Nintendo is under fire for their upcoming 3DS title Tomodachi Life, which doesn't allow for same-sex relationships. Protests and online campaigns have been started to make the video game giant reconsider their decision but they are sticking with it, and people are angry.
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Tomodachi Life looks like a ridiculous, fun game, the kind of quirky title that would draw in a huge audience for NIntendo. The game features an island full of Miis, the Nintendo avatars, and much of the game is concerned about the Miis' relationships- you can become friends or rivals or even marry them. Not if they're the same sex, though.
A report from Kotaku reported about that an online campaign called "Miiquality" that was started by Tye Marini, who wants Nintendo to change their mind about that decision, creating Facebook and Twitter pages to help get the word out. He argues, correctly, that a large portion of Nintendo's fanbase are LGBTQ gamers or those who support them, but Nintendo is sticking to its guns on this issue.
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"Nintendo never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of Tomodachi Life," the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "The relationship options in the game represent a whimsical and playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We are a games company first and foremost and our main objective is to create games and consoles for players to enjoy."
That's a pretty lousy answer from Nintendo. Wouldn't it have been easier to not program a restriction in the game that restricts you to one form of marriage? Much as in other backwards countries like our own, same-sex marriages aren't legal in Japan, although according to new surveys the tide of public opinion is turning there as it is everywhere.
Nintendo may not go back and change this game, especially since it's so close to its release on June 6, but protests like this are important for companies to think more closely about their decisions in the future.
