Report: Nintendo Not To Blame For Dispatch Censorship On Switch
Game censorship has picked up in the past few years, as evidenced by a battle between Valve and payment providers over adult games sold on Steam and early threats from Russia to censor or ban Grand Theft Auto VI. This story, however, stands out for what should have been an M-rated Nintendo Switch game like any other. So, what's the deal?
A previous statement from AdHoc Studio claimed that they "worked with Nintendo to ensure the content within the title met the criteria to release on their platforms" and that the "Core narrative and gameplay experience remains identical to the original release". However, this was after early promotional material revealed a character had a modified design and before the full release of the game included some censored (but still present) scenes. Recently, GoNintendo followed up and received a statement from Nintendo itself regarding the censorship, which has taken the conversation in a completely different direction.
Per the statement to GoNintendo, Nintendo states that "Nintendo requires all games on its platforms to receive ratings from independent organizations and to meet our established content and platform guidelines. While we inform partners when their titles don't meet our guidelines, Nintendo does not make changes to partner content. We also do not discuss specific content or the criteria used in making these determinations."
So, AdHoc Studio claimed it worked with Nintendo on the censored version of the game, but Nintendo insists that it does not make changes to partner content, only that it requires that content to adhere to independent ratings and Nintendo's guidelines. But if you own a Nintendo Switch or Switch 2, you'll know that games with dismemberment and sexual content are already quite common on Nintendo platforms—Doom 2016, Doom Eternal, and Cyberpunk 2077 all made it to the Switch or Switch 2 with these elements fully intact. Prior to the Switch, you even had games like No More Heroes on the Nintendo Wii, Resident Evil 4 first launched on the Nintendo GameCube, and even Conker's Bad Fur Day on the Nintendo 64, which was uncensored compared to the later Xbox remake. Amidst all these blood-soaked M-rated titles, why has Dispatch been treated so differently?
Well, it hasn't been, at least in Japan. Japan's CERO rating board is much stricter than America's ESRB or the European PEGI, and abiding by CERO's standards has also seen the above listed games either censored in Japan or outright not released there. Cyberpunk 2077 is a key example; while the game's Switch version is untouched in most countries, it is censored in Japan, where a Japan-specific version is listed instead. Dispatch has no such split between regional Switch versions, and as such the CERO-mandated censorship has been applied globally because AdHoc hasn't released an uncensored version for Nintendo Switch platforms.
While Nintendo has drawn a wave of criticism over this situation, all available information indicates AdHoc Studio is responsible, particularly since AdHoc had no troubles working around CERO for releasing Dispatch on other platforms. While GoNintendo's coverage seems uncertain about this conclusion, Nintendo's statements and surrounding context of other M-related releases in Japan indicate this to most likely be the case. Hopefully, the issue is alleviated soon, because there's really no reason NA and EU Switch players should have to play a censored version of Dispatch when Cyberpunk is already available in all of its uncensored glory.
