Coming from the Twitter account of Team Meat...
Attention: After a long internal debate Nintendo has decided NOT to allow the Binding of Isaac on the 3ds. :( As many assumed the reasons were due to the games "questionable religious content". Thank GOD Steam exists!
I really thought these kind of tactics were long gone when it came to Nintendo platforms. I knew that Nintendo internally was quite rigid on their own offerings, but blocking third party content like this seems a bit silly. I know the game is pretty touchy, but I thought Nintendo would be a bit more mature about it. Thanks to all that sent this in!
Link
Attention: After a long internal debate Nintendo has decided NOT to allow the Binding of Isaac on the 3ds. :( As many assumed the reasons were due to the games "questionable religious content". Thank GOD Steam exists!
I really thought these kind of tactics were long gone when it came to Nintendo platforms. I knew that Nintendo internally was quite rigid on their own offerings, but blocking third party content like this seems a bit silly. I know the game is pretty touchy, but I thought Nintendo would be a bit more mature about it. Thanks to all that sent this in!
Link
RSS Feeds:
So if what you are saying is true, Nintendo systems are only for children, and Nintendo thinks that Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater, Resident Evil Revelations, Jaws Ultimate Predator, RESIDENT EVIL: THE MERCENARIES 3D, and Driver Renegade are great for kids.
@Windsor
Little Timmy? Ever heard about ratings and parenting, preventing "little Timmy" from playing the game in the first place? Your idea of what is considered disgusting and obscene seems to unfortunately fit Nintendo's view. After they've previously said that unless a game is rated AO they have no place censoring 3rd party content on their consoles. Ever heard about Manhunt 2? Yeah, it's on the Wii.
Pfft.. Typical lame stance from Nintendo.
Obviously they don't even trust people to read an ESRB rating and make a decision for themselves, no, Nintendo has to make it for us.
Yeah, but this game (currently) doesn't have an ESRB rating.
Ok, seriously, I've seen stupidity but this is below it. Rejecting games is normal and has been going on since forever. This isn't a Nintendo only thing. You guys are just taking this and trolling along with it.
1)
Good lord, did you really just say that? Yes, I've heard of ratings and parenting. Unfortuately the majority of the "parenting" community have not heard of either. Have you ever heard of Jack Thompson? Did you know he tried to blame the Columbine massacre on video games? Are you completely unaware of how often video games are blamed for real world crime by the non-gamer media? Any idea at all? Nintendo is the one company protecting against this by actually giving a damn, and I commend and applaud them for it. I truly wish that I could rely on "ratings and parenting" to keep The Binding of Isaac of out the hands of children. If I could, there wouldn't be a issue.
2)
The problem here is astoundingly obvious. The Binding Of Isaac has not been rated. At all. Period. And if it had one, what do you think it would be?
3)
Talk to me when I can buy Manhunt 2 on the eShop without needing to trick my parents or older friends into buying it for me. There is absolutely no way to monitor the age of the player through the eShop, and no, the "Enter Your Age" screens do not work. Video games are far more open to children when there's absolutely no human interaction when a title is being purchased. All a kid would have to do is grab a eShop gift card from his local Tom Thumb and he has successfully eliminated his parents from the equation entirely. There is absolutely no other way to keep games like this from landing in the wrong hands than to refuse to carry it from the beginning. Nintendo made an incredibly smart move.
Please, please, PLEASE point me to where I claimed that Nintendo's audience is made entirely of children. I'd love to read it. In fact, what I remember saying was that Yup. It's up there all right. Please actually read one's comment before you respond to it. I never implied that Nintendo makes it's consoles or handhelds exclusively for children, but if you honestly think that children are not a target demographic, you're blind.
Also, not one of those games are as dark, brutal, or pointlessly ugly as The Binding of Isaac. If you honestly believe that they match it in any category, you really should check them out again. The Binding of Isaac is just pure cruelty, made even worse by the pointlessness of it all. There aren't even any positive outcomes outside of 'Isaac finds a quarter'. Every other ending is either cruel or needlessly disturbing. I still don't have any idea what part of Nintendo rejecting the game is causing a problem for people.
