It is not known if it was intentional or not. The developers have not said one way or the other. We can speculate based on how Nintendo handles other social responsibility issues but that's as much as we can do.
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#Miiquality | Bringing same-sex relationships to Nintendo's Tomodachi series
- Thread starter Tyeforce
- Start date
It is not known if it was intentional or not. The developers have not said one way or the other. We can speculate based on how Nintendo handles other social responsibility issues but that's as much as we can do.
Tinfoilhatsron
Banned
What happened with making default FemShep? I remember people nicely asking Bioware/EA, with a select few flaming morons/obvious trolls
. So the option to add homosexuality would indeed be a plus to tack on to the review. (With Nintendo holding to the belief that this bigotness will 'halp sell da 3ds!?!')
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
They could make it a bit more organic by allowing you to express your sexuality through choices in the game and not expressly state whether you are hetero or homo or anything in between.
Of course, then they would have the challenge of deciding how it the sexuality of the NPCs are determined. It sounds like an extremely tough place to be.
badcrumble
Member
To be fair, if they coded Mii matchups but also coded in a gender check to decide if those matchups can happen or not, that is, yes, a deliberate design choice and not an accident. Doesn't matter if the intention was specifically to discriminate or if it's just ignorant thoughtlessness, it doesn't make the exclusion any less real.
Tinfoilhatsron
Banned
Wow... Joke post?
Edit:Nvm, such obvious trolling. Over represented, my ass.
JennyTablina
Member
Nintendo can be responsive to protests at times, thats how NoE regions managed to get 60hz Virtual Console titles, and how Nintendo finally relented on Earthbound.
It's just a shame that Nintendo sat on Tomodachi for YEARS then while they managed to do some decent localising on the title for both region - they omitted something pretty important in a rush to get it gold, and announce it *after* the fact (something Nintendo doesn't commonly do, they normally announce a title a year in advance) If this had the normal product cycle, Nintendo could of taken the time to fix this.
#Miiquality deserves to succeed at the end of the day. I hope Nintendo reconsiders or at least looks into if patching Tomodachi is possible.
You don't make choices in Tomodachi Life, that's the whole point. The Mii's are autonomous, you just watch what they get up to.
Although I think in an advert it does have some sliders for personality type when you import your Mii. They could work the question in there, but it would seem out of place.
There isn't an easy solution to it, and Nintendo would either have to embrace it completely in a sequel or just continue to ignore it.
WHERE?
sorry, this is the stupidest thing i've read in this entire thread
WHERE are you that homosexuality is OVER represented?!
edit: I hope you're an alt and your main account gets banned too.
cosmicblizzard
Banned
You should probably edit that if you value your account here. You won't be coming back from that.
Whelp, I warned him.
SoraanTribal
Member
What...? Are you being serious right now? Over represented? In what world are you living in?
Why would you even waste time making an account if you have no intention of keeping it?
Shameful behavior. Doesn't matter if it's a minority or a majority - they represent a massive amount of people who, like you, probably can't imagine being sexually attracted to anyone but whom they are attracted to. They want to be able to relate to their avatar Mii, and as a huge part of the specific appeal of Tamadachi Life is relating to your Mii and his/her life, it's only fair that people in same-sex relationships be able to express their completely viable love and relationships in game form as well.
This isn't a minority/majority issue, it's an issue of simple human decency and dignity. These individuals deserve mainstream games where their relationship isn't treated as awkward, where they don't have to pretend to be a member of the opposite sex simply to live out their e-fantasies, where they live in a progressive world that accepts who they are for who they are whether they were born like that or not.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Ah, I didn't realize there wasn't any kind of active gameplay component or decision making.
Interesting.
If it just carries out based on the roll of the dice, then they'd really have to include all possibilities to not receive flak from people.
An outwardly identified group of people wanting their entertainment experiences to give the impression that they're included alongside the rest of the human race isn't some minor quibble. If this were a game with a set character with set traits, I could entertain your point, but it's not. It's meant to be customized to the traits of the player. And this coming from someone who thinks it's unreasonable to expect this particular release of Tomodachi Life be changed.
Yes there is..don't bother releasing it in the west next time. Not worth the hassle.
Steve Youngblood
Member
Well, if it sells well it's worth the hassle of dealing with the concerns of progressives. If it doesn't sell well, then the conversation is largely moot anyway as there'll be no concerns to address.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
There really is no hassle. It simply is a matter of NCL not caring.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Well that isn't fair. They could very well be taking this issue seriously and looking to implement it in future products.
