Dispatch’s release on Nintendo platforms today was poised to be another testament to AdHoc’s tremendous success with the point-and-click superhero workplace comedy, but news of a platform-specific difference has overshadowed much of the excitement for fans hoping to play the episodic series on-the-go. Instead of celebrating the release, fans are launching campaigns against Dispatch’s censorship, returning their purchases, or refraining from playing it altogether.

Normally, Dispatch contains nudity and sexually explicit scenes involving its gang of ex-villains. AdHoc allows players to toggle sexual content like this off on most platforms. Curiously, however, the newly-released Switch version automatically depicts censored versions of these scenes. There’s no option to turn the setting off.

AdHoc confirmed the censorship to Eurogamer, but noted that the overall experience would still be the same for Switch players.


Mind you, Nintendo is cool with putting Doom and Duke Nukem on the Switch.

  • lofuw@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    7 hours ago

    I’m so fucking sick of censorship and the morons that perpetuate.

    If you don’t want to see something? Fine. That doesn’t mean you should get to hide it from everyone else, though.

  • w3dd1e@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    17 hours ago

    The amount of waifu and furry porn games in the Switch store is higher than you’d think. Why censor Dispatch?

  • mohab@piefed.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    22 hours ago

    Mind you, Nintendo is cool with putting Doom and Duke Nukem on the Switch.

    And literally owns Bayonetta 😂

  • Sanctus@anarchist.nexus
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    2 days ago

    Havent you heard? Violence appropriate, sex and nudity not. Its totally okay to see people being dismembered, but you better never show a nipple.

    • Manjushri@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      2 days ago

      Yep. In the words of George R. R. Martin

      “You can write the most detailed, vivid description of an ax entering a skull, and nobody will say a word in protest. But if you write a similarly detailed description of a penis entering a vagina, you get letters from people saying they’ll never read you again. What the hell? Penises entering vaginas bring a lot more joy into the world than axes entering skulls.”

  • Pika@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    2 days ago

    The fact that they allow Resident Evil Village of all games on the Switch but don’t allow this animated nudity scene is insane to me. RE Village was one of the most graphic games I have ever seen.

    edit: I Just realized Cyberpunk 2077 was released on it no censorship. How did dispatch get censored but that was allowed through lmao

    • Infrapink@thebrainbin.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      2 days ago

      It looks like CERO might be responsible.

      CERO is very strict about genitals and dismemberment. CD Projekt Red got around that by having two different versions of Cyberpunk 2077; the version sold on the Japanese eShop is censored so as to comply with CERO, while the European one isn’t.

      AdHoc doesn’t have the same resources as CD Projekt Red, so they might have just made the one version which they sell everywhere.

      It’s still surprising that Sony is apparently being more lenient than Nintendo for once.

      • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 @pawb.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        2 days ago

        It’s still surprising that Sony is apparently being more lenient than Nintendo for once.

        To be fair, the only real memory I have of the OG God of War games is that the first or second game opens up with Kratos motorboating two girls’ titties. And that was in a time when nudity in mainstream games was still nearly unheard of.

          • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 @pawb.social
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            1 day ago

            That whole controversy was blown out of proportion. Not only because it could only be accessed by hacking the game apart, but also because it didn’t actually have any explicit content. It was still fully clothed models just animated to hump each other.

            As a horny teen, that shit was the most disappointed in a rumored game secret I had been since being told if you beat Metroid fast enough you can see Samus nude.

    • missingno@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      2 days ago

      Unconfirmed, but the rumor I’m hearing is that AdHoc submitted one universal binary for all regions, and it’s CERO who won’t allow this content in Japan. FWIW, the JP version of Cyberpunk is also censored, but it’s separate from the international release.

      It’s also worth noting that the JP PS5 version just launched alongside it, separate from last year’s international version. Haven’t been able to find confirmation on whether that version is censored too, but if it is then it’s definitely CERO.

      • Pika@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        2 days ago

        I think this is very likely the reason yea.

        I’m also now finding out that they had to censor the coverart of the switch 2 edition a few weeks ago as well which I was unaware of. If it turns out they knew for awhile that it would be censored, and just chose not to tell anyone that is going to permanently damper my opinion of their studio. Like it’s one thing to be like “This was forced upon us last minute so we threw a solution together” it’s a whole different situation of knowing that it was going to happen, then refusing to tell the consumers about it since you knew it would lower sales.

        Along with that, we asked for comment from AdHoc concerning the decision to censor Dispatch’s Deluxe Edition artwork on the Nintendo eShop as compared to the PC/PS5 release, and if that indicated any censorship in the game itself. We were told that “unfortunately, the studio cannot comment on the topic at this time.” Along with that, it was said that if AdHoc is able to discuss the matter down the road, their comment would be shared with us.

        It sounds to me like they knew this change was going to be required at that point, but didn’t want to publicly announce that, which puts a pretty bad taste in my mouth about the intent of the studio.

  • hodgepodgin@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    Entirely unwise to buy anything non-Nintendo on the Nintendo Store as if the Switch’s entire purpose wasn’t to just get people to buy a $500 appliance to play a Nintendo game.

    • thermal_shock@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      And brick your shit (without refunds) for the slightest hint you’re against Nintendo. Fuck Nintendo.

        • thermal_shock@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          18 hours ago

          If they think you’re doing anything they don’t like, they can remote block you from Nintendo networks. Which I’m fine with, but it prevents you from being able to reset the device or play local games.

          So anything you bought is now useless and unplayable, they got your money, so fuck you.

          • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            16 hours ago

            Even in the argument that you only bought a license to the game (not the game itself); why are they not required to refund the license they took from you? The deal is broken, give the money back.

            • thermal_shock@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              16 hours ago

              Exactly. If they want to block their network, fine, but to not allow you to play physical games you bought, fuck that. I’ll never give Nintendo another dollar. I have a steam deck and hacked switch, fuck them. And I share all their rooms on soulseek, including switch roms.

  • Lembot_0006@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    2 days ago

    At this point, after all nintendoing Nintendo did, people still give them money. And who is the crazy in this situation?

  • IEatDaFeesh@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    This is good. People are learning through experience to not buy any non-exclusive game through Nintendo.

    • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      17 hours ago

      When people learn to not buy anything whatsoever Nintendo, I will have a little more hope for humanity.

      • IEatDaFeesh@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        17 hours ago

        In fairness I have experienced the temptation to buy a Switch 2 simply for Mario Kart World. The game looks like a masterpiece that you can’t get anywhere else. The only limiting factor was Nintendo’s management of the game and how they force people to play intermissions. (And 500 dollars holy shit). But then Sonic Racing Crossworlds released and it was good enough for me.

        That’s why in my original comment I said non-exclusive games because if we purely looked at the games, a lot of the exclusive games are bangers so I understand why people still buy from Nintendo.