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[Nothing1016]

Pretty important news for the #Miiquality campaign started here on Gaf. Bill Trinnen sat down with IGN to discuss the issue and Nintendo's stance:

According to Nintendo, numerous news outlets misreported an issue related to the Japanese version of Tomodachi Life this past December. A patch issued to Tomodachi Collection [the name of the game in Japan] did not, despite reports, patch an exploit that allowed two men to enter a relationship and, eventually, have a baby.

The other thing that was going on was that quite a few Japanese players were dressing up Mii characters,” Trinen explained. “Essentially they 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.

The patch did not change the fact that players could do that.

“From our perspective it’s kind of tough because as a game development company, our primary focus is always looking at creating entertainment and fun and entertaining products,” Trinen explained. “And there’s a lot of decisions that can go into that process. What we try not to do is… well, it would be very easy to look at Animal Crossing and say, ‘well, what wasn’t included in an Animal Crossing, so what’s Nintendo saying about that?’ We’re not really saying anything about anything; we’re just constantly trying to create fun and entertaining experiences.”

EDIT: It seems the article is from last April and this has been clarified.

Hi! Just want to point out something important we missed in the initial posting of this story: We spoke to Trinen about this last April, not today. We updated the article to include that context.

Lock if old.

 

[BY2K]

So gay relationship are still possible!? It was never patched!?

 

[Koppai]

I noticed Nintendo would still dodge the issue there. They don't want to offend anyone I guess. Can you even have kids in the localized version?

 

[chickdigger802]

So gay relationship are still possible!? It was never patched!?

seems like you just import your Reggie and chose the gender as female.

not really an exploit or anything.

 

[TrueBlue]

So gay relationship are still possible!? It was never patched!?

 

[DECK'ARD]

I was surprised they were commenting on it, until I saw the non-answer.

 

[Zeyphersan]

I was surprised they were commenting on it, until I saw the non-answer.

Nintendo are fucking PROS at non-answers

 

[MrSaturn99]

Glad they cleared up the confusion, but talk about dodging the question.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Best part about this controversy is that they face backlash from a different place if they do allow gay marriage.

 

[Salsa]

I don't think Nintendo is "saying" anything by not including this as an option either, I just dont see why they can't just do it

 

[Marcel]

I was surprised they were commenting on it, until I saw the non-answer.

Can't say I'm surprised. They gotta remain firmly on the fence for the purposes of maintaining their image, even though their image has already been tarnished by their lack of participation on conflict mineral and human rights audits.

 

[braves01]

I don't think Nintendo is "saying" anything by not including this as an option either, I just dont see why they can't just do it

Because Fox News will run a story: "Do Nintendo games encourage youngsters to have gay sex?"

 

[Salsa]

Best part about this controversy is that they face backlash from a different place if they do allow gay marriage.

specially with Tomodachi Life, where you don't really control what your Mii likes and whatnot

I'd expect millions of people being all "wtf I created my best friend in the game and my Mii wants to bone him I aint GAY NINTENDO"

 

[MikeXXIeaf]

Fake drama is so lame. They're right to dodge it.

 

[Timeaisis]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. A non-answer, as stupid as it is, is the only correct answer in this case, unfortunately.

 

[Marcel]

specially with Tomodachi Life, where you don't really control what your Mii likes and whatnot

I'd expect millions of people being all "wtf I created my best friend in the game and my Mii wants to bone him I aint GAY NINTENDO"

wtf I created my best friend in the game and my Mii wants to bone him I aint GAY NINTENDO

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

Fake drama is so lame. They're right to dodge it.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. A non-answer, as stupid as it is, is the only correct answer in this case, unfortunately.

.

wtf I created my best friend in the game and my Mii wants to bone him I aint GAY NINTENDO

haha

 

[bluepolicebox]

That's not an answer. And suggesting people change the gender of a Mii doesn't address the issue at hand. It could even be seen as borderline insulting.

At least they're hearing the complaints. Hopefully they'll take it to heart in the future.

 

[KHlover]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. A non-answer, as stupid as it is, is the only correct answer in this case, unfortunately.

Yep.

 

[deltatheta]

“And there’s a lot of decisions that can go into that process. What we try not to do is… well, it would be very easy to look at Animal Crossing and say, ‘well, what wasn’t included in an Animal Crossing, so what’s Nintendo saying about that?’ We’re not really saying anything about anything; we’re just constantly trying to create fun and entertaining experiences.”

I'm sure most people are aware, but Trinen is obliquely referring to the fact that you can only create avatars with light (caucasian) skin tones in Animal Crossing.

