Nintendo once vowed Night Trap would never be on its systems, but things change

In 1993, at the height of the video game violence scare, Nintendo testified before the U.S. Senate on the matter of violence and sexual content in games. Two games, Midway’s Mortal Kombat and Digital Pictures’ Night Trap, were at the center of those hearings.

While the games’ so-called offensive content could be considered positively quaint today, at the time — prior to self-imposed content ratings from the Entertainment Software Rating Board — parents and politicians expressed grave concerns over kids getting their hands on games with blood and sexual content.

Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America, told Senators Joseph Lieberman and Herbert Kohl that one of those games, Night Trap, would never appear on a Nintendo game system. The other, Mortal Kombat, was toned down to remove blood and gory fatalities at Nintendo’s demand before it could appear on the Super NES.

“In the past year, some very violent and offensive games have reached the market, and of course I’m speaking about Mortal Kombat and Night Trap,” Lincoln told the Senate committee. “And let me say that for the record, I want to state that Night Trap will never appear on a Nintendo system. Obviously it would not pass our guidelines. This game … which promotes violence against women, simply has no place in our society.”

This summer, Nintendo’s policy changes, as Limited Run Games and Screaming Villains plan to bring Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition to Nintendo Switch. That anniversary re-release will be available digitally from the Switch eShop and in physical form.

Obviously, a lot has changed in the past 25 years at Nintendo. The company quickly relaxed its stance on blood and gore in Mortal Kombat games, as Mortal Kombat 2 came to the Super NES in 1994 largely intact. The SNES version had all the blood sprays and cold-blooded murder seen in the arcade original.

Still, it’s fun to see Night Trap finally come to a Nintendo system, and not necessarily because it’s a great game, but to reflect on the game maker’s past.

Here’s a snippet of Howard Lincoln’s testimony from 1993 to remind you of how things used to be.