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Nintendo Apologizes For Not Allowing Same-Sex Relationships In Life Sim Game

An anonymous reader writes "Nintendo has been taking heat recently for their decision not to allow same sex relationships in Tomodachi Life, an upcoming life simulation game for the 3DS. An advocacy group for LGBT issues said, 'In purposefully limiting players' relationship options, Nintendo is not only sending a hurtful message to many of its fans and consumers by excluding them, but also setting itself way behind the times.' The group also pointed out that The Sims allowed such choices over a decade ago. Nintendo originally replied that the game was not intended to be social commentary, and pointed out that the U.S. release of Tomodachi Life is just a localization of the Japanese version (gay marriage is not legal in Japan). Now Nintendo has officially apologized for 'failing to include same-sex relationships' in the game, and they promised to build a more inclusive experience if they make a sequel."

384 comments

  1. Japanese version? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, I can marry my purple tentacle with my demon-hunter magical schoolgirl?

    1. Re:Japanese version? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's plenty of sex, but I've never seen that lead to Marriage?

    2. Re:Japanese version? by arth1 · · Score: 1

      An AC wrote:

      There's plenty of sex, but I've never seen that lead to Marriage?

      It's the other way around:
      There's plenty of marriage, but I've never seen that lead to Sex.

  2. What this means is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nintendo will no longer publish this type of game outside of Japan. Either that, or they go back to region locking to the extreme... Where even if you have a NA version of the console, it will not work if located in Japan, because this kind of thing is illegal in their country.

    1. Re:What this means is... by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      Wouldn't it be easier to have the games check for the console's country setting and do things differently according to national laws?

    2. Re:What this means is... by tepples · · Score: 1

      Good luck getting that to work reliably without privacy advocates lambasting Nintendo for using IPv4 address geolocation, especially on a console that doesn't yet have a credit card linked to eShop. Someone might be buying all games as discs/cartridges or might be using only gift cards with eShop.

    3. Re:What this means is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so in muslim countries you can marry as many people as you want as well as beat the women?

      Or if you are in a radical muslim country, you go and kidnap your wives and force them into slavery?

    4. Re:What this means is... by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      No geolocation, the console's firmware would contain the ID for the country.

    5. Re: What this means is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But is it illegal to marry _in_a_game_ in Japan? Regardless it's not Nintendos job to uphold the law, and last time I checked it was also illegal to kill people like you do in most other games.

    6. Re:What this means is... by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Do you know how fat the program would have to be to fit in every country's law books?

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    7. Re: What this means is... by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      last time I checked it was also illegal to kill people like you do in most other games.

      Note that nintendo is primerally a maker of childrens/family games. That means that when considering what to include in a game they not only have to think about whether it will make the game illegal but about what it will do to the age rating of the game in various countries arround the world. They also have to think about what parents will think of it.

      Notice how in games for little children you tend to kill monsters instead of people and in games for mid teenagers if you kill people it's in certain situations where it's either accepted by society (e.g. war) or far removed from current reality (e.g. the enemies have been possessed by aliens). There are games where you kill people in a gangland setting but they have higher age restriction on them.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    8. Re: What this means is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope there's. A dogfucker version too, else all the deviant dog-loving kids won't get to accurately portray their interspecies lust. These children will most certainly be Left Behind, George W. BUSH will cry, and his tears will corrode the tubes that make up our internet, thus leading to inevitable internetworked apocalypse. This is why caving to spiteful LGBT tactics was wrong in the first place. Shame on Nintendo for sending such a negative message to underaged bestialists.

    9. Re: What this means is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But is it illegal to marry _in_a_game_ in Japan? Regardless it's not Nintendos job to uphold the law, and last time I checked it was also illegal to kill people like you do in most other games.

      It's their job to follow the law, and there are laws which limit what you can sell to kids.

      But more importantly, if they want to be accepted by consumers as a maker of "family friendly" games, then they will adhere to the social standards in that society as to what is considered as acceptable to show to the WHOLE family. And in the US this still means "no gay marriage", just like it means no graphic violence, no overt sexual themes, and no illegal/immoral behavior.

    10. Re: What this means is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This, this is what a good troll looks like. The amateur slobs that pass for trolls these days could learn something.

  3. bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Society is sure bending over for something like 1% of the population.