No one should even be referencing ESRB ratings here. The game isn't rated.
I personally refuse to believe for a second (until Nintendo themselves come out with a statement) that the ONLY reason they refuse to put this game on the Eshop is for offensive religious content. No, not when there's dead fetuses, nooses to hang from, smiling blue babies in treasure chests and sudden demonic possession (or whatever the hell that was in the ending with the bloody nail). It just astonishes me that everyone's making such a big deal out of this.
And yeah, sorry, but I have very little faith in American parenting these days, especially when kids are getting their hands on games that ARE rated above their age-level. WITH the assistance of parents who either don't know better or don't care. I can't even imagine the backlash it would cause if they put this game on the Eshop.
"Okay Timmy, I put your allowance money in this cute little download shop from Nintendo, just like you asked! Aww, this shop is so cute-looking! Have fun!"
And no further parental assistance is needed! And more than likely, no parental supervision is executed. Why? Because I think the last thing a parent expects to be for sale on the cute little Eshop is a pointlessly controversial game like this.
And for the record, no. Religion does not have some "exclusive right" against being downplayed or questioned or mocked. So many things in our age of political correctness are shielded from any and all mockery, question, hate-speech, etc.
Yes, Nintendo thinks of kids. That is why there are games that are appropriate for kids to play on Nintendo's system. However, there are also games not suitable for kids on the exact same system. The Binging of Isaac is one of these games, and I mentioned some others. Whether or not The Binding of Isaac is more explicit or not is irrelevant. The point is, there is already a system in place to handle game that are not intended for kids, which effectively kills the "Nintendo's doing it because children" argument. The more likely explanation is that Nintendo is afraid of backlash from adults, and is trying to avoid controversy. An understandable position, but a selfish one.
And that is a problem I believe needs to be fixed not simply avoided. For example, we shouldn't censor the internet just because some parents may not know that there's porn on the web. If offensive content is what it takes to get parents to take notice, take responsibility, and start being more aware of the content that's out there, then so be it.
@Windsor
You seriously brought Jack Thompson into this? Yes, video games are blamed for a lot of bullshit, and every time it's by idiots who know nothing about video games, with no facts to back their claims. You're commending Nintendo for basically doing what these ignorant nut-jobs want?
Obviously the game should've been rated first. I can understand Nintendo not wanting unrated games on their system. But if it does get rated, and it's below AO, my criticism would still stand should Nintendo reject it again. Why would they implement parental controls if there's nothing to control anyway?
And don't tell me minors cannot buy mature games in stores. The people who work there have never given a crap about their costumer's age.
I guess every developer should check with you first if you accept their design choices.
no one wants that crap anyway
Windsor that is what parental controls are for. If the parents can't be bothered to take the 5 (ok 30 for the idiots) mintues to read/set it up then they can't blame Nintendo. Do you realize on PSN full retail copies of Mortal Kombat, the poster child of violent video games, sits on PSN for digital download right next to kiddie games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Marvel?
I understand your point that there's no way to moniter age on eshop, but maybe make it a credit card purchase only so you can at least claim you made a legitimate effort? Then if the kid gets it he either stole the CC (he could just as easily shoplift at a store) or mommy was stupid enough to buy it for him.
Don't get me wrong I have no interest in this game, but I don't want all mature games blocked either. There are ways around this.
Sorry for double post, stupid phone again
Sorry for double post, stupid phone again
yes it is
You're absolutely correct that it needs to get fixed. But until it gets fixed, I'm not going to blame Nintendo for building up fence-laws and keeping a highly controversial game out of their Eshop to avoid unnecessary drama.
