FYI it was since Awakening that they took FE into a 'new' direction to expand their target demo. Don't think the 'they didn't want it' sentiment is accurate since sales have been only increasing since. Neogaf isn't the majority consumer. People would not have been bitching to this magnitude if it was just a minority. Yes it's a minor feature for the game as a whole and 'not a big deal' to censor, but that goes the other way around too where hey could have simply ignored it as well without hindering those players that would actually enjoy it since again petting isn't the main point of the game.
Also game would not have got a higher rating for simple petting. That is pure BS. The game is rated T. There are plenty of way more lewd games with touch interaction that still managed a T. Look up Ar Nosurge + for one that still managed a T. I can do way more in that game then petting. SK Burst [which was on a Nintendo device and didn't gave game content removed] even managed a T.
Nintendo America changed it simply because they didn't want to deal with a scenario of a confused 11 year old Billy and 13 year old Sally asking their daddy why petting is happening. It's not sales, it's not ratings, it's to protect their 'we want the young audience' logo. The localizations target at a more young audience [even if it actually doesn't] while the main Japan branch understands these kind of games attracts all types of age ranges hence why the petting was made it in the first place. If there is anything to blame then blame the outdated draconian policies some of the developers/publishers/localizers are following these days where anything remotely fan service is a no no because someone's safe space felt violated.
Edit: Also telling people to go import as a solution is about as helpful as telling people to play something else if petting offends them so much that they will skip the actual game. Not a productive solution.
I don't believe the sales increase was due to
that aspect of the new direction, though.
If anything the game is on one of Nintendo's most popular handhelds, is arguably the most accessible, and actually had decent marketing.
And really, the people complaining
are the people on neogaf (and other sites) and they're the vocal minority.
I seriously doubt the newer fanbase knows about the changes, so they're probably not the ones making the noise.
Additionally, petting wasn't the only thing taken out
and I already mentioned that Nintendo considers both the ESRB and the society it's targeting. That's a case of the latter.
And, yes, I agree that it's also Nintendo wanting to protect their image in certain regions. That's also something I stated, so we're on the same page there.
And considering that there's no way to please
everyone I'm perfectly fine if a solution doesn't work for some people.
There's literally thousands of games out there, so I have difficulty empathizing with people stuck on one.
Whether something was added or removed, play it or move on: we have that choice.
Now I'll admit that people have every right to voice their opinion (that goes for both sides of the debate) and that's why I never
tell people to shut-up, but Nintendo
literally owes us nothing and there's no real impetus for them to even try to cater to everyone.
They've gotten complaints like this for decades, yet they still do it and they're still making a profit. And as long as they're not
breaking laws, I don't see them changing.
If anything, the extremists on both sides of the argument need to drop their entitled attitudes and do one of two things:
explain their thoughts like a decent human being or move on.
Having a video game perfectly cater to their needs or wants is not a right. It's not anyone's right.
EDIT: That Daidoji gameplay reminds me of Kenka Bancho
I'm seriously glad I found this thread out of nowhere because without it I wouldn't have bought Estival Versus which has been eating up my days since I bought it
Seriously I'm having too much fun,I wish every game I played had this much content.
I've yet to play it, but I'm glad people seem to enjoy it. It get me hyped. I'm just trying to wait til Black Friday to buy a PS4. I really dislike buying non-critical/entertainment items that aren't on sale. If a decent sale pops up I'll grab one though.