Play’s Republic

 So. Doki Doki Majo Saiban, for the Nintendo DS: you’ve probably not heard of this game before, but judging by the title alone, you might be able to guess that it’s yet another quirky Japanese title that will probably never see release in U.S. stores. Here, though, there’s another good reason why this game won’t make it over here: this particular game, developed by SNK, has gained some notoriety even BEFORE its release.

This is because the entire point of the game appears to be thus: 1) have the main character approach girls, and 2) touch them, because that’s the only way to determine whether or not they’re actually witches. Certainly a… unique… application of the DS’s touch-screen functions.

Apparently, when Doki Doki Majo Saiban was announced back in Q4 2006, gamer reactions ran the gamut from amused to flat-out denial. There was no way that Nintendo- the Pokemon Company, the bastion of family friendliness, the grandpappy of some of the most famous classics known to mankind- would ever allow a game like this to be released! It has to be a hoax of some sort!

And then follow-up screenshots were released, more plot details surfaced, and with Amazon.co.jp opening it up for pre-orders, it’s currently the top-listed video game on their online store.

I’m still not sure what to make of it all.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/snk-on-witching-touching-game-207023.php

http://kotaku.com/gaming/snk/more-on-that-snk-witch-touching-game-250873.php

http://www.dsfanboy.com/2007/05/02/amazon-co-jp-shoppers-are-crazy-about-witch-hunting/