Nintendo has always been heralded as the family-friendly game company and have made efforts to ensure that their games are user friendly for all ages. Even though a large part of games for the last generations of Nintendo consoles have been marketed towards younger audiences, there have been a black sheeps within the market here and there. In a recent interview with Japanese game developers, however, the company has actually issued push for more mature games to be developed for the Switch.
Nintendo has already alluded to their changing stances on mature gaming back in January of this year. The Wall Street Journal describes how a Switch presentation was “enveloped in a nightclub-like atmosphere. Shinya Takahashi, a Nintendo executive, told [us] at the time that the aim was to attract grown-up game players in the West.” Throughout the year, multiple mature games have been confirmed for the Switch as well, such as Doom, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Skyrim. Even more risque games, like Nights of Azure 2, will have their place on the console in the coming days.
Additionally, the company’s stance on adult-oriented content has intrigued new blood to test the waters in the console industry. DMM.com, a Japanese mobile and computer gaming company, decided to make their first console game for the Switch. Their game, Gal Metal, focuses on “an all-girl high-school band fighting against aliens with heavy-metal performances.” The game is expected to be appropriate for all ages, but Nintendo has opened a door for more less-traditionally-family-friendly games and developers.
Although Nintendo is now more open to publishing adult titles on the Switch, the company is no stranger to mature titles, as they have released M-rated games for the last two generations of consoles. PlatinumGames, a Japanese game studio, developed Madworld, violent hack-and-slash game, as a Wii-exclusive, and Bayonetta 2, another hack-and-slasher but with sexual themes, a Wii U-exclusive. Both games had a bit of controversy surrounding them at the time, but regardless, both were received well by critics. Bayonetta is even available as a playable character in the hit fighting game, Super Smash Bros. 4, which generally has a colorful array of family-friendly characters.
Even with the upcoming rise of adult gaming for the Switch, Nintendo has provided parents with tools to prevent unintended eyes from accessing mature content. With new and extensive parental controls, it is easier than ever to regulate a child’s gaming activity, so the chance of younger audiences playing mature games is extremely low if the precautions are taken. With Nintendo’s shift in marketing, new lineups of games aimed at an older audience are sure to grow over their latest console’s lifespan.