The ESRB has rated Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, an upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive that features an unexpectedly high level of shockingly violent material. The game, which was initially hinted at via a mysterious trailer in July, turned out to be a rebirth of the beloved Famicom Detective Club series. It will launch on 27th August and is the first new entry in 27 years. One of Nintendo's most significant divergences from its usual family-friendly fare is Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, a visual novel adventure game in which the player must solve a murder mystery.

The main crime in the Famicom Detective Club series is always murder, and the player's job is to solve it. The Utsugi Detective Agency is tasked by the police with cracking a murder case, therefore the same thing can be anticipated in Emio - The Smiling Man. A paper bag was discovered on the head of the deceased, a junior high school kid from the area, who was found strangled to death. The primary suspect is thought to have some connection to the local folklore of Emio the Smiling Man, a man dressed in paper bags who kills teenage girls. The game's ESRB rating was made public prior to its 27th August release, and it was rather explicit about what to expect.

The organisation disclosed the violent themes and graphics that the visual novel will explore in Emio, giving the game a M for adult rating on its website. A father striking his kids, a dead body being hung by a tie, and a man slicing his own face with scissors are among the other horrors in addition to the murder. Suicide, self-harm, and child abuse are among the themes explored in other graphic scenes, which also feature bodies covered in blood. Because of this, Emio might be among Nintendo's most well-known M-rated titles.