Then again, like I said earlier, people like to just assume the worst.
I couldn't disagree with this more. There is an audience for this game, even without having a more progressive range of player traits for romantic relationships. There is work involved in that implementation, and the staff and project leads behind it can consider that for future titles. That doesn't mean this is an all-or-nothing proposition. In spite of how it feels to the people it effects, this is a shortcoming primarily to a minority population, which means for most players, this won't feel like a shortcoming in a direct sense. That's not a value judgement, and that doesn't mean that others won't feel that it's an unfortunate omission, but it's the nature of majority and minority groups if something is designed for the mainstream.
Yes, things happen magically with the wave of a wand, and there's no need for time, labor, or other investment on the part of anyone. Silly us.
And what's the cost of even more bad publicity for Nintendo? They're not really in a place where they can fuck up stuff like social responsibility with impunity.
This story is tracking big-time and people are rightly shellacking them for their non-answer.
Steve Youngblood
Member
Well, honestly, what "hassle" are we referring to here. They're not implementing the change right now requested by the movement. Is the assumption that Nintendo just won't bother with the next title out of spite because PR people they already have on staff were annoyed that they had to offer non-responses to this campaign?
That's a good question. What's the cost? It's not a mainstream title. They're already losing tons of money but can stay afloat for a while.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
If they cared about having same-sex relationships in the game, they would have been programmed in already. Changing variables to allow Miis of the same gender to form a romantic relationship really would not have been that difficult. I'll grant that adding adoption would have required much more work but again, at some point those things were judged as not feasible for whatever reasons, if they were even brought up.
You can act like they would have had to cut off fingers to make it work, but Nintendo can afford extra work.
The bad publicity is toward Nintendo and not the game itself. Whether it's a mainstream title or not doesn't really matter. Headlines like "Nintendo’s 'whimsical' simulation erases an entire population of players, and that’s intolerable", "Nintendo Responds (Terribly) To Gay Marriage Petition", "Nintendo says no to virtual equality in life game" leave out the title of the game entirely.
Edit: I would also add that two negative stories are trending over a Pokemon announcement today. Awareness is growing, though it probably won't be more well known than quotes about Mama.
Booty Patrol
Banned
Watching the video you made for the OP really puts into perspective how shitty it is to be excited for this game but not being able to enjoy it as others would. Nice job!
Cbajd5
Member
The bad publicity is toward Nintendo and not the game itself. Whether it's a mainstream title or not doesn't really matter. Headlines like "Nintendos 'whimsical' simulation erases an entire population of players, and thats intolerable", "Nintendo Responds (Terribly) To Gay Marriage Petition", "Nintendo says no to virtual equality in life game" leave out the title of the game entirely.
Edit: I would also add that two negative stories are trending over a Pokemon announcement today. Awareness is growing, though it probably won't be more well known than quotes about Mama.
Uh, those are tailored trends. Basically, somewhat popular trends personalized to match content you want to see which is why there's no location there.
This is what's actually currently trending (In the USA):
Edit: Although I think there's some personalization with those too, since that's changed to this:
Uh, those are tailored trends. Basically, somewhat popular trends personalized to match content you want to see which is why there's no location there.
This is what's actually currently trending (In the USA):
In any event, the power of Mom still wins. Treat ya mother right.
Cbajd5
Member
Whichever way they go they'll get hassle ......either from the LGBT community.... or rightwing anti-gay marriage Christian and parent groups for "pushing" homosexuality on young children (a group who probably cause Nintendo way more trouble than the LGBT community would).
In Nintendo's position I'd rather not risk the negativity of either group.....so I'd just can the game in the west entirely...or remove all forms of relationship/marriage.
Masquerader
Member
It should be the standard for all games to have, like, every single gender and sexuality and race equally represented, ok? Anyone disagree?
whyreggielie
Member
Well here is the problem, you're not playing Mario and you're not saving princess peach. You're supposed to be guiding people through life and these people may include yourself, not a predefined character set by the developer.
So when a decision comes into play that is totally different than what you envisioned for your character than yes, it becomes a problem. When playing Skyrim I was pretty shocked when the option became available to flirt with another male character. But after thinking about it, this is how it should be. The developer intentionally left out a variable in the code that limited who that player married, whether it be a freakish lizard humanoid type creature or another man. That's how a game like this is supposed to work, with that type of freedom of choice.
