Responding to a torrent of fan requests via Twitter campaign "Miiquality," Nintendo has confirmed that same-sex relationships will not be possible in their 3DS sim Tomodachi Life.
Tomodachi Life is an ostensible representation of the player, basing their Mii's life on real-world interactions and acquaintances. A lack of homosexual relationships translates to missed content and broken immersion, many gamers say.
"Nintendo never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of Tomodachi Life," a Nintendo of America representative said in a statement to the Associated Press. "The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that 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."
The game released to a wave of success in Japan last year, having sold close to two million copies in its first year, and will make its way stateside next month. Interestingly, a glitch—better described as the manipulation of character gender and appearance—in the Japanese version allowed homosexual relationships, but was quickly removed with a patch.
It's certainly a he-said, she-said debate, but Tomodachi Life's bumpy ride does raise an interesting point: Everything a major company does makes a statement, whether they intend it to or not.
[ABC News]
