Nintendo takes down popular YouTuber’s video promoting sexual encounters through Splatoon in just 20 hours

Nintendo recently took down a video by a popular Splatoon content creator, lodging a complaint within 20 hours after the video went live on YouTube. As reported by Yutura, the creator in question is Liora Channel, who has over 274k subscribers at the time of writing and is known for posting let’s play videos and guides for Nintendo’s family-friendly TPS Splatoon 3. 

The video that prompted Nintendo’s swift action was not a simple let’s play, however. On August 22, Liora Channel uploaded a video in which they interviewed so-called “Splatoon Girls” or female players of Splatoon 3. The interview takes on a sexual tone as the questions delve into their experiences of meeting up with high-ranked male Splatoon players in real life and about how these encounters often result in casual sexual relationships. 

Reportedly, the content creator also offered advice on “how to graduate from virginity” in the video, which, given Splatoon’s “E for Everyone” rating and popularity among children was harshly criticized by the public. 

Likely in response to reports from users online, Nintendo promptly requested a takedown of the video, as confirmed by Liora Channel themselves. On the 23^rd, they commented on their personal X account, “Since Nintendo has directly told me that the video is unacceptable, I’ll be careful not to mix sexual topics with Nintendo’s content from now on.”  

On that note, Nintendo’s Terms of Use for their website and user services explicitly forbid creation of user content that engages in “obscene” or otherwise objectionable conduct 

Games with young player demographics are known targets for predators, resulting in crimes such as grooming and sexual assault of minors. According to data offered by Bloomberg (via PCgamer) “since 2018, police in the US have arrested at least two dozen people accused of abducting or abusing victims they’d met or groomed using Roblox.” Nintendo’s Splatoon has also been affected by such cases, as 2023 saw the arrest of a woman who was accused of stalking and pursuing a “romantic relationship” with a minor she contacted though the game. 

Against this background, it’s easy to see how potentially harmful a video from a popular content creator encouraging people to pursue sexual encounters through Splatoon could be. Thankfully, it seems Nintendo is taking proactive measures to keep the game a safe space.