Eternal Darkness 2
Ravenblade revival.

I didn't say that it was. I said that they should make it.

From what we've seen thus far, Switch is severely lacking in darker, more adult-oriented content.

Even the Wii U had games like Bayonetta 2, ZombiU, and Fatal Frame 5, but Switch has practically nothing to offer in this regard yet. It's library really lacks tonal variety as a result.

Nintendo's games have flirted on the borderline of an M-rating before; the Metroid Prime games had alien blood splattering on your visor, clinical descriptions of how scanned corpses were killed, and even had the player gunning down wounded Pirates who had broken legs and couldn't flee, or brain damage and so couldn't shoot straight. I don't think the series needs nudity or profanity, but a dose of Alien-esque horror could really work well.

A new IP along the lines of Gears, Halo, or Uncharted would also be a good way to bring some diversity to their lineup.

Unfortunately, I really don't think modern Nintendo has it in them to make such games. For years now they've shied away from pretty much anything that's not an E-rated cartoon.

probably none of those, but if i had to pick i'd probably go with xenoblade. Just bring back eternal darkness already.
Come up with a new mature ip. Buy a western dev and commit that to them. Just make sure it's good.

so the things with this is, i don't think alien gore will make it m-rated.  The more humans you involve the less special and alone samus feels.  That's why i wouldn't try to force an m rating.  I think, of the 3 choices, upping the sex appeal of xenoblade would be the easiest route.  But doing this would miss the point of having an m-rated title.  There's a certain feel that many m-rated titles have.  A certain freedom that "we don't care who plays this game" mantality that's somewhat liberating about it.  Knowing there's ideas not being held back from a story or character aspect.

That's not a "Modern Nintendo"  thing... Old Nintendo censored blood in Mortal Kombat, while modern Nintendo at least financed Bayonetta 2...

More or less my sentiment, the bold in particular, though I'm a little more optimistic.

An M rated Zelda would be interesting but not unnescarry.

There are two that would benefit from an M rating. I think Metroid would work very well with a darker tone. It's already more mature in context than a lot of other M rated games and even at times feels more violent with the dismemberment and gore. We're often exposed to open wounds that show the inside of various enemies and their slimy guts sometimes slide down our visors after we blast them. So yes, there are a lot of things that can be easily done to make Metroid M rated. It doesn't need to be extreme but rather done to set a tone. It would be interesting if this would widen it's appeal to other audiences. I don't think it would harm Nintendo to try this at least once with this franchise.

The other series that would benefit with an M rating is the Fire Emblem series. Without a doubt the context is often mature with sexual tensions and themes. It would not be hard to make an entry more suited for the Game of Thrones audience. After all it's not like that series feels like it doesn't take a few cues from Fire Emblem. This game could hit another level of gamer mainstream if took a swing to realism. The violence, the sex, the politics, it's all there in Fire Emblem. It always was. It's just hinged and caged from your eyes as it all occurs off screen giving us enough context to fill it in ourselves within our head. Fire Emblem unhinged could be a serious potential system seller. While some fans love the current style of the series, it wouldn't harm to try expanding the horizon and see the consumer reaction of such a gamble with the potential of a seriously large pay off. The ingredients are already there within the formula.

As for an M-Rate Xenoblade... sure it would work. Though how will it benefit and enrich the overall experience?

Oh and M rated Mario... not going to happen. There isn't a pay off for that and it would be nothing more than a cult classic that will result in the worst press against Nintendo's reputation. Tonight on Fox News.... On the bright side maybe this guy slip up and pop his head again for a fresh batch of internet memes!

I don't think any of those would benefit from an "M Rating". An M rating implies either nudity, cussing, or extreme gore, and none of them really need that, nor does it even fit. Certainly not Mario.

Besides, listen to your statement. "Nintendo would be taken more seriously if they tried to do M-rated entries in certain franchises". How? Taken more seriously by whom? So-called "hardcore" gamers, the type of people who generally don't touch Nintendo consoles because they're "for kids"? Those kind of people have serious maturity issues themselves, to begin with. So I seriously doubt that they're going to really give a single fraction of a damn, if Nintendo suddenly, and foolishly, made a super-gory Zelda game.

Even Metroid, which has always been a "darker toned" franchise, it just wouldn't fit. Are we going to get Samus, who already shouldn't be talking, or talking MUCH, saying "Fuck" and other such nonsense? Are we going to get cartoonish blood and gore splattering everywhere when she blasts enemies, making it like Mortal Kombat? Are we going to get an option to play Samus practically naked? None of those things are really needed, nor would they do any serious benefit to the franchise, or Nintendo as a whole.

Beyond that, yes, Nintendo DOES need some "darker" fare, exlcusives, such as they had with Eternal Darkness and Geist on Gamecube, or No More Heroes and Red Steel and MadWorld and the "R-Rated" House of the Dead game on Wii, or Bayonetta 2 and Devil's Third on Wii U. Except not a single one of those games gave Nintendo an "image makeover". They don't NEED one. Nintendo has always been a "family" and "for everyone" company. That doesn't mean their games are "for kids", or certainly not all of them. But it does mean that they themselves don't need to adjust their image as some "hardcore" game developer.

I think that they would be smart to push Platinum to make a Bayonetta 3 for Switch. And for that matter, though it won't happen, I'd love to see them scoop up the cancelled Scalebound, and have Platinum make a single-player focused, slightly scaled down version of that as a Switch exclusive. That could be really big, because people were excited for that game, last I checked. They're already going to have a No More Heroes 3 from Suda 51, and while again it likely won't happen, I'd REALLY love to see them just pull the trigger on having Dyak and Co., under CLOSE watch, make an actual (non-episodic) Eternal Darkness 2 for Switch. For that matter, Retro Studios could always be working on some brand new IP (I wish), and that could easily be "mature", just not in the dumb sense.


The point is, yes, they could benefit from having some darker toned exlusives. But in the end, the idea that Nintendo themselves somehow need a "hardcore makeover" in gamers' eyes, is laughable. Nintendo do what they do, and most gamers prefer it that way. We just want them to do it WELL, not half-assed.

I'm confused. Aren't all entries "M-Rated"?