Do you remember the first time you heard the Super Mario Bros. theme music?
The soundtrack to a million childhoods, that sprightly 8-bit calypso-inspired theme rarely fails to conjure up cherished adolescent memories.
Are you sitting in an office right now? Try singing it. Do-do-do… do-do-do-do… do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do… Is your officemate singing along yet?
Of course they are.
One of my best memories as a kid was playing GoldenEye 007… definitely built a love for FPSs. And it was amazing to see how easy the golden gun could destroy friendships.
– Andrew
If you’re reading this, you probably have at least one fond Nintendo-related memory. If you grew up in the 80s, 90s, or 00s, you probably played Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Pokémon … and countless other classic titles. We sure did.
I went to Disney World when I was 11, went back to Brazil with a game boy and Donkey Kong. Played that a lot! That rocked my life.
– Carlos
That’s why we’re so pumped to announce that Community Sift, our high-risk content detection system and moderation tool for social products, is now an approved tool in the Nintendo Switch™ developer portal.
If you’re developing a Nintendo Switch™ game that features UGC (User-Generated Content), Community Sift can help keep your users safe from dangerous content like bullying, harassment, and child exploitation.
My uncle was in the Navy and traveled lots. In one of his trips to the UK he got me an NES, I was the most excited 6-year-old… only to discover it was “region locked” and could not use it at all. A year or so later it was released in Mexico and “Santa” came through.
– Sharon
What was so awesome about those Nintendo games that we grew up playing in our bedrooms, our basements, and our best friend’s living rooms? They were created for everyone to enjoy. Our parents didn’t have to worry about content (ok, maybe Street Fighter freaked them out a little bit).
We connected with friends, siblings, cousins, and neighbors. (With siblings, sometimes the controllers connected with our skulls.) Even though we were competing, we still felt a sense of camaraderie and belonging in the kingdoms of Mushroom and Hyrule.
Me and my two other siblings would always fight for a controller to play Super Mario Bros or Duck Hunt. When we couldn’t agree on whose turn it was on our own and someone (me, the youngest) inevitably ended up in tears, my parents would take the controllers for themselves and make us watch them play.
– Maddy
That’s what the best Nintendo games do — they bring us together, across cultures, languages, and economic, and social lines. In this newly-connected gaming world, it’s more important than ever that we preserve that sense of connection — and do it with safety in mind.
I grew up in a house without video games. My parents were worried that video games would corrupt my frail mind, so as a kid I had to go to my cousin’s house to experience the wonder of the NES. Of course, every time I would go there, we’d play Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter until our eyes bugged out of our heads.
– Owen
That’s why we’re so excited that Community Sift is an approved tool in the Nintendo Switch™ developer’s portal. Now, if you’re building a Nintendo game that connects players through UGC, you can ensure that they are just as safe as we were when we were kids.
We believe in a world free of online bullying, harassment, and child exploitation, and we’ve built our product with that vision in mind. With Community Sift, you can protect your users from the really dangerous stuff that puts them at risk.
The moment I discovered that the bushes and the clouds were the same shape, different color in Mario. Mind blown as a kid.
-Sarah
Whether you feature chat, usernames, profile pics, private messages (and more), our dream is to help developers craft safe, connected experiences. And isn’t that what Nintendo is all about?
We can’t wait to help you inspire another generation of dreamers, creators, and players.
I didn’t grow up with video games in my house. But the year I was ten my family and I spent one glorious summer house-sitting for friends who had an NES in their basement. My little sister and I spent countless hours playing Super Mario Bros and when we got bored with falling down tubes and jumping on Goomba heads, Duck Hunt. I never finished the game because I couldn’t defeat Bowser in the last castle. To this day, it remains one of my greatest disappointments.
– Leah
If you’re developing a game for the Nintendo Switch™ and are interested in using Community Sift to moderate content, we would love to hear from you. Book a free demo here, or get in touch with us at demo@communitysift.com.
In parting, we leave you with this — the best and sweetest memory in the office:
Does making my mom play the Bowser castles on an original Nintendo count as a story? Because I was like 7 and he scared me? LOL
– Jenn