    We should treat drug addicts and alcoholics as lovingly.

    1. Re:bah! by Khyber · · Score: 2

      "Society is sure bending over for something like 1% of the population."

      One percent? You'd better start citing sources.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    2. Re: bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol citing sources. This is a fucken web forum, not a pet reviewed journal you pompous douche.

    3. Re: bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I do love "pet reviewed" journals. Apparently 9/10 kitten scientists agree that you're a dickhead. The remainder thinks you're an asshole. Seeing as your all for claims without any evidence to back them up I'm sure you won't have a problem with this. :)

  4. Overreacting by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is just dumb. It's a game!

    I'm all for LGBT rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it don't include your sexual orientation..? I dunno about that. What's next? Is the LGBT community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

    Besides, no one complained about Harvest Moon, another game that only permits heterosexual marriages. So what! It's a game!

    1. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Now read that with s/LGBT/Black/

      Not that I completely disagree, but if you're going to make a 'life simulation' game localized to a given market, then it's not all that far-fetched to make it reflect the (aggregate) society of that localization, or accept that you'll get complaints if you don't.

      Ultimately Nintendo's solution is to say "we'll look at it IF we make a sequel" - it's not much of a commitment, more of a PR strategy.

    2. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is just dumb. It's a game!

      I'm all for LGBT rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it don't include your sexual orientation..? I dunno about that. What's next? Is the LGBT community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

      Besides, no one complained about Harvest Moon, another game that only permits heterosexual marriages. So what! It's a game!

      Yep, it's a game. Don't like it, don't buy it.

      Good Lord, the "If you were "tolerant" like *ME*, you'd do what *I* tell you!" crowd really needs to STFU.

      But first, learn the fucking definition of "tolerant".

    3. Re:Overreacting by pla · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Now read that with s/LGBT/animals/.

      Now read that with s/LGBT/power tools/.

      I completely support the right of gays to marry (to the extent that I support any marriage, an institution I wholly reject, as does my long-term partner). But this amounts to a purely manufactured controversy. The game contains what it contains; don't like it? Don't play it. Send a message with your wallet, rather than pissing and moaning about a game you didn't create not behaving like you want it to.

    4. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apon reading the article and having experience with the Wii, this apparently uses peoples Mii characters or some such global character that is part of the system and beyond any one game.

      For many people to be denied their personal choices in their online persona or avatars programmatically is pretty close to google saying you can't be gay on their profile pages.

      Unfortunately a lot of adults support the Nintendo company, and legitimately so many parents who are probably LGBT. So this activisim is not neccissarily uncalled for. But TBH it would have been better if the console market wasn't so syndicated LGBT people could just put their own LGBT software on the consoles. And leave Nintendo to be retards.

      This however is not the case. And this is the end result. Deal with it, sunglasses.gif

      (Yes, this post may be seen as highly insulting, but it is meant to be entirely informative, OP's assumptions were highly insulting)

    5. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's just an attention grabber. Pick anything that doesn't include gay marriage, talk like it's a tragedy and a sin, and you get air time. This is the way media works, and it's all just PR stuff.

    6. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Send a message with your wallet, rather than pissing and moaning about a game you didn't create not behaving like you want it to.

      So, they can boycott the game all they want, they just can't tell anyone about it?

    7. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about presenting the option 10% of the time or whatever the raio of gays to straights is, instead of pretending it's 50/50.

    8. Re:Overreacting by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      Exactly, Im shocked that no one has started a kickstarter campaign to create a game that makes them (or any group that feels under represented) happy. If the outrage is legit and not just faux outrage, the campaign should succeed

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    9. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Now read that with s/LGBT/animals/.

      Now read that with s/LGBT/power tools/.

      Yes, and that's the 'slippery slope' argument one could make.

      However, "reflect the (aggregate) society of that localization". What society are you living in where you can legally marry animals and/or power tools, and are either of those characters that you [i]can[/i] play as in the first place?

    10. Re:Overreacting by s.petry · · Score: 1

      PR for who and what though? I don't know this game, but seriously doubt large differences with other Nintendo games. Characters are usually displayed as asexual, or at least you can make the male characters look very feminine. Since this is imagination based, I really don't see a huge LGBT issue. Can't someone make character look feminine and name the character "Rie" or something so that their imagination can make it appear to be a same sex marriage?

