Nintendo does not look keen on censoring their first or third-party games, if one goes by the recent statements made by President Shuntaro Furukawa at the recent shareholder Q&A session.
A questioner, at Nintendo’s 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, asked if Nintendo would censor games beyond the regulations of bodies such as the CERO. Nintendo president Furukawa dismissed the concern by stating that Nintendo, and other third parties, should apply for objective ratings from such organizations.
He suggested that Nintendo’s goal was to protect expression in video games and censor as little as possible.
Furukawa also mentioned that the Switch’s parental controls can already protect children from mature titles.
Just some time back, Sony was heavily criticized for aggressively censoring many Japanese third-party games to “protect children”. In one such instance, Sony removed several items deemed too “lewd” in the game Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Scarlet, but only on PS4. Another example is that of the extensively censored PS4 release of Omega Labyrinth Life. That title was forced to change its logo in order to remove shapes that resemble breasts.
In what seemed like a comment on Sony’s move, Furukawa said that “platform-holding companies” would “inhibit” the industry if they “arbitrarily” chose what content should not be allowed in the market.
Furukawa’s latest comment on censorship should bring some cheer to consumers and shareholders who are worried about the industry-wide implications of Sony’s policies.
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