 

[Platy]

Nintendo : Mixing Gender and Sexual Orientation since 1988

 

[POWERSPHERE]

I fear if they deliberately made gay characters, the outrage would be far greater. Having a cheeky work around is about all they can realistically do without starting up the moron machine with dumb parents screaming Nintendo are trying to turn kids gay. They basically a toy company after all, and parents like to get crazy.

 

[Principate]

Best part about this controversy is that they face backlash from a different place if they do allow gay marriage.

Ah yes the oh some common being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

[V.A.L.I.S]

Is there a statement from #Miiquality about this news?

 

[Shinta]

I fear if they deliberately made gay characters, the outrage would be far greater. Having a cheeky work around is about all they can realistically do without starting up the moron machine with dumb parents screaming Nintendo are trying to turn kids gay. They basically a toy company after all, and parents like to get crazy.

I do think they're in a particularly tough spot, since so much of their brand strength relies on parents perceiving them to be the safe choice for kids.

We can talk about how awful it is that people view homosexuality as something that we shouldn't show to kids, but the fact is, but I'd wager that a lot of people still feel that way. I think it would be neat if Nintendo moved first on that, but I don't think anyone should expect them to. If the society itself still hasn't worked that one out, I think it's a little bit unlikely to expect a business to jump in that first when they are trying to sell products.

And part of what Nintendo says is kind of true. They're an odd choice to single out for this, because they're so harmless and fun-natured in what they decide to focus on. Half their games don't even have stories really, just gameplay. Nintendo is kind of the last company interested in making social commentary. They barely even have narratives in their games half the time. They want to make toys.

While imperfect, having the ability to customize characters as much as they say is at least something.

 

[Elija2]

Yeah, that's really a non-answer. I wonder if Trinen would get in trouble at Nintendo if he just came out in support of the Miiquality campaign. There are still rumours that Nintendo silenced Dan Adelman after he came out in support of region-unlocking.

 

[maquiladora]

We’re not really saying anything about anything

Heh.

 

[Shinta]

We’re not really saying anything about anything

It's kind of hilariously true though. Look at the story of Mario 3D World. It's not very deep. They are more interested in making toys.

 

[Pinko Marx]

They're a video game company. Its not their place to make statements on homosexual companies if they don't feel like they ought to.
I get why people are upset over this but pick your battles.

 

[Dragon]

I do think they're in a particularly tough spot, since so much of their brand strength relies on parents perceiving them to be the safe choice for kids.

We can talk about how awful it is that people view homosexuality as something that we shouldn't show to kids, but the fact is, but I'd wager that a lot of people still feel that way. I think it would be neat if Nintendo moved first on that, but I don't think anyone should expect them to. If the society itself still hasn't worked that one out, I think it's a little bit unlikely to expect a business to jump in that first when they are trying to sell products.

And part of what Nintendo says is kind of true. They're an odd choice to single out for this, because they're so harmless and fun-natured in what they decide to focus on. Half their games don't even have stories really, just gameplay. Nintendo is kind of the last company interested in making social commentary. They barely even have narratives in their games half the time. They want to make toys.

While imperfect, having the ability to customize characters as much as they say is at least something.

If everyone felt the way you're projecting Nintendo is feeling nothing would change.

 

[Trevelyon]

Don't really give a damn either way.

But, my God is that an S-Rank non-answer. Like, I don't even know what's the issue anymore, my mind was just erased completely by this stanceless masterpiece.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Good on Nintendo for the non answer. Not sure what they are supposed to do Bill even referenced animal crossing cause he knows there the game does not allow full equality either but its not talked about.

 

[Tyeforce]

Is there a statement from #Miiquality about this news?

I've not released any kind of statement by Miiquality about it, but I posted this in the #Miiquality thread:

That doesn't really address the main issue here at all, though. =/ Yes, we know about the bug in the Japanese version. We know same-sex relationships were never intentionally supported and then removed from the game. But that doesn't change the fact that same-sex relationships are something that should be supported in a game like this that has such a huge focus on relationships so that everyone can enjoy the game, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

This is a complete non-answer from Nintendo and there's really not much to say here at all, aside from the fact that the issue of same-sex relationships being excluded from Tomodachi Life is still there and needs to be addressed. I know Nintendo's not trying to say they're against homosexuality or anything like that by the omission of same-sex relationships, but that doesn't mean that same-sex relationships shouldn't be included.

Also, I swear I read most of this a few weeks back. Is this really a new interview from IGN, or are they just reporting what Nintendo had said previously?

 

[Y2Kev]

Good on Nintendo for the non answer. Not sure what they are supposed to do Bill even referenced animal crossing cause he knows there the game does not allow full equality either but its not talked about.