      The comparison to "The Sims" is telling. Sims may be able to have same sex relationships, but don't get the same perks as straight couples which is why there are thousands of hacks for the game. Wanting realism from computer characters who will talk on the phone until they pee themselves, or starve to death with a fridge full of food, shows a pretty strong level of delusion. Good grief, it may take an hour in game time for 2 Sims to figure out how to walk through the same door and one of them may give up trying to move and you want "realism"? That is absurd.

      As to the s/LGBT/Black/ really? That is an argument that does not exist. The bright orange skinned female can marry the purple skinned male, and neither of those people exist in the real world. As with above, demanding a realistic society aggregate when the game is not reality is absurd.

      I'm with the person you responded to. I agree that there are real issues of discrimination, and I'm all for free will (do the Liberty chant). PR like this diminishes the real issues of discrimination. For posterity, liberty is not forcing your belief on to other people but letting you choose your own path (some in the LGBT organization forget this).

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    11. Re:Overreacting by Andtalath · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's entertainment.
      Entertainment in a large fashion dictates what is ok and normal.
      Every bit of acceptance is good.

      This is also the matter of people noticing that a feature is lacking in their game.
      It's the same type of complaint, in a fashion, as when you can't play games in a LAN unless you are connected to the internet.
      It's an unneccesary addition specifically not allowing two people to get together.

    12. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a game's going to claim to be a life simulator, and then it does something that invalidates the lives of a big chunk of the population, that's a subtle form of discrimination.

      Imagine if the wii only allowed the creation of white and asian avatars. (Or if you're part of those groups, imagine if it only allowed black avatars.) Or imagine if this game forbade interracial marriage.

      I don't want an empty apology from Nintendo; I want them to spend 20 minutes editing their code to make the game non-discriminatory.

    13. Re:Overreacting by Guppy06 · · Score: 2

      Why are LGBT discriminated against if not for how they're portrayed (or deliberately not portrayed) in art and culture?

    14. Re:Overreacting by BrendaEM · · Score: 0

      It's just a game until someone makes a game where you are not valid.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    15. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember a little thing in the US called the African-American civil rights movement? Racial equality wasn't achieved by black people voting with their wallets.

    16. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is just dumb. It's a game!

      I'm all for black rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it don't include your race..? I dunno about that. What's next? Is the black community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

      Besides, no one complained about Harvest Moon, another game that only permits white characters. So what! It's a game!

    17. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, your main argument is people are not allowed to criticise things which they do not like?

    18. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My mom's basement, along with the rest of the Slashdot residents? Fluffy and I are very happy, but my open relationship with Dremel Dorothy is turning into a scheduling problem.

    19. Re:Overreacting by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      What about adoption? Children without marriage? Poly-amorous relationships? Common enough in my area that no one blinks an eye, and yet they're not in the game.

      Let's face it - Tomodachi Life is the Tamagotchi of sims. Dead simple, based on really simple rules, and with little actual simulation of anything. So gay relationships - yeah, I'm not surprised they were left out.

      Personally, I think the biggest mistake by Nintendo was to use Miis instead of other, customizable avatars. At that point, you're waiting to piss someone off because their preferred lifestyle is impossible in the game.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    20. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 1

      PR for who and what though?

      Just to address this bit - I meant specifically as a defense strategy, as Nintendo had been painted negatively in the news, especially after their first response's gaffe;
      http://abcnews.go.com/Entertai...

      ( As opposed to saying "you're right, that is a bit odd isn't it? we'll make a patch available in the coming weeks." or sticking to the "the game is what it is and the code and content simply doesn't allow for gay marriages - don't like it? don't play it." (paraphrased) )

    21. Re:Overreacting by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 4, Interesting

      For younger contributors, I do remember the first 'interracial', actually the first black/white, kiss on television. It was on Star Trek, and it caused some fascinating chats among my friends

                          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...

      It did cause a lot of controversy at the time. Among my very few contacts from so long ago, the universal agreement is that Nichelle Nichols was, and remains, a stunning woman woman whom any of us would be proud to have kissed at any point in her career.

    22. Re:Overreacting by Noxal · · Score: 2

      The game contains what it contains; don't like it? Don't play it. Send a message with your wallet, rather than pissing and moaning about a game you didn't create not behaving like you want it to.
      How about I do both?

