Nintendo will not allow same sex marriage in TomoDachi Life:

Link (via BBC News)

I don't think the game was ever meant to be taken this seriously...

I don't know about the game etc, but if you are doing a game that allows romance or marriage, then you ought to allow same sex relationships. Yes it is a game, but people do want to see themselves reflected in their hobby. I think that Ninty are being short sighted with this and need to start considering these requests.

Japan

I'm not touching this conversation with a 1000 ft pole

DarkPrince said ...

dead

You should have known this topic was not going to be taken very seriously, dude, not on this forum.

LET'S OVERPOPULATE!

I think most of Bioware's games do so well because they allow same sex relationships (or cross species for that matter!)? Weird for Nintendo not to do so, they have big following especially from the gay community, possibly more so than the other console brands (From a retailer's perspective anyway)

Yeah it's alittle daft on their end imo. As Magius says if you are a gay guy or a lesbian women chance are that's who you will want to marry in games.

Or you can be dirty like most of us in bioware and jump everything with a pulse =p.

Woofels said ...


Or you can be dirty like most of us in bioware and jump everything with a pulse =p.

Ja, a really stupid decision by Nintendo at a time when they're isolating themselves enough given their software and hardware decisions.

The latest ESA report (http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2014.pdf) that's been commented on by plenty gaming websites should give a damn good idea that bulk of gamers are over 18 (adults... at least physically) and there's almost an even split in the male:female ratio.

Sure the ESA is most relevant to North America but given the bulk of gaming sales are from 1st-world nations which are inherently more liberal (or at least have constitutions which are, regardless of how backwards their populations might be) this makes little sense.

Given a huge chunk are defined as casual gamers (which is the market Tomodachi Life appears to be aiming at), the decision doesn't even make sense from a business perspective regardless anyone's personal beliefs.

It was a bug in the original japanese release that caused the game to crash and got patched out
if that bug never existed, this topic wouldn't have existed as well
I have never seen more ignorant people in my life

@Supa - They've made a formal comment (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-05-07-nintendo-refuses-to-allow-same-sex-relationships-in-tomodachi-life), "The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that all of our fans will see that 'Tomodachi Life' was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary.". This itself could just lead to more debate as to why same-sex relationships weren't considered for their "playful alternate world"?

I know a lot of Japanese games are often poorly interpreted or culturally odd to a western market but they're still, they're a massive company attempting to market products to the rest of the world and they need to start putting more thought and effort into these releases.

The game has it's rules laid down by it's creator. I can't understand people getting offended because the game does not work the way they want it to.

I suppose the connection is slightly different to non-interactive works of art, but still, this is the way the game world was designed. Abiding by the rules is totally separate from your own sexual preference. If they game only allowed gay relationships, then we would all have to follow that rule as well. It would not affect my personal life choices at all.

Anyway,
Nintendo's official statement:

We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game’s design, and such a significant development change can’t be accomplished with a post-ship patch. At Nintendo, dedication has always meant going beyond the games to promote a sense of community, and to share a spirit of fun and joy. We are committed to advancing our longtime company values of fun and entertainment for everyone. We pledge that if we create a next installment in the Tomodachi series, we will strive to design a game-play experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players.

I'm with Nintendo on this one. There was clearly no intention to offend. The game is meant to be playful parody of life.

In other words, websites make clickbait titles like "NINTENDO HATES GAYS" to gather more views, people misinterpret, and blows the whole thing out of proportion
nothing new here

here's more info about the bug http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/05/05/nintendo-on-gay-marriage-and-tomodachi-life
reminds me of the free advertising that Dragons Crown got

Supa said ...

In other words, websites make clickbait titles like "NINTENDO HATES GAYS" to gather more views, people misinterpret, and blows the whole thing out of proportion
nothing new here

I'm with you on that one.

This has nothing to do with Japanese culture, nor is Nintendos PR about this been that good.

But people need to get over it. That is how the game was made. Deal with it.

And I agree with the title too! It is all just too out there now, more guys walking and talking like women, its just not right. I was just saying the other day how you cannot switch the TV on to any show or movie without there being a gay guy in it. My problem with it is that it is just everywhere! I have no issue with them but it doesnt mean they have to take centre stage on every platform or medium... All im saying...

Yeah definitely not Japanese culture, there was a stage in their culture where homosexuality was considered more proper than a relationship with a women.

I also agree with Sinn the game is made and done, and people need to get over it now. It is however something Nintendo need to take steps to ensuring is in the next title.

People are making a mountain out of a molehill now though.

Cloudis said ...

And I agree with the title too! It is all just too out there now, more guys walking and talking like women, its just not right. I was just saying the other day how you cannot switch the TV on to any show or movie without there being a gay guy in it. My problem with it is that it is just everywhere! I have no issue with them but it doesnt mean they have to take centre stage on every platform or medium... All im saying...

^^Couldn't have said it better myself...