Nintendo’s Spanish division faces criticism after publishing a promotional video for a new game that omitted a segment in which its Barcelona-based developers spoke in Catalan. This decision sparked a heated online debate, with critics accusing the gaming giant of sidelining one of Spain’s co-official languages.
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The controversy centres on Denshattack!, a new platform game from the independent studio Undercoders, whose offices are in Barcelona’s Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district. Nintendo’s recent global ‘Indie World’ showcase, an event designed to highlight upcoming titles from smaller developers, featured the game.
During the presentation, Undercoders’ co-founders, David Jaumandreu and Àngel Beltran, introduced their game, explaining its mechanics and Japanese arcade-inspired style in their native Catalan. Their segment was fully subtitled in English for a global audience. Following the event, Nintendo’s regional social media accounts began sharing clips to promote the featured games.
A Tale of Two Videos
The discrepancy that ignited the backlash emerged in how different Nintendo branches handled the Denshattack! promotion. For instance, the Nintendo of America X (formerly Twitter) account shared a clip that included Jaumandreu and Beltran’s presentation, keeping their original Catalan audio with English subtitles. Many praised this version for its authenticity and respect for the developers’ language.
In contrast, the official Nintendo España account shared a different promotional video. This version consisted solely of gameplay footage, completely cutting the developers’ Catalan-language introduction. As reported by the news outlet VilaWeb, social media users quickly seized upon this omission, accusing the Spanish branch of ‘Catalanophobia’ and deliberate censorship.
While the Spanish account was not alone in its choice of video, with other regional divisions, including Nintendo’s main European and Japanese accounts, also opting for the gameplay-only trailer, critics argue that the context is different for Nintendo España. This is because Catalan is a co-official language in Catalonia, a significant market within Spain.
Language in the Spotlight
This incident highlights a recurring and sensitive issue in Spain: the visibility and status of its regional languages. The Generalitat de Catalunya’s language policy department has long advocated for the increased presence of Catalan in all media, including entertainment. Specific initiatives encourage more video games localised in Catalan, an effort tracked in the public VDJOC database.
Many view Nintendo Spain’s decision as a step backwards, especially given the growing community of Catalan-speaking video game creators and streamers. The controversy echoes other recent linguistic disputes. For example, broadcaster 3Cat issued a public apology for an accidental Spanish-language tweet, and politicians denounced the removal of Catalan from highway signs.
Denshattack! itself will be fully playable in Catalan, alongside a dozen other languages, launching on 17 June for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Undercoders developers have not yet publicly commented on the promotional discrepancy.
Currently, Nintendo Spain has not addressed the criticism. This silence leaves the community debating whether the omission was a simple marketing inconsistency or reflects a deeper disregard for the linguistic diversity of its own territory.
