Nintendo Says No To Same Sex Relationships For Tomodachi Miis

[Worgen]

I don't think this is out of malice or anything, Nintendo just has a long tradition of not wanting to be yelled at by religious nut jobs. They didn't like any religious iconography on games released on their systems, they had midway remove the blood from Mortal Kombat 1, and they wouldn't allow Binding of Issac to be released on the ds or 3ds.

 

[xaszatm]

I don't think this is out of malice or anything, Nintendo just has a long tradition of not wanting to be yelled at by religious nut jobs. They didn't like any religious iconography on games released on their systems, they had midway remove the blood from Mortal Kombat 1, and they wouldn't allow Binding of Issac to be released on the ds or 3ds.

When it comes to issues of LGBTQ, if you're not with us then you're part of the problem.

The biggest issue being faced is apathy or indifference to the issue and having it be ignored.

Well, that's one more company to add to the block list for homophobia.

Such a shame, I really liked Nintendo too.

I wouldn't be so quick to judge them, they've got to keep in mind what the current viewpoint in their home country is as opposed to what they may feel.

Home country view is irrelevant when they're so deeply involved with Western affairs.

Well to be fair, people asked for a game that was already made, be brought over for the west, so they did. Despite the bad reporting, this was never an option in the game, and the US version is the same code as the original version. the game wasn't made with western affairs in mind.

Then it should have been in the original game.

We didn't excuse Chik-fil-a for coming from a Christian background and we shouldn't excuse Nintendo here.

Look, the "You're either with us or you're against us" mentality will not be healthy for the LGBQT community. People who are "against" us fall into two different groups: hate and ignorance. People who hate the LGBQT community are people in which the more vile tools of protest, while not encouraged always, are certainly understandable. People who are ignorant of said biases, however, must be made known about the bias. Attacking people who are ignorant are a fast way to make people hate the attacker. Knowledge and understanding is what is ultimately required for the LGBQT community to be universally accepted in the world community. By attack blindly with anyone who disagrees with you without checking to see why they disagree with you will do more bad than good in the long run.

 

[Worgen]

I don't think this is out of malice or anything, Nintendo just has a long tradition of not wanting to be yelled at by religious nut jobs. They didn't like any religious iconography on games released on their systems, they had midway remove the blood from Mortal Kombat 1, and they wouldn't allow Binding of Issac to be released on the ds or 3ds.

When it comes to issues of LGBTQ, if you're not with us then you're part of the problem.

The biggest issue being faced is apathy or indifference to the issue and having it be ignored.

I didn't say it wasn't a dumb thing to not allow same sex relationships. It's just that if there was a console maker who would initially take the stance of "no same sex stuff" it would be nintendo. They usually back track when they find out that the outcry for not allowing it is greater then the idiots they initially tried to placate with their initial stance. As we saw with Mortal Kombat 2.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

I don't know, does the real blame lie with Nintendo or the shit heads who will loose their minds over same sex marriage being included?

Sure, you could argue that Nintendo has a social responsibility to push gay marriage so as not to add to the stigma against it as something "strange".

But then on the other hand, Nintendo has a reputation for being "family friendly" in the States and I'm sure that they aren't blind to the controversies it's caused in the past.

Granted in the two examples I'm thinking of, the Old Republic and Mass Effect, were made by EA, a company many feel are more "soulless" corporate entities concerned with the bottom line, so you could argue that the "strictly business" argument doesn't really work in this case.

On the other hand (how many hands to be have by now, four?) the people making the decisions for Nintendo are based half way across the world and therefore have a different world view to those at EA. I am hesitant to make any broad assumptions about an entire culture, but I feel that this decision fits into the "don't rock the boat" mentality that is supposedly pervasive in Japanese culture. Add to the fact that Nintendo hasn't been too hot financially lately with the failure to launch of the Wii +, and I can understand, if not excuse totally excuse Nintendo making this decision.

I also have two additional question that I hope you could humor.

1. If Japan had same sex implemented in Japan and not the states, would you feel angry at Nintendo, or ashamed of your country?

2. To those wanting to boycott Nintendo, if they do relent and add same sex partnerships to the game will you continue to boycott?

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Silly Nintendo, you can't escape politics.

Really they might as well, saying "gay people exist" really isn't social commentary. And I doubt anybody would be that offended since they already have heterosexual relationships in the game.

 

[saltyanon]

When it comes to issues of LGBTQ, if you're not with us then you're part of the problem.

The biggest issue being faced is apathy or indifference to the issue and having it be ignored.

