Nintendo Rejects Binding of Isaac on 3DS

[AarinSwift]

"Thank GOD Steam exists!"

Eh...no.

Exactly the same thing can happen with steam. A lot of indie games get rejected, actually. Of course that's also in order to keep some quality on the market, but in the end the correct quote should be

"Thank GOD that computers exists, and we can basically do anything we want with them."

since even if steam had rejected him, he could have simply sold it from an own website.

With America being Nintendo's most important market and children (and their parents!) making up a large chunk of their audience, they cannot make such a move. The press backlash would be incredible and not even remotely comparable with this. They could release it in Europe without any problems, though. steam has an entirely different demography to begin with, you can't compare them.

Spoiler

I also don't like Isaac, and think it's extremely overrated for a shitty flash game - not to mention the main dev is a retard -, but that's an entirely different matter and hasn't influenced my post.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Nintendo, you do want people to buy your stuff right? So let people make stuff for your stuff <.<

 

[Aeshi]

Additionally I'd like to bring up the point, when was the last time that Nintendo themselves have outright REJECTED a game presented to them and disallowed it to ever be published on their system on the basis of content?

Hell, the last case of Nintendo requesting that a game even be altered for "appropriateness" was a minor clothing alteration on the boxart of some obscure multiplatform game from the GameCube era.

Some of the reactions I've seen are as though Nintendo does this routinely and frequently. I can't really remember Nintendo actually forbidding a game to come out on their system or significantly censoring it since the Super NES days. There was even an M rated GTA game.

I agree with this. Plus Isaac is overrated in my opinion (lacking the super-advanced-technology of "shoot in more than 4 directions" and "saving" because those things are for mindless mainstream COD sheep.)

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I'd personally have a look at this little webpage

http://www.filibustercartoons.com/Nintendo.php

The crosses on the tombstones in Ducktales were changed to "RIP" for the US release; because crosses are a religious symbol.

That's how anal they are about it.

 

[Zouriz]

I haven't played this game, but it looks like a borderline AO game. Maybe that is why Nintendo didn't want to publish it.

 

[Robert632]

Wow, Nintendo. Your draconian family friendliness bullshit is really grating the nerves of many. No wonder I stay away from your products.

You read the article, Right? Because I think you'll find that they were willing to let suggestive themes, suggested child nudity, and gore go. I still agree that it's a tad ridiculous that they won't let the game on the 3DS because of the questionable religious content, but I'm not about to say they have draconian family friendliness after they were letting the other stuff go.

O.T: As I said, I find it ridiculous that they denied a game based on questionable religious content.

 

[Jfswift]

Not just kids own 3ds's... I bought one because I wanted a decent portable system and it was on sale. I mean they allow resident evil so what gives..

 

[Tanis]

THIS JUST IN: NINTENDO HAS DONE THE FOLLOWING BECAUSE (some) RELIGIOUS FOLKS MIGHT FIND STUFF OFFENSIVE.

-Link officially comes out as a heterosexual.
-Samus is now a male.
-BLOOD has been removed from all future games.
-'Trainers' have now OFFICIALLY been renamed 'Masters' and 'Pokemon
(Pocket Monsters)' have been renamed as 'Pokeabom (Pocket Abominations).
-Kirby is no longer allow to suck up male enemies.
-Mario stories will now be a tale of a married man trying to protect his wife's virginity.
-All females leads will either be replaced by males OR Rule 63'd.
-In some regions all female characters will have to cover themselves to varying degree.
-All world maps are now FLAT.
-All kinds of 'magic' are now ban or shown to be an evil that corrupts all.

Derp

 

[Covarr]

I am Catholic and I did not find this game offensive. It is purely a work of fiction INSPIRED by a Bible story, not intended as an insult or to be taken as what the Bible actually says. I don't really see the issue.