    23. Re:Overreacting by thesandtiger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Kind of funny that you're using YOUR voice to suggest other people shouldn't use theirs.

      You're pissing and moaning on Slashdot because other people aren't behaving how you want them to.

      Speaking with your wallet and your wallet alone does nothing - how do the people you're boycotting know why you're boycotting? Speaking up with your wallet and your voice is far more powerful.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    24. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is just dumb. It's a game!

      Usually this wouldn't be that much of a deal.
      The problem is that there are people who actively put their nose into what other people does with their lives and for example want to have a say into who may marry who and such.
      This has led to a situation where we can't just let oversights like this slide because if we do any active attempt to limit someones life choices will just be excused without discussion.

      Once same sex marriage stops being controversial things like this will become a non-issue and just considered a regular bug that can be fixed in the next patch or whatever.

    25. Re:Overreacting by jez9999 · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'm all for LGBT rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it don't include your sexual orientation..? I dunno about that. What's next? Is the LGBT community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

      No... but they might start demanding that CEOs be fired for small private contributions to a campaign whose message is contrary to their opinion about how marriage should be redefined...

    26. Re:Overreacting by ArcadeMan · · Score: 3, Funny

      As an anime catgirl lover, I strongly oppose all games which don't offer me cute anime catgirls as a character choice.

    27. Re:Overreacting by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Scare quotes around a phrase the GP poster didn't even make.

      The world is becoming a whatever place. It generally doesn't get 'better' or worse. It just plods along. Sameasiteverwas.

      If it pleases you to think otherwise, enjoy.

    28. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What about adoption? Children without marriage? Poly-amorous relationships? Common enough in my area that no one blinks an eye, and yet they're not in the game.

      Yes, but then you're actually arguing my point for me. Marriage is in the game. It's just that there's a check in the code that says "if (MiiA.gender == m && MiiB.gender == f) { okiedoke; }" which quite actively blocks two male or two female Miis from marrying each other.

      Unless, of course, you view 'gay marriage' as distinctly different from 'straight marriage', because then your argument makes sense.

    29. Re:Overreacting by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      You consider it relevant whether games 'validate' you? How sad.

    30. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but they might start demanding that CEOs be fired for small private contributions to a campaign whose message is contrary to their opinion

      Oh noes! The one percent being held to the same standard they hold their employees!

    31. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would Japan make a game with black people in it?

    32. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's still just a game after that. Maybe you should stop relying on games to validate your pathetic existence.

    33. Re:Overreacting by AdamHaun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm all for LGBT rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it don't include your sexual orientation..?

      You're talking like this is a small thing, like the game didn't include their exact hair color or that one shirt they like to wear. People were upset because Nintendo was pretending that their relationship with their spouse did not and could not exist. That's not a small thing in a "life simulator", nor is it an attitude that's limited to games. And when Nintendo was called on it, they tried to dodge the issue rather than confronting it.

      A better question is, what about this bothers you so much? Regardless of what kind of product it is, customers (potential and actual) have every right to criticize it. This is core game functionality. What's wrong with talking about it?

      What's next? Is the LGBT community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

      I'm not sure what you're exactly trying to say with that, but Disney might be a bit ahead of you there.

      --
      Visit the
    34. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very well, s/LGBT/children/.
      Face it, children are getting married in barbaric countries, and have been for thousands of years. Why do You oppress pedophiles so much? I smell an islamic fatwah for not portraying Aisha enough.

    35. Re:Overreacting by Lord+Kano · · Score: 0, Troll

      Can we please stop with the "gay is the new black" nonsense?

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    36. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 2

      By all means, offer up a better parallel. Not that these issues should need parallels, but some people apparently do.

      QS

    37. Re:Overreacting by BrendaEM · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I validate my pathetic existence by fighting ignorance.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    38. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To understand, I suggest reading a couple of articles by Derald Wing Sue found on Psychology Today. They are " Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life and " Microaggressions: More than Just Race ." These two articles outline the modern concept of micro aggressions.

      One of the central tenets of the microaggression "theory" is that the intent behind the aggression is irrelevant. It is the how the act causes the recipient to feel. Thus, if you innocently make a joke about something to which I take offense, then it would be a microaggression. Though, presumably, one cannot be aggressive towards me because I am a white, straight male. (His concept is built upon the idea of Critical Race Theory. Within CRT, it's impossible for people to be racist towards whites because racism is viewed as a result of the structures and institutions built upon white supremacy. It also places more value on a person's experience than the facts surrounding the issue.)

