Why won't Ntendo let you be gay s new life simulator? - The Verge

Contents:

• NTENDO APOLOGIZ FOR OMTG GAY MARRIAGE FROM 'TOMODACHI LIFE'
• NTENDO'S REJECTN OF GAY RELATNSHIPS GIV FANS A LOT TO BE ANGRY ABOUT
• NTENDO APOLOGIZ FOR NOT PUTTG GAY MARRIAGE IN TOMODACHI LIFE
• NTENDO KDA, SORTA KEPT S BIG GAY PROMISE
• HOW I MA A NTENDO GAME A LTLE B GAYER
• NTENDO SAYS NO TO GAY WEDDGS UPG GAME
• WHY WON'T NTENDO LET YOU BE GAY S NEW LIFE SIMULATOR?WHY WON'T NTENDO LET YOU BE GAY S NEW LIFE SIMULATOR?
• LOOKS LIKE THERE’S GAY MARRIAGE TOMODACHI LIFE AFTER ALL
• THE BIGGT REASON NTENDO SHOULD ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE IN TOMODACHI LIFE
• NTENDO SAYS GAY MARRIAGE NOT ALLOWED 'TOMODACHI LIFE' VIO GAME
• NTENDO PROMIS GAY UPL TOMODACHI LIFE SEQUEL

NTENDO APOLOGIZ FOR OMTG GAY MARRIAGE FROM 'TOMODACHI LIFE'

They jt n't fall love if they're gay.

NTENDO'S REJECTN OF GAY RELATNSHIPS GIV FANS A LOT TO BE ANGRY ABOUT

More vol, however, was a wispread social media mpaign om Tye Mari, a gay 23-year-old rint of Ma, Ariz., who -- stead of llg for a Tomodachi Life boytt -- asked that supporters tweet wh the hashtag #Miiqualy and ask Ntendo to update the tle to be more clive to Wtern players.

NTENDO APOLOGIZ FOR NOT PUTTG GAY MARRIAGE IN TOMODACHI LIFE

Notably, gay marriage is not legal Japan. Ntendo hted Friday that may allow for gay relatnships future versns of s “Tomodachi Life” vio world’s largt vio game pany has been the target of cricism om gay-rights gamers who plaed that characters aren’t allowed to have same-sex relatnships English edns of the life-simulator game.

NTENDO KDA, SORTA KEPT S BIG GAY PROMISE

”A gay Arizona man, Tye Mari, took to social media last month urgg Ntendo to add same-sex relatnship optns to English versns of the handheld Ntendo 3DS game. "Ntendo has said that the abily for same-sex relatnships to occur was not part of the origal game that lnched Japan, where gay marriage is not legal.

Ntendo me unr fire om fans and gay rights anizatns last week after refg to add same-sex relatnship optns to the game "Tomodachi Life. Already a h Japan, "Tomodachi Life" is set for release June 6 North Ameri and Mari, a 23-year-old gay Ntendo fan om Ma, Arizona, lnched a social media mpaign last month seekg virtual equaly for the game's characters.

"I don't believe they are a homophobic pany at all, " Mari said. "Yet the issue do mark a cultural divi between Japan, where gay marriage is not legal, and North Ameri and Europe, where gay marriage has bee legal some plac.

HOW I MA A NTENDO GAME A LTLE B GAYER

"While many English-language gam don't feature gay characters, several role-playg seri produced by English-speakg velopers, such as Electronic Arts, "The Sims, " Microsoft Studs' `'Fable" and Bethda Softworks' "The Elr Scrolls, " have allowed players to create characters that n woo others of the same sex, as well as marry and have Ntendo said this past week - rponse to Mari's growg mpaign - that wouldn't add same-sex relatnship optns to "Tomodachi Life, " the publisher of such gamg anchis as "The Legend of Zelda" and "Mar Bros. " was lled out by fans and anizatns such as the gay advocy group GLAAD. "Ntendo has taken a first step, but if the pany's longtime valu are rooted `fun and entertament for everyone, ' then needs to tch up to peers like Electronic Arts, which has been clive of LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) gamers for years, " said GLAAD Print and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis a statement.

NTENDO SAYS NO TO GAY WEDDGS UPG GAME

But the game found self at the center of some fairly heavy ntroversy last year that’s rearg s head aga as the wtern dience begs to notice a gapg absence Tomodachi Collectn: there are no gay or lbian relatnships.

Regardls, Ntendo was clearly only tryg to assist s nsumers, but also advertently took an unfortunately jarrg stance on gay marriage.

WHY WON'T NTENDO LET YOU BE GAY S NEW LIFE SIMULATOR?WHY WON'T NTENDO LET YOU BE GAY S NEW LIFE SIMULATOR?

