On May 9th, Nintendo posted in its official news feed an official apology over the exclusion of same-sex relationships in their game Tomodachi Life for the Nintendo 3DS. The short post, titled, “We are committed to fun and entertainment for everyone,” is only one paragraph long, and does little to excuse their choice to not include same-sex relationships. Instead, Nintendo offers reasons for why it cannot be included by a patch, and a rather vague promise to include same-sex relationships in the next sequel (if it’s ever made).
“We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game’s design, and such a significant development change can’t be accomplished with a post-ship patch. At Nintendo, dedication has always meant going beyond the games to promote a sense of community, and to share a spirit of fun and joy. We are committed to advancing our longtime company values of fun and entertainment for everyone. We pledge that if we create a next installment in the Tomodachi series, we will strive to design a game-play experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players.”
– Nintendo
Via “What’s New” post
I doubt I’m the only one to question the true sincerity of this “apology.” Especially when Nintendo practically buried the post in the midst of several other posts on a Friday, in what I, personally, can only assume is a hope that few journalists would find the post. I’m also a bit annoyed at the verbiage of the apology as well; specifically the, “We apologize for disappointing many people,” part. It’s arguable that this is an apology for pissing people off, and not for their unpopular choice of the exclusion of same-sex relationships. I’ll leave it to you to decide if this was deliberate or not.
With so many other games including content beyond the typical heterosexual themed gameplay, it’s surprising that Nintendo would miss something like this. However, there might be some reasons behind it as well. Tomodachi Life is not even released in North American markets yet – currently it’s slated for a June 6th release – but the game has been out in Japan since April of last year. So why has it taken so long for this apology to come out? This might need some explanation.
There is a rather offensive sounding theory coined from the Dennis Altman 1997 essay “Global Gaze,” which is known as “Global Queering through Capitalism.” The basis of this theory is the global culture of a homosexual community and the connections made between countries. There is a fairly active and lively debate going on about this theory, but one outstanding point is the lack of Eastern cultures and the effect of this trend. Another essay by Mark J. McLelland, titled, “Male homosexuality and popular culture in modern Japan,” offers the somewhat existentialistic understanding that the gay and lesbian culture of Japan often views through the eyes of the Western culture. McLelland goes on to explain that the idea of “coming out,” is often not a desirable decision for many gay and lesbian people as “it necessarily involves adopting a confrontational stance against mainstream lifestyles and values.”
I bring this up because it calls into question the timing of Nintendo’s apology as it is possible that there was not the same outcry of Tomodachi Life’s exclusion of same-sex relationships as there have been from the Western audience, where it’s often considered a negative to be “in-the-closet.”
So is it possible that Nintendo honestly did not see this coming? Is it even possible that they still do not understand the outcry?
One thing is for certain: Nintendo is now aware of it, regardless of their understanding of the Western LBGT culture/community. Hopefully, they are truly sincere in their words and are, “committed to advancing [their] longtime company values of fun and entertainment for everyone.”
Do you believe Nintendo has learned from their mistake? Do you feel they were justified in their decision? Let us know in the comments below, but keep it civil and don’t be an ignorant bigot.
Written by Variand
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I was unaware of that glitch. Seems to me like they could have just done a patch to fix the fatal defect, but leave the “glitch.”
I honestly don’t believe Nintendo purposely and deliberately decided AGAINST in the inclusion of LGBT content, but I do feel their lack of foresight or community awareness IS a problem. Between things like this and Microsoft repeatedly folding to Fan/Community pressures, does this not show a damning ignorance to their audience/consumers?
I hope Nintendo learns their lesson and maybe hires a couple of anthropologists or even just some western consultants for future games, not just Tomodachi Life sequels.
Here’s a quick blurb on it:
http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-patching-tomodachi-collection-to-address-glitch-that-allows-for-gay-relationships/
So apparently it only happened with male characters, and it happened as a result of mii transferring stuff.
I still think they could have patched it without removing it, but maybe transferring between games complicated matters (hell if I know).
Anyway, I’m with you. I don’t think it was part of an evil agenda to enforce heteronormativity, but the absence is conspicuous. The only defense I can offer is that it doesn’t seem like Tomodachi was planned to be an international series (not that that absolves them but you get what I’m saying).
That said, NOA and NOE handle the Western end of Nintendo’s business, so a lack of Western input or familiarity isn’t a huge issue. I mean, Animal Crossing: New Leaf was tailored for an international audience, so the game has different holidays and cultural references depending on what region it’s sold in. If anything, that just makes the absence more confounding.
The more cynical side of me is worried Nintendo is afraid of losing a lot of its audience by alienating the i̶d̶i̶o̶t̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶n̶y̶ ̶b̶a̶s̶i̶c̶ ̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶u̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ more socially conservative customers, but the fact that they issued an apology at all instead of COMPLETELY side-stepping it gives me some hope.
*only males could have same sex relationships.
I wonder how difficult it would have been to remove the harmful parts of the glitch but retain the ability for male couples…and add the ability to have female couples.
I think it’s better than nothing, and honestly more than I expected from a company as dodgy with controversy as Ninty. That said, they could have done better, and I hope they *do* address the complaint in future Tomo-titles (assuming they have them).
I don’t think it’s inherently wrong of them to exclude homosexuality in the game–I see it as an honest oversight, or something that just didn’t occur to them. That said, there was a glitch that allowed for same-sex couples in the original Japanese release. It was fixed in a patch, but only because the game would screw up over time or something. Thing is, they removed the ability to have same sex couples in the process. So…I don’t know.
BASICALLY I HOPE THEY’RE SRS ABOUT INCLUDING IT IN THE FUTURE.