was rejected in the first place.”

Around the time of the Switch’s launch, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nintendo was prepared to let more risque games appear on the platform than with previous generations, and this appears to be an acknowledgement that it had perhaps become a bit too relaxed in its policies.

Of course, this policy won’t impact first-party Nintendo games. The likes of Mario, Zelda, Pikmin, and Animal Crossing are known for their family-friendly, squeaky-clean gameplay and themes, and while Kirby is technically naked, his perfectly spherical form is unlikely to offend anybody.

But, depending on how equally such a rule is enforced, it could impact more mature games on Switch. The Witcher 3, for example, contains not just nudity but full sex scenes, which should fall foul of any change to the policy were it to be applied retrospectively.

On a possibly related note, the upcoming Switch exclusive, Bayonetta 3, has a new “Naive Angel Mode” which allows the heroine to be dressed a little less provocatively for those put off by the gratuitousness of her past attire.

The Standard has reached out to Nintendo to ask about its new policies, and how they would impact something like The Witcher 3 in future. At the time of publication, we’re yet to hear back.

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