One of 2011's more pleasant surprises was The Binding of Isaac, a game Totilo described as "a wonderfully warped Old Testament take on The Legend of Zelda".
It's been out on Steam for months now, but was also slated to appear on the 3DS eShop as a downloadable purchase. That was until Nintendo took a look at the game and decided against releasing it.
Isaac's creator, Edmund McMillen, took to Twitter earlier tonight and wrote "After a long internal debate Nintendo has decided NOT to allow the Binding of Isaac on the 3ds. :("
Why?
"As many assumed the reasons were due to the games 'questionable religious content'", McMillen elaborates. "Thank GOD Steam exists!"
Wow. Nintendo's eShop, much like its retail offerings, is easily able to accommodate mature content. That's what game ratings and parental locks are for. For the platform holder to step in and block a game's release directly harks back to the dark days of the early 1990s, when Nintendo didn't allow things like blood or Nazis on its consoles.
The Binding of Isaac is based loosely on the biblical tale of the same name. Only, instead of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, in the game you play as Isaac and try to escape a slightly different fate by trawling though a ton of randomly-generated dungeons.
Edmund McMillen [Twitter, via Go Nintendo]