P.S. Thanks

 

[SilverUchiha]

Of all the odd reasons to prevent a game from being distributed to your console... I mean... Urgh... Why bother complaining anymore. Ever since I played Smash Bros. Brawl, I've pretty much been able to track Nintendo's downward spiral into one stupid decision and idea after another. Something like this should be surprising, but it isn't. It really isn't.

 

[Monkeyman O'Brien]

This is the difference between Nintendo and Sony.
Nintendo can easily refuse decent games for its handheld and it will still make a killing.
Sony are practically begging developers for shit on the Vita and they are gonna bomb.

But eh, Nintendo are retarded. As long as its clear what the game contains then its just restricting your customers selection for no good reason.

 

[Beautiful End]

Not defending Nintendo or anything but...come on, who didn't see it coming? This game can easily be released on PSN or XBLA. But Nintendo? Know your audience, kids. Nintendo is all about boring family and kid fun nowadays. Of COURSE they're not gonna want to release this game for the #1 handheld system among kids.

Yeah, it's kind of a double standard. Yeah, it's pretty primitive. But again, it's Nintendo. Honestly, I'm not surprised. It's kind of their thing.

 

[xyrafhoan]

Nintendo already has Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey and Devil Survivor 1/OC/2 which are all pretty much games that offend people's faiths. They have Resident Evil and GTA on the DS/3DS to offend people via gore. Over the years, Nintendo has allowed Eternal Darkness, Madworld, No More Heroes, and other high-potential-for-offense games on their consoles. However, these are all games on retail shelves, not an eShop purchase. I'm sure if Team Meat ever invested in a boxed release, Nintendo would have given them the green light. I think the real reason Nintendo rejected the game is because they want to control content in the eShop and not necessarily the content that gets sold in a physical retail scenario. They can choose to market or not market specific 3DS games sold on retail shelves, but Nintendo is in control of marketing their VC, WiiWare, and 3DS Shop releases and they're likely uncomfortable about having a game with a fair chance of being offensive in their weekly download e-mails or the front page of their shop.

 

[Stalydan]

Wow, Nintendo. Your draconian family friendliness bullshit is really grating the nerves of many...

It's as though the last two major 3DS retail releases haven't been M rated and that Nintendo hasn't allowed games on the Wii whose extreme mature content has actually got them governmentally banned/censored in some countries.

Really, wait till this game is on PlayStation and Xbox before you start using Binding of Issac as a talking point for how outrageously oppressive and backward Nintendo is for rejecting it.

Also, the idea that Pokémon contains anything resembling a "religious message or content" in the manner of Binding of Issac is laughable.

*Ahem*

Shin Megami Tensei.

A series that's had seven games on Nintendo systems and a remake of one of them on the 3DS and all of them have some pretty large religious content in them. I'd even say that the series is more religiously based than The Binding of Issac.

For example, in SMT2, the last boss is YHVH. God. A game in which you can team up with Lucifer and fight God, an Lawful Evil character who wishes to enslave humanity.

Binding of Issac in comparison is pretty tame, don't you think?

 

[Micah Weil]

Despite how much I enjoyed Binding of Isaac (I really should get to fleshing out an "I'm Reading Too Deeply Into a Silly Game" essay for it), I'm going to have to side with Nintendo on this one. Aside from the fact it's their decision, no, Isaac really doesn't fit into Nintendo's scheme of things. I'm not saying that they haven't done anything like this before (I refuse to get into a Shin Megami Tensei argument), but really...Isaac is a bit over the top for them. Sony would - AND SHOULD - be all over it, of course.

Of course, at least in the American market, we brought it upon ourselves for being overly sensitive about every bloody little thing...

 

[lionsprey]

wait what? so the story about a demeted woman hearing voices in her head (and if i remember the ending correctly voices not from god) is more offensive then the fact that she tries to kill her child not to mention all the other stuff in the game that if i describe them i fear i might get banned? that just sick. if you want to ban it do it for the right reasons.