Nintendo stand against censorship is a positive step

At their annual investment meeting at the back end of June, Nintendo came out to clarify the company’s policy surrounding video game censorship.

President Shuntaro Furukawa stated that questions regarding content are best left up to ratings boards like the ESRB, and noted that Nintendo, and indeed all modern video game platforms, have parental controls available to limit access to sensitive content.

Nintendo, as do 3rd-parties and their software, applies for an objective rating from 3rd-party organizations prior to release. If platform-holding companies choose arbitrarily, the diversity and fairness in game software would be significantly inhibited. We provide parental controls that can be used to apply limits.

So this story is a few days old now, but it’s definitely an interesting take straight from the head of Nintendo.

If you’ve been around as long as I have, you’ll remember when the company used to be militantly family friendly. They were known to heavily censor things like blood, sexual content, and religious iconography well into the N64 era. Though Nintendo seemed to soften its stance following the death of CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi.

Make no mistakes though, this is a shrewd business decision on their part rather than a moral one. Nintendo is in a good position to gobble up niche audiences that have long been ignored by Microsoft and Sony. It seems that letting talented artists work without being micro-managed is proving to be quite lucrative these days. Who would have thought?

Sony meanwhile is choosing to double down on their censorship stance. CEO Atsushi Morita reiterated the usual “won’t someone think of the children” spiel in a meeting with the games media back in December.

Regarding the regulation of the depiction of content, it’s simply a matter of matching global standards. As for the freedom of expression… we have to think about what might be unpleasant for children and shield them from those things while also thinking and assessing ways to find a balance [for that expression].”

Which is ironic, since it seems Sony has no issues with publishers adding predatory microtransactions and loot box mechanics to games targeted at a younger audience. Something which many have likened to gambling. So I guess it’s okay to drain their bank accounts, but god help them if they accidentally see something as scandalous as an anime girl’s panties.

Of course, since Sony’s moved their PlayStation division to California, they have been under increasing pressure to censor content from various activist groups. Something which is part of a much wider and disturbing trend in Western media.

Nintendo’s decision is certainly a step in a positive direction. The ESRB and parental controls set a solid groundwork for parents to regulate what their children consume. It should ultimately be up to them to decide what is and isn’t appropriate for their child. Artists’ creativity shouldn’t be held back because others cannot exercise sound judgement.