We know Tomodachi Collectn was signed and released whout addrsg the prence and realy of gay and lbian relatnships society, which is eher a severely egreg oversight or a lculated omissn, but which is ? Gay marriage is not yet legal Japan, though there is no law agast homosexual relatnships, and same-sex sexual activy was legalized 1880.

So, Japane society accepts the prence of homosexualy but has yet to grant gays and lbians equal rights.

When polled 2013, 54% of Japane cizens said they thought homosexualy should be accepted their untry.

LOOKS LIKE THERE’S GAY MARRIAGE TOMODACHI LIFE AFTER ALL

There were obvly ncerns about the possible backlash that uld have rulted om a game that ma such a blatant statement about gay rights a untry that has anythg but a universal opn on the matter.

Omtg same-sex upl om Tomodachi Collectn was most likely done an effort to avoid alienatg the percentage of the populatn that don’t approve of gay marriage. It’s te that gay rights are a divisive topic many untri, but when a game is signed around recreatg morn life and marriage you will evably end up upsettg someone.

Tomodachi Life is a life simulator, and as such should reflect real life, where gay, straight, bisexual and transgenr dividuals are all prent. In the meantime, the game’s lack of sexual choice will obvly be a al breaker for some, but let’s all remember that the omissn of gay and lbian upl Tomodachi Collectn was a rult not of spe, but of a pany aaid to change wh the tim. Ntendo isn't allowg gamers to play as gay an upg life simulator game.

THE BIGGT REASON NTENDO SHOULD ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE IN TOMODACHI LIFE

Tye Mari, a gay 23-year-old Ntendo fan om Ma, Arizona, lnched the mpaign last month, urgg Osaka, Japan-based Ntendo Co. " The issue marks not only a cultural divi between Japan, where gay marriage is not legal, and North Ameri and Europe, where gay marriage has bee legal some plac, but also the teractive world, where gam are often pastakgly "lolized" for other regns, meang characters' voic and likens are changed to su different lol and ctoms.

While many English-language gam don't feature gay characters, several role-playg seri produced by English-speakg velopers, such as "The Sims, " "Fable" and "The Elr Scrolls, " have allowed players to create characters that n woo characters of the same sex, as well as marry and have children. Other more narrative-driven gam, like "Grand Theft Auto IV, " "The Last of Us" and "Gone Home, " have clud specific gay, lbian and bisexual characters. Even as the pany ntu to flounr s current state of fancial secury, much of the cricism om fans, tractors and dtry analysts is livered as if om a ncerned iend, rather than a dispassnate changed on Wednday, when Ntendo of Ameri (NOA) rpond to a social media mpaign askg the pany to allow players to enter to gay relatnships s game Tomodachi Life wh a flat nial issued to the Associated pany "never tend to make any form of social mentary wh the lnch of Tomodachi Life", the statement reasoned.

NTENDO SAYS GAY MARRIAGE NOT ALLOWED 'TOMODACHI LIFE' VIO GAME

'Your life', but not if you're gay. But if you make a game that's meant to simulate life – even a "whimsil and quirky versn" of life – and then tell a portn of your players that they're simply not allowed to make an thentic simulatn of their liv, somethg isn't addg the weirst part of Ntendo's jtifitn for effectively banng gay marriage the prec ltle virtual universe of Tomodachi Life is yet to e.

But part of what they loved about , acrdg to a report by my Kotaku lleague Brian Ashcraft, is that there was ially a bug the software that allowed players to dulge gay relatnships – or at least male on. Japane players were "thrilled by the bug, postg photos of their gay upl onle".

NTENDO PROMIS GAY UPL TOMODACHI LIFE SEQUEL

And given s tight-lipped reputatn, the clost we may ever get to hearg anyone om Ntendo speak ndidly about LGBT reprentatn is this week's opaque ncln that is g s sudn anti-gay marriage stance as "an opportuny to better unrstand [s] nsumers and their expectatns" and is "lookg to broan [s] approach to velopment whenever possible" Ntendo – the world's largt vio game pany by revenue – really never thk about the sexual inty of s ctomers before 2014? Whenever the vio game dtry do ask self why ntu to drag s feet on troducg gay characters, however, the answers aren't enuragg. Earlier this year, Assass's Creed veloper Ubisoft let one of s openly gay wrers expla that even he uld not wre a queer protagonist to his own work "bee of fears that 'll impact sal"'s hard to accept that logic sce 's rarely backed up (at least openly) wh actual data.

The same day that Ntendo explaed why didn't feel the need to clu gay marriage s popular sim game, the pany also reported that s earngs for the 2013 fisl year were even lower than the level had pre-emptively lowered them to back January.

And the 3DS, that beloved mobile system on which Tomodachi Life will soon appear for gay and straight gamers alike Ameri, isn't dog so hot eher. Followg wispread ntroversy earlier this week, Ntendo has apologized for not supportg gay marriage Tomodachi Life, promisg that if they do make a sequel, will be "more clive.