Nintendo has responded to the #Miiequality campaign that sought to introduce same-sex relationships into Tomodachi Life, saying the game will remain heterosexually focused.
“Nintendo never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of Tomodachi Life,” a Nintendo of America representative said to the AP. “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.”
Same-sex relationships were briefly available in Tomodachi Collection: New Life, but were quickly classified as a bug, then patched, by Nintendo.
Tomodachi Life marks the first time the popular simulation franchise will be available in the west. It’s available in June on 3DS.
Update: Nintendo’s Bill Trinen said that the Tomodachi Collection “bug” wasn’t a bug at all, but a manipulation of the game. “Essentially [players] would create a male version of a Mii character and assign their gender as female, and that was how the two males were able to have a baby,” Trinen said. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that Nintendo was quick to pounce upon male-on-male relationships and work to remove them from the game.
Nintendo also issued a larger statement about the lack of same-sex relationships within the game.
“We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life,” the statement begins. 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.
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