There are a few different origin stories for the ‘Nintendo Seal of Quality’ found on Nintendo games.
One of the theories states that after the American video games ‘crash’ of 1983, Nintendo wanted to reassure purchasers that what they would receive would work. Too many games on other consoles failed to meet the basics of quality control. Anyone who wanted to make games for the Atari 2600 could, for instance, make a game without any need for permission from Atari and put it out to market. This lead to a flood of games and no quality control.
I thought about the Nintendo Seal of Quality this week when I bought The Sexy Brutale on Nintendo Switch, a game we were looking forward to.
Unfortunately, the game has not arrived in a good state. The frame rate is massively variable. At times the frame rate is so bad the main character can appear to ‘blink’ across the screen. There’s also additional loading in odd places and the music has some sync issues. For a game that relies so heavily on atmosphere the end result is incredibly frustrating. On Switch gamers simply do not get a good experience, and I would recommend that people wait for a patch (if one ever comes) before their purchase.
I don’t think The Sexy Brutale should have been released in the state it is in, but it’s not alone. WWE 2K18 has several issues on Switch. Rime is famous for it’s poor port.
My experience with The Sexy Brutale left me annoyed, and from now on I will have to wait for Switch-specific reviews of ports before I part with my cash.
Nintendo need to be wary of this. I know they want more games on the system, but it surely shouldn’t come at the expense of quality and the system’s reputation. Maybe we need a Seal of Quality for the eShop. Until then, a wait and see policy is for the best.