A new system firmware update for the Nintendo switch has apparently added references to child care and school shooting to the console’s list of banned words. According to a long-running Nintendo Dataminer review of the latest changes, all users who may have had these terms in their Nintendo Account handles saw the names change automatically after updating their Switches to the latest firmware.
As previously reported, Nintendo maintains a “Bad Word” list to prohibit Switch users from creating accounts that reference specific phrases that could be considered controversial or offensive. In 2020, the list was updated to add “Nazi”, “Slave”, “KKK”, “ACAB” and “Covid”, among others. In the course of 2022 it became more and more comprehensive more insults
“User nicknames that cannot be used are replaced with “???”. which can be updated from profile settings“, it says in the official patch notes Nintendo’s website. However, acc longtime Switch dataminer OatmealDome, the full changes include adding more phrases to the banned list like “Groomer” and “salv8dor”. The first has become a popular phrase, co-opted by conservatives to attack the rights of LGTBQ+ people, while the second is a reference to the shooter behind them School shooting in Uvalde, Texas last year
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“A significant number of controversial individuals and organizations were also added, such as ISIS, Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook shooter), Alek Minassian (Toronto Van attacker), etc,” said OatmealDome, who reviewed the update files my city.
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Steam has long dealt with users attempting to impersonate or commemorate perpetrators of mass shootings, a pattern that’s harder to observe on a platform like Switch who lack the ability to search for users or send them messages.
OatmealDome added that some terms already on the blacklist have been “adjusted for broader recognition” such as “ballsack”, “bong”, “chatroulette”, “cocaine”, “donkey”, “n19”, “Sperm” and testicles”, while some, like Nazi, were specifically moved to the English-language section, possibly to prevent over-censorship in other languages.
It’s not clear how Nintendo decides when and what to ban, and whether those decisions will be dictated by recent spikes in users trying to use certain phrases or other factors. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But it’s far from the only gaming company hosting speeches on its network. Microsoft infamously banned the term “Karen” in September 2020although it later reversed course, claiming it had been a mistake.
