We recently reported that Dispatch is, alas, censored on both the Nintendo Switch 2 and its best-selling forebear. Then, the story took a bit of a turn, as it seemed probable that Nintendo themselves weren’t quite to blame for the issue. Then, it took another turn—something of a possible blame game transpired. Sorta.
Now, AdHoc is delivering what will likely be the final word: changes are coming, and we can hopefully anticipate their arrival in the next few weeks.
Forward We Go
“We initially assumed, like some of you, that because games like Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk are on the platform with similar types of uncensored mature content, Dispatch would be allowed to do the same,” AdHoc posted to its Discord server, along with quite a bit more. When they realized it wasn’t going to pan out as anticipated, the developers did the following:
“So we asked that we include a disclaimer on the store page to inform customers that content would be different than on other platforms. We worked with Nintendo to get storefront language approved. Where we absolutely need to take full ownership is the placement of that disclaimer.”
The trouble, in their view, arose from where that disclaimer ended up on the store page. There’s a field on the eShop appropriately titled “Disclaimer,” but it’s rather out-of-the-way compared to the front-and-center “About the Game” section. It’s an understandable error, in my book, but it did cause some big problems, as many purchasers didn’t know they were going into a game with heavy adult themes (handled well, by the by) and getting something of a compromised product.
AdHoc is “working with Nintendo on a path forward,” as GamesRadar+ notes. That’s great, if it means some of the heavy-handed censorship is mitigated. If, instead, it translates to a better placement for the aforementioned disclaimer? Well, far from ideal, but hey. It helps. “I’ll get ahead of it now and say that between dev time and the console submission process, we’re talking weeks not days,” the statement continued. Indeed, those submission processes are more time-consuming than a lot of folks tend to believe, but something’s in the works, and that’s what matters most.
If Pokemon Is For Kids, Aniimo Is For Grown Ups
I’m ready to catch all the Aniimo.
