Nintendo Fans FURIOUS! Switch Censorship Apology Sparks Outrage!

Okay, folks, let's talk about a gaming kerfuffle brewing over on the Nintendo Switch. The developers behind the superhero game *Dispatch* are walking back their steps after a rather heavy-handed censorship debacle. You know, the kind that makes you wonder what year it is.

Nintendo Fans FURIOUS! Switch Censorship Apology S...

Apparently, the Switch version of *Dispatch* launched with some *significant* alterations, including, and I quote, "large black boxes obscuring nudity and even a character's middle finger gesture." Seriously? A middle finger? On a console marketed toward families? I mean, come on, Nintendo. While other platforms offered an option to, ahem, "unhide" these artistic choices, the Switch version locked them away like a dirty secret.

Understandably, this didn't sit well with fans, who promptly unleashed a barrage of criticism. At first, Nintendo was the main target, with gamers wondering how *Dispatch* could be so heavily censored while titles like *The Witcher 3* – a game with its own share of mature content – seemed to get a free pass. This led AdHoc Studio, the brains behind *Dispatch*, to issue a mea culpa, acknowledging their role in the mess.

"As Nintendo states, any game that's going to be on the Nintendo platform needs to 'meet [Nintendo's] established content and platform guidelines'," AdHoc wrote. "This is the key point. Nintendo has content guidelines. Our game didn't meet those guidelines, so we made changes that would allow us to release on their platform." It’s the old "we want to be on the platform, so we'll play by the rules" argument. I've heard it before, and so have you. What I found interesting is that AdHoc seemed genuinely surprised that people weren't aware of this from the start.

The studio was quick to point out that the issue wasn’t some shadowy influence from Japanese rating board CERO, often blamed for censorship in Japan. No, this was all on them. They admitted they messed up the communication, saying the disclaimer about the censorship wasn't prominent enough. "This is 100% our mistake," they said.

But here’s the good news: AdHoc says they're working with Nintendo to find a solution and are optimistic about rolling out an update to restore at least some of the censored content. But, they cautioned, don't expect miracles overnight. We're talking weeks, not days, given the development time and the notoriously slow console submission process. I can definitely attest to that, having waited for several updates to go live myself.

Finally, the apology we've all been waiting for: "To our fans who were looking forward to playing the uncensored version on Switch, we're truly sorry. People have a right to be pissed. Lots of lessons learned here. Thanks for sticking with us. More soon." At least they owned up to it. Let’s hope they can deliver on their promise and give Switch players the *Dispatch* experience they were expecting. Stay tuned, folks, because I’m definitely keeping an eye on this one.