Summary
On July 10th,Nintendoreleased an M-rated game trailer simply calledEmio. The trailer is only 15 seconds long and primarily depicts a person wearing a trench coat and a paper bag mask with a smiley face drawn on it, all shown with static cuts and an old CRT television graphical hue. By the end of the trailer, kanji appear on the screen, which translate to emio or “smiling man.” Little is currently known about this product, such as whetherEmiowill only be published byNintendoor if it will also be developed in-house by the Japanese company. For many fans, the thought of Nintendo working directly with an M-rated game may seem impossible, but this isn’t the first time Nintendo published an M-rated game.
Nintendo’s History with M-Rated Games
Being a more family-friendly company, Nintendo games are primarily designed to be played by anyone and everyone, including kids. The occasional T-rated game may appear occasionally, such as 2008’sSuper Smash Bros. Brawlfor cartoon violence and crude humor, but even games like that were still widely accepted and successful for Nintendo’s brand. However, this didn’t stop M-rated games from appearing on Nintendo consoles, includingCall of Duty: Black Opsfor the Wii orDOOM Eternalfor the Nintendo Switch, to name a few. Games such as these weren’t published or developed by Nintendo, but the Japanese company has published a handful of M-rated titles so far in the 2000s.
Nintendo’s dalliance with publishing mature games began back in 2002 with the GameCube. That year, Nintendo published its first M-rated game in the form of the action-adventure psychological horror gameEternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Set across four different time periods dating back to 26 B.C.E,Eternal Darknesshas characters dealing with their own sanity after coming in contact with theTome of Eternal Darkness, as hallucinations increasingly appear. Here players had to fight monstrous enemies and solve puzzles in close-quarter settings, all in third-person. Despite being both critically and financially successful,Eternal Darknessnever got a sequel, but it was succeeded by other Nintendo-published M-rated games.
Nintendo’s Other Published M-Rated Games
Following inEternal Darkness’s footsteps, Nintendo published the first-person shooter, action-adventure gameGeist,for the GameCube in 2005. Nintendo wouldn’t publish another M-rated game until 2012’sNinja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edgefor the Wii U. Here several other M-rated titles were published by Nintendo until the Nintendo Switch’s release. These include 2014’sBayonetta 2, 2014’sFatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, and 2015’sDevil’s Third. 2022’sBayonetta 3is, so far, the only M-rated game published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch.
The Locust seen in theGears of Warfranchise were originally going to be called geists but had their name changed so as to not cause issues with Nintendo or confuse fans with 2005’sGeist.
Emio’s M-Rated Nintendo Potential
Trailers and registrations forEmioin other countries have revealed possible hints to the game’s story or themes.Nintendo UK’s trailer forEmiodisplayed the text “This video contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.” Australia’s Classification Board later rated the game MA15+ due toEmioreportedly containing violence, cruelty, domestic abuse, and suicide themes. Based on its older appearance and domestic abuse themes,Emiocould be a sort of haunted house story with the smiling man being some sort of spirit that could possess or torment people but only be seen through a camera or screen.
If successful,Emiocould not only attract more horror gamers to the Switch but inspire Nintendo to publish or make more mature games. With GameCube titles such asMetroid Primereceiving remasters on the Switch, Nintendo could releaseupgraded remasters forEternal DarknessandGeistfor the Switch or its upcoming successor console. These remasters could better prepare Nintendo’s modern audience for more mature Nintendo games, as well asEmioand its own potential sequel, depending on when the remasters orEmioare released.Emio’s development and publishing could be a sign thatNintendois becoming more comfortable with mature games on its platforms given the relatively high number of M-rated games published in the past decade.
Nintendo Switch OLED Model Mario Red Edition
Players can now warp into a world of games in style with the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model: Mario Red Edition console. This limited-edition system features a Switch system, dock, and Joy-Con controllers all in the iconic Mario Red color. A silhouette design of Mario jumps into action on the back of the dock. There are also some hidden coins on display!
