While the Nintendo Switch receives big, proper updates on a fairly regular basis, it also sometimes gets more quieter downloads, ones that take place without the user knowing or needing to do anything. Those updates tend to focus on the console’s ‘banned word list’.
As we reported earlier in the year:
Nintendo maintains a “bad word” list to prohibit Switch users from making accounts that reference certain phrases that might be considered controversial or offensive. In 2020 the list was updated to add “Nazi,” “Slave,” “KKK,” “ACAB,” and “Covid,” among others. Throughout 2022 it grew to encompass more slurs, rude language, and various misspellings of Hitler.
In February, words like “ISIS”, the conservative catch-all “groomer” and the names of the Sandy Hook shooter were added as part of changes discovered and published by longtime Switch dataminer OatmealDome, who earlier today tweeted that the list had been updated yet again.
“A rebootless update for 16.0.3 is out”, they wrote. “The sole changes are to the bad words lists. It appears Nintendo focused on blocking corruptions of the name Hitler (for example: “titler”, “hizzler”)“.
It appears the word ‘TERF’ (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) has also been included, perhaps suggesting the delayed Switch version of Hogwarts Legacy is getting closer to release.
Remember, this isn’t just a general list of words Nintendo don’t like, it’s specifically aimed at user account names, and so goes beyond just some rude, bad words. As OatmealDome points out in a follow-up:
The bad words lists shouldn’t be seen as just a list of slurs. It contains everything from “stoner” to “covid” to actual slurs. I would interpret it as “lists containing words related to controversial topics that aren’t appropriate for games that minors might play”.
If you’re wondering what other words the list contains, I’m glad you asked (especially if you’re a 10-year-old kid), because a selection of highlights include:
- ballsack
- bong
- chatroulette
- cocaine
- jackass
- semen
- testes