In the latest development regarding the series’ ongoing battle with the noted Japanese platform holder, Idea Factory has officially revealed that while the upcoming Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos has gotten the green-light to release on Nintendo Switch, the same cannot be said of its extra Swimsuit Costume DLC set.
Developed by regular series heralds Compile Heart and set to be published by Idea Factory, Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos takes the video game-ginjika world of the franchise and puts a motorcycle spin on its gameplay, putting players in the role of Uzume Tennouboshi (herself a physical representation of the SEGA Dreamcast) as she leads her fellow CPU Goddesses in a two-wheeled war against the Doggo species.
To do so, said Riders must traverse their homeland of Gameindustri and round-up the overrunning Doggo population a la a more Moe-version of Katamari Damacy.
Having released to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch in Japan this past June and currently revving its engines to begin racing across the Western versions of said console on January 2025, the game is and will be available in three different editions – a standard edition, a Deluxe digital-only edition, and a massive Magazine edition.
While the standard edition provides players with just the game itself, the Digital and Magazine editions also include the game’s soundtrack, an art book (a digital and physical version, respectively), and three costume sets featuring “Swimsuit”, “Apocalyptic”, and “Race Queen”-style outfits for each of the game’s five lead heroines.
(Additionally, the Magazine edition also comes with a set of five fold-out posters, a set of 28 stickers, a reversible cover sleeve, and an exclusive trading card.)
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Unfortunately, while those on the PlayStation 4 and 5 will receive access to all three DLC packs, Idea Factory has confirmed that, Nintendo has denied the publisher permission to release of the Swimsuit Pack on the Switch.
At current, Idea Factory has yet to publicly detail just why Nintendo has taken issue with this specific DLC pack, with the only mention being made by the publisher being a brief sentence in a pre-release announcement tweet noting that “The Swimsuit Costume DLC will no longer launch on NSW”.
However, in his coverage of the DLC ban for video game news outlet Noisy Pixel, site writer Azario Lopez asserted that the Swimsuit Set “will no longer be available on the Nintendo Switch due to compliance with Nintendo’s guidelines.”
As noted above, this action against Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos is but the latest dust-up between Nintendo and not just the Neptunia franchise, but Idea Factory as a whole.
Earlier this month, ahead of all four games’ release on the handheld, Idea Factory revealed that due to their respective contents being found to “not comply with Nintendo Guidelines”, the upcoming Switch releases for Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation, and Death end re;Quest: Code Z would no longer be moving forward.
Ultimately, Western players who wish to check out Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos can still do so on the Switch on January 28th, 2025.
However, for those who want the ‘complete’ experience, the bike-action game is also headed to the PlayStation 4 and 5 on the same date.