While browsing through the Nintendo eShop over the years, I’ve always noticed the surprising amount of hentai. Yep! Adult, animated, Japanese pornography.
We’ve all likely come across a game on the eShop that’s made us raise our eyebrows. I’m also confident that some of you may already be playing those game — you do you.
As I was scrolling through the “Current Offers” sections last week, as I often do, these games were just about popping out of the screen… After it was reported that Nintendo was updating their publishing rules back in 2022, I’m curious what was really changed.
I’ve always wondered who played these games and if they were fun. I also wonder how these games make it to the eShop and are so visible given Nintendo’s family image — so I decided to learn more.
Hentai Games Collection
One of the first games I encountered was Hentai Games Collection. It includes the base game Hentai World and a bunch of other DLCs, but currently costs a whopping $135 AUD! However, I have seen it on the eShop previously for the bargain price of $3.29 — what a steal!
The game’s description also included the phrase “Hentai Golf” which had me intrigued, as it seems you still need to skilfully play the game to impress the ladies.
READ MORE: The Big List of ‘Adults Only’ PlayStation Catalogue Games
Hentai Anime Girls Succubus
This game made me question — are there actually succubus in this game? From the description, it seemed more about puzzle solving of anime girls. Is that all there is to the game?
If you find out… Let me know.
Hentai Academy
A hentai university? This game is actually from the same publisher as the first game listed. It looks more of a tiled puzzle game, completing the puzzle revealed a cheeky image.
READ MORE: There are a surprising number of ‘ADULTS ONLY’ titles on Xbox Game Pass
Now, I have questions…
It’s at this point where I start to ask:
- Why do all the names have hentai in them?
- Why are so many of them just puzzle solving games?
- Why do so many of them go on sale for such low prices? (There’s a raft of answers here but just something that occurred to me)
- Are there any ‘adults only’ games that don’t have the word hentai in them on here?
I went to the search bar and typed in “hentai” as the keyword. 261 games came up.
Most of the games were bundles or different editions of the same game. The first few pages featured the word hentai in the title, but I got to a point where they were clearly adult games.
However, I couldn’t see mentions of hentai in some of the games such as Sugoi Girls: Exotic Egypt. This too appears to be more of an image puzzle-solving game like Hentai Anime Girls Succubus.
More questions surfaced such as how this was being picked up as hentai, but I realised it was probably through the age rating (MA15+). While doing my research, I also realised my Nintendo account was set to 18+.
Nintendo does offer pretty solid parental controls, a few of the team at QD already utilise them for their own children. They include restrictions on what games the child can play as well setting play restrictions and producing reports on your child’s daily game time — there’s also the ability to shut down the Switch from another mobile device.
It’s not just the Nintendo eShop
Quick side note… I also turned on Steam’s adult-only content recently and was shook at the selection. There’s some pretty hardcore stuff out there… Way more hardcore than what Nintendo is offering.
No, go look for it yourself.
Back to Nintendo…
I decided to browse Recent Releases and found more MA15+ games appearing within the first few pages (I counted at least four). Have I ruined my eShop algorithm? Time will tell.
I type in the word “adult” instead and find that the games are much more tame compared to my first keyword search. I did find this game called Waifu Uncovered though — its description was hilarious. Yes, I linked it you pervs. That said, I’m glad I found something that wasn’t puzzle related and more of a traditional game.
READ MORE: Quest Daily’s Top 5 Games of 2024
I also discovered that you cannot look for these games specifically through age ratings. While using the word “nudity”, only six games appeared, one of which I listed above and the other three related to that title. Two were the same title and appeared to be a horror game. I found it comforting that it was harder to find these games through these keywords. Typing in the most obvious keyword brings up a mixture of mature and genuine games, including a game called Haven, which I actually wishlisted from this search.
What did we learn?
Well, I have no answers to why there are so many hentai puzzle solvers. I mean, maybe it makes it more tame so you’re not just staring at a picture? IDK.
It seems there’s a particular, um, appreciation for anime-style adult content, which makes sense given the console’s origin.
It’s reassuring to know that it doesn’t extend too far past this given the family image, but nice to know it’s there because it’s making some people happy got its own player base. Games for everyone!
If this article serves as anything, it’s a warning to people and parents that may not want to see this content on the Nintendo Switch eShop. Make sure to check your settings.
