Nintendo of Europe Blocks Daytime 18+ eShop Content

[Marshall Honorof]

Nintendo of Europe Blocks Daytime 18+ eShop Content

Europeans will only be able to access mature eShop pages between 11 PM and 3 AM.

Let's say, just for argument's sake, that despite doing everything short of setting up an intravenous Vitamin C drip, you've caught a bad cold. You'll be out of work for a day or two, but that's no problem: You've racked up a lot of sick time, and besides, you've got a shiny new Wii U to keep you company. Perhaps you've heard good things about ZombiU [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/10055-ZombiU-Review] and putting on a pot of tea while it downloads seems like a good idea. Well, if you live in Europe, it's not going to happen. In an effort to shield young eyes from mature content, Nintendo of Europe has blocked anything in the eShop aimed at the 18+ crowd except during the hours between 11 PM and 3 AM.

One Italian consumer noticed the issue after attempting to browse ZombiU content during the day. Upon reaching the game's page in the eShop, he encountered a message stating: "You cannot view this content. The times during which this content can be viewed have been restricted." At first, he assumed that he had committed an error entering his birth date or parental control settings, but a Nintendo of Europe customer service representative confirmed that the service is working as programmed. "We would like to inform you that it is an additional precaution to make sure that minors cannot access content which is inappropriate for their age," wrote the rep, explaining that the content would remain blocked for all users until the clock struck eleven.

There is no one unifying law that requires Nintendo of Europe to do this, but the representative pointed out that Nintendo's interest is in keeping with European regulations about what kind of content minors can consume. "[Nintendo observes] all the relevant regulations regarding content access that are present in the various European countries," the rep explained. There is some precedent for restrictions of this nature, particularly in Germany where mature online content can also be blocked during daylight hours. The solution, of course, would be to download anything you wouldn't want your kids to see after 11 PM or before 3 AM - assuming, of course, you can set your schedule by Nintendo of Europe's timetable.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=503130]

Permalink

 

[Jorec]

Really? I mean really? They have to lock down the eShop like that for 4 hours a day just to keep kids from accessing 18+ content? Hey Nintendo Europe, how about taking a page from Microsoft's book and making it so that child accounts can't even access the stuff in the first place until he/she is 18 or at least until an adult authorizes it. Instead of making it hard for everybody.

 

[Lizardon]

Seems like an odd way to stop minors. Surely they will just use the other 20 hours in the day to get the content like everyone else. Surely an age filter or parental lock would be more effective. And won't the kids be at school during this time for most of the year?

EDIT: I saw other sites (including this articles source) reporting you can only purchase the 18+ content between 11pm and 3am. So I guess that makes more sense in terms of keeping the kids out. I still don't think it's a good solution.

 

[gardian06]

this feels counter intuitive. aren't most children still in school (European user please elaborate) for a portion of this time.

and aren't most children home after 3PM meaning that they could just view it then, and I thought that the Puritan Values that are archaically enforced in the US were bad. hence the sever punishments for breaking "decency" laws

 

[gardian06]

Really? I mean really? They have to lock down the eShop like that for 4 hours a day just to keep kids from accessing 18+ content? Hey Nintendo Europe, how about taking a page from Microsoft's book and making it so that child accounts can't even access the stuff in the first place until he/she is 18 or at least until an adult authorizes it. Instead of making it hard for everybody.

I think it might have to do with an assumption that "many parents might not be the ones actually setting up the system" so when the prompt comes up for parental controls the potential child setting it up will probably just skip over it.

the reason that this is not a consideration for Microsoft is because the intended player is actually 18-25, so parental controls in the XBox land were an afterthought.

 

[yayforgiveaway]

Wow just wow who the hell employs such morons?!

 

[Jorec]

Really? I mean really? They have to lock down the eShop like that for 4 hours a day just to keep kids from accessing 18+ content? Hey Nintendo Europe, how about taking a page from Microsoft's book and making it so that child accounts can't even access the stuff in the first place until he/she is 18 or at least until an adult authorizes it. Instead of making it hard for everybody.

I think it might have to do with an assumption that "many parents might not be the ones actually setting up the system" so when the prompt comes up for parental controls the potential child setting it up will probably just skip over it.

the reason that this is not a consideration for Microsoft is because the intended player is actually 18-25, so parental controls in the XBox land were an afterthought.

That's a pretty big assumption though. If I bought my young child a brand spanking new system I would probably be there helping them set it up. I guess kids have a lot more autonomy these days though. I mean if a 5 year old can work an iPad I guess they can get a Wii U up and running on there own too.

 

[Jamash]

Europeans won't be able to access mature eShop pages between 11 AM and 3 PM.

The sources you quoted state that the window to buy 18+ games is 23:00-03:00 (not a window when they can't access 18+ content of 11:00-15:00).

A restriction of 11AM to 3PM doesn't make much sense because children are at school at that time and arrive home after 3PM, just in time to start accessing 18+ content, but a window of 11PM-3AM does tend to exclude children.

 

[Naeras]

This... makes absolutely no sense in about twelve different ways. Wow.

 

[Eruanno]

Wait, so even if I prove that I am over 18 and try to buy, say, ZombiU, I'm not allowed to purchase this content because I am suddenly a minor when the sun is up? Nintendo, you are not winning me over with your draconian stupid manners. Also I think you're confusing "minor" with "vampire" (not the sparkling kind).

 

[GoddyofAus]

Nintendos obsession with its public image is out of control.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I think Nintendo of Europe is trolling hard here. I'm thinking they were asked by a bunch of European countries' governments and decided to say "Go fuck yourselves" to the countries who were complaining while not affecting the counrties who didn't care about the issue of kids accessing mature content.
EDIT: Nevermind. Check the source the times make sense. OP should edit that.

 

[Denamic]

Sudden inexplicable censorship, go!
I have a feeling this move accomplishes a grand total of nothing, save pissing off customers.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

Way to fuck up your source, it was available 11 pm to 3 am.

 

[Madmanonfire]

Epic article fail. Now people who don't read any other news source will have a false reason to bash Nintendo, as people have already done so above.

 

[Atmos Duality]

In an effort to shield young eyes from mature content...

Ahh, I figured "Save the childrens" was the source of this stupidity.
Nothing more to comment on it beyond that; it's just another bubble-headed attempt to protect children from concepts they're going to be familiar with well before they reach the 6th grade anyway.

Edit: As many others have pointed out, the timing of the event makes no sense.
11am to 3pm...children are in school, but the sources cite 11pm to 3am.
This is a problem because...clearly most children are going to be playing WiiU after midnight?
What?

 

[Eternal_Lament]

Epic article fail. Now people who don't read any other news source will have a false reason to bash Nintendo, as people have already done so above.

Even if the time is wrong, it doesn't change that the method is still kind of stupid. Just as kids are unlikely to be using the console between 11:00a.m.-3:00p.m. because of school, I'd imagine most parents who care about what mature content their kid sees would also put them to bed well before the 11:00p.m.-3:00a.m. time. By contrast, who's most likely to be able to access that console at those times? Adults who work from home, uni students who don't have class that day, or really any adult that doesn't need to work at those times.

Even if that wasn't the case and the time was say between 3:00p.m. to 10:00p.m., when children are likely to be home, it doesn't change the fact that this isn't something that applies to only children gamers, but gamers of all ages (in Europe anyways). As people have said, Nintendo should have just done what Microsoft or Sony does, i.e. restrict mature content only for accounts listed as children accounts.

Point being is that the reporting here was wrong, sure, but it doesn't change the fact that this seems like a rather useless initiative that targets the exact opposite group of what Nintendo of Europe had in mind