You seem to have an 'ends justify the means' view point that I don't entirely agree with, however. I don't believe putting up offensive content for kids to very possibly have nightmares over and parents to flip out about and take their games away for, is going to help solve the problem anyway. Instead of parents being careful to watch out for ratings, content, etc, they take things to the extreme and keep video games from kids entirely.
This obviously isn't the case all the time, but it seems to be more often than not.
Im glad that I've finally found people who look at this "controversy" with common sense. Im with the people who say that Nintendo has all rights not to put this on their shop.
Also, this is not censorship. Its still on Steam. Its censorship when say, a Government bans the game and forbids selling or distributing it. Its kind of horrible for developer to throw around that kind of accusation especially after recent actual censorship stuff with SOPA. That kind of comment just reeks with with the usual bitching Team Meat has had with the past, whether it was with Nintendo or Microsoft.
Put "Oh noes! Independent developers are being told what to do! That is so wrong!"
Another thing, while the games content are very blasphemous, its not really portraying Christianity in bad light. Isaac's mother hears voices from her head believing its God talking to her and in the first ending God intervenes and saves Isaac's live. Havent seen all the endings though so I could be wrong, but wanted to say that.
I don't think we should go around shoving pictures of dead babies in children's faces or something, that would be absurd. I just think that instead of making parents decisions for them, we should strive to educate them on the issues and empower them to make their own decisions. Controversy isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it exposes issues to people who might otherwise be unaware of it. Sweeping controversial material under the rug instead of examining it stagnates discussion and has the potential to weaken our culture by making it ill-equipped to handle subjects which may upset or change our viewpoints.
True, Nintendo is well within their rights to withhold content from their service. It's probably even a good business decision. It just comes across as though Nintendo is putting their own concerns ahead of those of the consumer or industry as a whole. It's no crime to avoid taking risks, it can just have a negative effect in the long run.
Again, I have no interest in the game (or at least I didn't before this discussion), but I don't see ignoring or hiding something because it is controversial is always the best decision.
Actually no, that ending was done to imply that the entire game was just a story in Isaac's imagination. Yes it seemed he defeated his mother with assistance from a miracle of God, but then right afterward, you see the door behind him and his mother reappears in the doorway with the knife. That wasn't a happy ending, that wasn't a "well okay maybe Christianity/religion isn't so bad after all". It was just more cruelty and mind-screwing.
You are absolutely right. Controversy gets people talking, and parents should be educated about what kind of content might be in games and then make an informed decision about what their kids should be playing. I just can't shake the feeling that this game is full of controversy just for the sake of riling people up.
1)
I am entirely aware of that, but the problem is that parent's don't care, and The Binding of Isaac has never been rated to begin with. There are literally no ratings to go by because this game just doesn't have one.
2)
I agree, I'm sure fear of religious backlash was also a major motivation, and that's understandable. The problem is that the world would attack Nintendo for offering it rather than team meat for creating it.
3)
I agree again, wholeheartedly, the problem is that it's just not happening. The ESRB has been around quite long enough and so has the attacking of video games by the media for parents to take notice and take action if they intended to. Most do not, and this the core of our problem today.
1)
Nintendo is doing what they can to protect their own image from the people who are more than willing to pin their problems on video games. Nintendo cannot stop them from doing what they do so they're instead giving them no ability to make these claims. A smaller example, when I was young we had a room in the house where we watched movies. Being a gamer, I frequently hooked my gaming consoles to the screen. This being the case, guess who got blamed every single time something went wrong with the movie equipment? I got fed up with it and removed my items from the room and never set foot inside it again. No one could then say that I was the cause of the problems. I couldn't change what other people decided to blame so I changed my own actions to remove myself from the equation. Nintendo has done the same thing.
2)
You know something? That's three gigantic "if"s in the same sentence. This situation hasn't happened yet, so come back when it has.
3)
There's plenty to control. Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and other games with violent content that sensible parent's don't want their children getting a hold of. That was easy.