So someone from a group that hates blanket statements and painting people in broad strokes is doing exactly that. Please, go on. I really do love it when the hypocrisy in identity/representation seeking groups emerge like this.

People aren't required to care about you or your problems. It's not morally wrong nor morally right. You're not entitled to sympathy. No one is.

 

[Genocidicles]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

A stance of apathy is probably the most sensible way to go... it'd draw the least amount of rage.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

You can't avoid making social commentary. The smart money is on allowing same sex Mii marriage (As ridiculous as that was to type) Purely on a practical level. I doubt many homophobic skinheads will be playing the game.

 

[Legion]

I don't think this is out of malice or anything, Nintendo just has a long tradition of not wanting to be yelled at by religious nut jobs. They didn't like any religious iconography on games released on their systems, they had midway remove the blood from Mortal Kombat 1, and they wouldn't allow Binding of Issac to be released on the ds or 3ds.

When it comes to issues of LGBTQ, if you're not with us then you're part of the problem.

The irony is attitudes such as this are what cause so many people to avoid getting involved. I care about LGBT rights but I'd rather stay silent than be associated with people who use bullying and aggression as their means of getting them.

If somebody wishes to act morally superior it's best they act moral in the first place.

 

[xaszatm]

Well, that's one more company to add to the block list for homophobia.

Such a shame, I really liked Nintendo too.

It's not about homophobia as much as trying to avoid controversy, controversy that might drastically hurt sales in some regions.

Regardless of your stance on the issue it's worth saying that it still is a hotly debated and controversial issue that has also been highly politicized.

However it shows that they have no sense over at Nintendo. if it was a bug, genuinely, they should have just shrugged and left it as is.

'Programmers weren't thinking of that possible result when they coded'

Sort of like the person who designed the digital display for calculator never thought about people using 80085 to spell out 'BOOBS'

And left it at that statement. In an attempt to avoid making social commentary by having the bug in the game have made just as much if not louder social commentary by removing the bug SO again Nintendo, maybe you know... think...

The thing is, there was no bug that did that. That was a simple mistranslation of the article. Said article was about two different things. The first was a bug involving transferring characters from the DS tomadachi to the 3DS one. The second was about how people got around there being no homosexual option: by cross-dressing. There was no homosexual glitch. And even if the transfer glitch somehow caused the homosexual baby, they fixed it because the transfer glitch corrupted the save file and risked damaging the 3DS itself.

 

[epicdwarf]

Ok so from the sound of it Nintendo is in one hefty pickle. They are shipping the same game to the states, but the LGBT community is angry that there is no same-sex relation-ships. Why not just request it to be a feature in the sequel or a free update? Saying "NINDTENDO IS HOMOPHOBIC AND MUST BE PUNISHED IF THEY DON'T GIVE ME WHAT I WANT" will solve nothing. In fact, it may result in Nintendo from localizing and releasing more games in the US.

 

[Adam Locking]

Well, that's one more company to add to the block list for homophobia.

Such a shame, I really liked Nintendo too.

I wouldn't be so quick to judge them, they've got to keep in mind what the current viewpoint in their home country is as opposed to what they may feel.

They've had gay relationships in children's shows for at least a decade over there, and while it was somewhat controversial (as it would be over here) it shows that there is unlikely to be a cultural reason for it being disallowed, probably just time and effort.

 

[DaViller]

I have read the polygon article on this issue and maan, they are pissed of as hell (well at least that one chick who wrote it was). *Finger crossed* Could this be a new dragons crown situation? Might be worth preparing some popcorn.

 

[Cecilo]

Meh. I am just growing ever more tired of the constant "Wars" or "Crusades" That take place online. With each one I grow ever more tired of them, with the "You must hate this person, or this thing, or you are a bigot".

 

[Evonisia]

So Nintendo is basically keeping it's home country's laws in mind. Still, it does defeat the point of virtual reality, in that it's nothing like reality.

Oh well, Nintendo was only going to get negative attention if it addressed this issue or it didn't.

 

[MrMan999]

This is a damned if you do damned if you don't situation. On one hand, if you do include Homosexual pairings in the game, Fox News and The American Right will be all over your ass, and like it or not they are still a big part of the market and can do a lot of damage. And Nintendo has always tried to stay away from controversy. On the other hand, if they don't include same sex couples in the game, they earn the ire of the Social Justice Crowd and the gaming press (which has already had it out for Nintendo since they started doing Directs).

That said I would wholeheartedly support Nintendo if they decide to include Same Sex couples in the next Tomodachi games. If of course the Controversy doesn't sour their view on the game in the west alltogether.