Why is it good that Nintendo gave a non answer? I think it comes off as very impersonal and cold.

Has EA never had to face this type of question with the Sims? I really doubt they'd be getting praise for a non answer, frankly.

 

[Jintor]

Why is it good that Nintendo gave a non answer? I think it comes off as very impersonal and cold.

Has EA never had to face this type of question with the Sims? I really doubt they'd be getting praise for a non answer, frankly.

Hmmm. I did a quick look around and it looks like there hasn't been a big noteworthy accusation scandal against the sims before. Even if there was though, I think EA is pretty LGBT friendly and would've defended Maxis' decision (since really the decision would've been made when The Sims was made and then legacy'd into the rest of the franchise).

There might've been some stuff when it was first released, but idk.

Frankly, if Nintendo put this in Tomodachi Life, I don't even know if the mainstream media/shrill conservative opponents would even notice.

 

[Frost_Ace]

Exactly the kind of response I was expecting. Meh.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Tough situation to wriggle out of. And comparing it to Animal Crossing was sooo the wrong thing to do. God.

 

[Hours Left]

That was 100% PR nonsense.

:/

 

[Jintor]

AC is way accepting anyway.

Well, to a point. If you're cute, you're a girl, and if you're tough/adventurous, you're a boy.

 

[Brainfreeze]

specially with Tomodachi Life, where you don't really control what your Mii likes and whatnot

I'd expect millions of people being all "wtf I created my best friend in the game and my Mii wants to bone him I aint GAY NINTENDO"

Yeah, I think this is important. I've played very little Animal Crossing, and I've never touched Tomodachi Life, but based off my understanding of these games I think that makes all the difference.

Isn't appearance in Animal Crossing determined by a questionnaire at the beginning of the game? If they did implement full diversity in terms of race, or at least skin tone, than they'd probably stir up even more controversy. "What did I say to make my character black exactly? What is Nintendo trying to say about me and/or black people here?"

The only real solution here would be to give you full control over appearance, your characters likes, your relationships, etc. but at that point you're changing the gameplay of these games, and I think that's what Bill is talking about when he says that that gameplay comes first. So until they can come up with a way to address these issues in a simple and noncontroversial way (which, honestly, is probably pretty low on their list of things to do) than I don't imagine we'll see much change here. And I can understand that, so I won't get mad about it.

Still a shame that these issues continue to persist, though. I'm sure a lot of players would love to play as a character more like themselves and this probably has a bigger effect on their enjoyment than many at Nintendo would be willing to admit.

 

[ascii42]

Why is it good that Nintendo gave a non answer? I think it comes off as very impersonal and cold.

Has EA never had to face this type of question with the Sims? I really doubt they'd be getting praise for a non answer, frankly.

I don't remember any controversy, and at least 2 and 3 allowed gay marriage from what I remember. The only controversy I remember regarding Sims games had to do with nude mods. Good ole Jack Thompson.

 

[Principate]

It's the easy answer. It's not the correct answer.

I can certainly understand why Nintendo would choose to avoid possible controversy, but I'd still prefer if they did the right thing.

From a business standpoint it may or may not be the correct position. Like they said they don't care about pushing a viewpoint, if you devoid all moral grounding from this and look at it from an will this affect people purchasing the game, and how many, it could very well be the most profitable choice. Not every business needs to drive society reforms sure it'd be nice but it's not something you expect.

 

[Father_Brain]

We’re not really saying anything about anything; we’re just constantly trying to create fun and entertaining experiences.

This could maybe have been acceptable as a PR-speak response a decade ago, but Western culture is rapidly progressing to the point where deliberately excluding same-sex relationships from an otherwise open-ended life sim says more about one's stance on homosexuality than including them.

 

[Oersted]

It's the easy answer. It's not the correct answer.

I can certainly understand why Nintendo would choose to avoid possible controversy, but I'd still prefer if they did the right thing.

Rught thing as in gay marriage?

 

[Blackthorn]

Rught thing as in gay marriage?

Do continue.

 

[Dragon]

Rught thing as in gay marriage?

Duh.

 

[Jintor]

Rught thing as in gay marriage?

Please, proceed

 

[Holmes]

This is getting ridiculous. I'm about ready to start voting with my wallet. Bought the Wii U at launch and bought many Wii U games day one. Still have more I would like to buy but Nintendo can lose my support and money. Their little Wii U isn't doing good as is.

 

[Chaos17]

Because Fox News will run a story: "Do Nintendo games encourage youngsters to have gay sex?"

This

 

[NewGame]

From what I've seen of the game, can't you just make a 'female' assigned Mii but then create the Mii specifically with the name of a man and to look and act like a man etc?