4)
Generalizations much? I've -never- seen a Gamestop, Wal-Mart, Target, or Best Buy employee sell a child an M-rated game, and trust me, I've seen plenty of brats try. I myself had to wait a year to purchase the original Dead Rising, and I was fine with this. I have never encountered a single instance of a child purchasing an M-rated game from a store clerk. Ever. If you have, let alone as frequently as you seem to be implying, I suggest moving to a nicer neighborhood.
Is this all you know how to say? Are you twelve? This is the second or third time you've pulled this card out and it never makes any more sense than it does the last time. To actually answer the question, nope. They certainly shouldn't, and that's why they don't. They go to Nintendo. Nintendo said no.
1)
I know that, and I agree, but the problem is that parent's and the media blame Nintendo anyway.
2)
As an owner of a PSP, PS3, and Vita, I am also aware of what Sony sells (which not so coincidentally is also not The Binding of Isaac), but we aren't talking about Sony and I never defended Sony's choices, only Nintendo's, so I'm not sure how this is relevant.
3)
The problem is again that it's the parents who are not putting forth the legitimate effort. The gaming industry has done all that it can on it's side of things to keep these games from children. It's the parents who are failing to hold up their side of the bargain, here. The problem with limiting the eShop to credit cards is that it keeps children -out- of the eShop. Not every kid has access to a credit card'd parent, and they use their allowance or whatever to buy pre-paid point cards. This is also the reason that MMO's have pre-paid game-time cards. Well, that and for gift-giving I suppose.
4)
There are ways around this, but again, those ways rely on parents doing their jobs. If this could happen then Nintendo could put The Binding Of Isaac on the eShop without worry of future problems. This can't happen, so they can't.
1. I'm sure if Nintendo really, really wanted to have it on their service for whatever reason, they could add a content advisory and set up the parental controls to treat it like an "M" rated game.
2. True. Publishers and console manufacturers tend to take a lot of credit for games, but that also makes them a bigger target for backlash.
3. This is also true, and it makes me sad. Maybe the next generation of parents will take their job more seriously. I'm not too hopeful honestly, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't provide them with every opportunity to succeed as responsible parents.
I see a lot of stupidity and ignorance in this thread, so I'll lay down some facts:
1. The game DOES NOT have an ESRB rating.
2. If it did get rated, the game would probably get an AO rating.
3. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft do not allow games with AO ratings on their systems.
4. Steam allows guys like Edmund to circumvent the ESRB
As for the game itself, it plays like a crappy/floaty Smash TV clone.
It sucks. Waste of money and time.
*facepalm*
No words needed.
Well, I hope they're trolling, cause some of the posts in this thread...hohohohohoho...
Idk about any of you, but I sort of feel like Team Meat was trolling Nintendo by even trying to get this game on the eShop.
Call me a skeptic, but they seem like the type of people who'd do this on purpose for lulz.
They had to have known that there was no way a company like Nintendo would ever approve such a game.
openly mocks religion with the actual president race, it's wise . but anyway for all meat boy games , steam and bundles are your friends unless you really like paying 15 bucks for a 3 dollars game
Locking Topic Now.
Nintendo will review any game that developers want to put on their system. It really matters whether or not the developers, who make the game understand the by-laws of what is and isn't allowed on their system. By all intensive purposes, Binding of Isaac shouldn't be allowed on any console or handheld, whether it be 3DS, Vita, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Wii. It's an overtly offensive game, and you guys should really not have to ask twice why Nintendo would allow it.
Would I like it on 3DS so I can play it? YES, I would. However, there's a distinct difference between wanting something and knowing why you can't have it. Most of the people complaining in this topic do not know what this difference is. And for that matter, Team Meat doesn't get it, either. They bitched about Nintendo not upping the size limit for Wii Ware for Super Meat Boy when it was their fault because they thought they could bypass a limitation set upon them long before the game came into production. Saying otherwise is completely folly.
Sorry guys, you don't get it, and for that, this discussion will not continue.
View the full discussion!