Switch 2 eShop gets new publishing guidelines in Japan and Asia, Nintendo seems to be going after “slop” games
According to a report from IGN, Nintendo is implementing changes that developers and publishers need to follow if they intend on releasing games on the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop. As of now we only have confirmation that Japan and Asia are affected.
If you’ve browsed the Nintendo eShop on the original Switch, you’ve probably encountered some questionable titles. There are projects that use AI, copycats, and other things that gamers have generally categorized as “slop”. Overall, plenty of low effort games have made their way to Nintendo’s store and it’s become an increasingly bigger problem throughout the years.
IGN’s report, based on conversations it’s had with developers who have access to the Nintendo Switch eShop portal, cover a variety of aspects. The guidelines took effect on June 5, which was Nintendo Switch 2 launch day.
The first one is that a game can only have a maximum of five bundles during its first launch year. However, that can increase by one every year. A maximum of eight bundles can be sold overall.
Another important point is about “sensitive content”. Nintendo describes this as things that “would be considered damaging to the Nintendo brand” include sexualization of children, overly sexual content, discrimination and hate, exploitation of social issues (“Content that clearly exploits a topical and controversial social issue, tragedy, or catastrophic event”), instructing criminal activity, and political statements (“Content that overtly supports or criticizes real-life countries, organizations, or ideologies”).
The guidelines note that Nintendo reserves the right not to distribute a game. However, it adds: “We encourage you to take this information into consideration when developing content for potential release on our platforms and before submitting such content to Nintendo.” Also mentioned is that the guidelines are not fully comprehensive and Nintendo can sometimes “determinations may be made on a regional basis.”
Moving on, a guideline is included to prevent inaccurate descriptions of games. Here’s what’s stated: “It is prohibited to provide inaccurate descriptions of the contents of a product. It is prohibited to provide description of the content of a product as under development if it is not expected to be implemented in the product.”
We have a few other things to mention as well. Developers and publishers can’t change the name of a product without good reason (“drastic update”) or to make it consistent with a game’s name on other platforms or with other games in a series. We also know that developers can’t change information on the product page after it goes live. Developers are asked to reach out if they will be distributing an application “that does not include game elements.”
Finally, there’s the following notice:
“In the even [sic] of any violation of these guidelines, Nintendo may refuse to sell the product, request revisions, limit the scope of disclosure by not displaying it on various pages including Nintendo eShop home page or suspend distribution on Nintendo platforms regardless of the reason. Notwithstanding these guidelines, similar measures may be taken if Nintendo reasonably determines that there is a violation of laws, regulations, or other contracts, rules, etc.”
Again, as of now, we’re only hearing about everything mentioned above impacting Japan and Asia. However, we wouldn’t be surprise if other regions implement similar guidelinse soon.
You can check out more Nintendo Switch coverage here.
