From Mario to Pokemon: Nintendo's Dominance Over Family Friendly Gaming

Several critics and organizations have tried to challenge the authenticity of Nintendo’s family friendly nature. After all, who can forget that time when PETA tried to organize boycotts of the Pokémon series, even going so far as to create their own parody game “Pokémon Black and Blue”.

Don’t even get me started on the Mario franchise. I have my own bar napkin theories that detail how the Mushroom Kingdom’s aristocracy (Princess Peach Toadstool and King Bowser Koopa) is just playing a sick game with the life of a simple plumber (Mario) – Toad proletariat rise up!

Still, PETA’s Pokémon themed satire and my fervent theorization about the Mushroom Kingdom’s oligarchs have not managed to make a dent in Nintendo’s family friendly image… and why should it.

The Console Wars and Blood(less) Kombat

One of the earliest and most memorable challenges that Nintendo had to face with its family friendly image was the home console port of Mortal Kombat. How did Nintendo manage to put one of the most controversial games of all time on its console and get away with it? Well, the story goes like this…

War, War Never Changes

By 1993 the console war between Sega and Nintendo was in full swing. Both sides had suffered heavy cartridge casualties, school kids were engaging in playground fights in the name of either console, and propaganda filled commercials were being played nonstop between Saturday morning cartoons.

The arcade version of Mortal Kombat had achieved a considerable amount of success and critical acclaim in 1992. It was expected that whichever console(s) featured this brutal game would surely get a boost to their sales and their street cred.

Johnny Cage “Bleeds” Sweat

Caught between a rock and a hard place – losing to Sega or taking a hit to their family friendly image – Nintendo took a gamble on a middle path. Mortal Kombat debuted in September of 1993 on both the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System; however, the SNES version was noticeably different.

There was no blood.

All blood that was present in the original game was relabeled as sweat and its color was changed from red to grey. In addition to this, the “Fatalities” were changed to “Finishing Moves”, which were significantly less violent.

That being said, the SNES version was distinctly better in terms of its sound and graphics. It may not have had the blood but all of the battle cries and agonizing screams were crisp and clear. The character sprites and stage backgrounds were also more detailed on the SNES.

Still, nobody remembers these positives. What most people remember today is that Nintendo had the “baby version” of Mortal Kombat”.

Nintendid What Segadidn’t?

Fast forward a couple of decades and Nintendo has taken that aforementioned family friendly image and nurtured it. This has allowed them to carve out a niche in the modern console industry that neither Sony or Microsoft can encroach upon.

I remember back in 2013 when Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge was released on the WiiU. I sat there with the controller in my hand, wondering how my “baby console” was playing something so bloody, brutal, and excessively violent.

A few people on Twitter were just as surprised as I was; however, that was short lived.

Why? New Super Mario Bros. U was released on the same day (coincidence?) and the debut of the cute Flying Squirrel power-up was all everyone could talk about.

Switch It Up!

Nintendo has had seemingly schizophrenic tendencies when it comes to their family friendly image and video games that could ruin it. One month they’re going all in on the cute and cuddly franchises, the next they’re flirting with blood and gore.

Thankfully, with the release of the Switch, it seems as if Nintendo has relaxed a bit and is just going with the flow.

They still have their family friendly staples like Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, and Mario but they’ve also ported (with no censorship) more “adult” games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.