To say that they didn't think about gay marriage is completely wrong as they had to incorporate code into the game specifically limiting gender when courting eachother. I'm not saying Nintendo is bigoted but many developers are allowing such options when you have a game that incorporates marriage or romantic partnership. If your players want it you should just give them the option to do it, gay people exist to.
So when a decision comes into play that is totally different than what you envisioned for your character than yes, it becomes a problem. When playing Skyrim I was pretty shocked when the option became available to flirt with another male character. But after thinking about it, this is how it should be. The developer intentionally left out a variable in the code that limited who that player married, whether it be a freakish lizard humanoid type creature or another man. That's how a game like this is supposed to work, with that type of freedom of choice.
To say that they didn't think about gay marriage is completely wrong as they had to incorporate code into the game specifically limiting gender when courting eachother. I'm not saying Nintendo is bigoted but many developers are allowing such options when you have a game that incorporates marriage or romantic partnership. If your players want it you should just give them the option to do it, gay people exist to.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
That may have been what their money/marketing guys told them.
But we know that batting average
This is about as click-bait a headline as you can get...
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...llow-same-sex-relationships-in-tomodachi-life
I mean, they aren't refusing, per say.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...llow-same-sex-relationships-in-tomodachi-life
I mean, they aren't refusing, per say.
Can I just put this whole "kids won't get it" thing to bed?
Kidsat least kids old enough to manipulate a 3DSget that people love other people. They get that women have babies through pregnancy and parents can also adopt kids. Maybe they haven't seen a man who loves another man or same with women, but they are completely capable of processing that on this level, which is all this game is really doing.
This is so not a problem except for parents who are scared to touch the subject. I can sympathize a little if those parents aren't well-equipped to do so, but in that case that they need to just step up and figure it out. It's probably one of the easiest things for a parent to do in 2014.
Source: I'm a parent.
Kidsat least kids old enough to manipulate a 3DSget that people love other people. They get that women have babies through pregnancy and parents can also adopt kids. Maybe they haven't seen a man who loves another man or same with women, but they are completely capable of processing that on this level, which is all this game is really doing.
This is so not a problem except for parents who are scared to touch the subject. I can sympathize a little if those parents aren't well-equipped to do so, but in that case that they need to just step up and figure it out. It's probably one of the easiest things for a parent to do in 2014.
Source: I'm a parent.
How are they not?
You have a strange or sheltered idea of a clickbait title. Either that or you'll have a heart attack if you ever go to a Gawker site.
Blackthorn
"hello?" "this is vagina"
Please tell me about the prices you have had to pay.
You must be so burdened by the weight of an internet thread asking for equal representation.
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
just tweeted in support of this. great video and very well done/put.
rational conversations start with rational and thought-out approaches to the issue, and you've absolutely nailed it Tye!
rational conversations start with rational and thought-out approaches to the issue, and you've absolutely nailed it Tye!
I'm not against gay marriage by any means, but I don't care if the game has same sex marriage involved in it or not. It's a game marketed towards little kids, it's not a social/political commentary game.
Animal Crossing had dress options, which was fine, but now everyone wants same sex marriage in a KIDS game? C'mon. I'm sure you can do all that in the Sims games, but just let Nintendo be Nintendo. They're stubborn as a bull if you ever realized it in the first place. It's not ignorance or disrespect, they just want to appeal to all audiences. If you don't like that Nintendo isn't including the feature, then don't buy it. Or just play it without a romancing option. There's so much more to do in Tomodachi Life but people are losing sight in what the rest of the game is about. Doing stupid silly stuff with friends, playing games, etc.
Animal Crossing had dress options, which was fine, but now everyone wants same sex marriage in a KIDS game? C'mon. I'm sure you can do all that in the Sims games, but just let Nintendo be Nintendo. They're stubborn as a bull if you ever realized it in the first place. It's not ignorance or disrespect, they just want to appeal to all audiences. If you don't like that Nintendo isn't including the feature, then don't buy it. Or just play it without a romancing option. There's so much more to do in Tomodachi Life but people are losing sight in what the rest of the game is about. Doing stupid silly stuff with friends, playing games, etc.
EmCeeGramr
Member
There's opposite sex marriage in this KIDS game.
Blackthorn
"hello?" "this is vagina"
All?
Steve Youngblood
Member
I trust that you can recognize that the bolded does not represent the best argument for such an omission. "Come on, they're just trying to appeal to everyone! ...Except gays!"