      This mode of thinking has become so poisonous that last year there was a sit-in to protest a professor at UCLA for correcting grammar along with other things. The argument advanced by the students was that he was correct grammar along ideological lines. Hence, it was a micro aggression.

    39. Re:Overreacting by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      All they have to do is name the male Lead in every disney movie "kelly" or "pat" and the LGBT cant complain. suddenly it's not a big dude that is marrying the princess, it's a Lesbian.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    40. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "This is just dumb. They are just movies!"
      "This is just dumb. They are just games!"
      "This is just dumb. They are just books!"
      etc.

      Don't you see discrimination here?

      Don't you realize that people will see UNNATURAL homosexual relationship because they were TEACHED that only different sex is THE OPTION?

      Don't you know Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 1, says (caps mine): "ALL HUMAN BEINGS are born free and EQUAL IN dignity and RIGHTS." Well, so far, I still think I'm human. Heteros have the rights to marry and adopt. SO DO I. Full stop. Christians, Mariano Rajoy (Spanish President), Putin (Russian President), Jews, Muslims, etc. All of them can go a fuck the hell over.

      NO ONE SHITS IN MY RIGHTS AS HUMAN.

    41. Re:Overreacting by Lord+Kano · · Score: 0

      Discrimination against left handers is more akin go what gay people experience.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    42. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Show some fucking class, you piece of shit.

    43. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No it won't. This is not about same-sex marriage. It's about acceptance and validation.

    44. Re:Overreacting by Idarubicin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Now read that with s/LGBT/Black/

      Now read that with s/LGBT/animals/.

      Which is totally sound reasoning, if you would like to make the assertion that "LGBT people", "black people", and "animals" are all proper subsets of the group "people". Or, alternatively, that "LGBT people", "black people", and "animals" are all not subsets of the group "people". Which one of those arguments did you want to plant your flag on?

      Don't play it. Send a message with your wallet, rather than pissing and moaning about a game you didn't create not behaving like you want it to.

      Welcome to America, where we have now passed through the stage where money is equivalent to speech and reached the point where money is the only socially-acceptable form of speech.

      Don't like what other people are saying about the game, pla? Guess you should stop pissing and moaning about it, and just not give any money to the people whose behaviour you disagree with. You know--follow your own advice.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    45. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 1

      Well, I agree that whatever relationship people have with their right/left hand is none of our business either, I'm not sure that's quite as apt an analogy.

      Maybe if a Mii can be specified to be left-/right-handed, and then only right-handed Miis can marry, I can see some points being raised by interdextrous marriage proponents and angry internet letters being written about homodextrophobia.

    46. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, that rhetorical trick doesn't work as well as you think it does.

    47. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Besides, no one complained about Harvest Moon, another game that only permits heterosexual marriages. So what! It's a game!

      Actually, yes, people have. At least one Harvest Moon game added an option where you can have a same-sex "best friend" to live with you, and magically be presented with a child together. But that's not marriage, and therefore wasn't good enough. I've also seen complaints about Rune Factory not allowing same-sex marriage.

    48. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This localization argument fails. Hobbits, elves, werewolves, aliens, etc.

    49. Re:Overreacting by pla · · Score: 1

      Which one of those arguments did you want to plant your flag on?

      I see in hindsight how folks could take my point the wrong way. I actually just meant "X are not subsets of the features of this game", trying to stay on the original topic as much as possible. I could (and perhaps should) also have used "shooting Nazi zombies" and "intergalactic trade missions" to express my point, though I don't feel those would have come across quite so sharply (for good or for bad).


      Welcome to America, where we have now passed through the stage where money is equivalent to speech and reached the point where money is the only socially-acceptable form of speech.

      I bemoan that exact point often. I don't, however, feel it really appropriate to use my free speech rights to complain about game content. Sure, I may bitch about flaky RNGs every now and then, but that doesn't really reach the level of starting an outright movement to force the publisher's hand to include content I want but they did not.

    50. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it's not, and you know it, liar.

    51. Re:Overreacting by buchner.johannes · · Score: 1

      I'm all for LGBT rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it don't include your sexual orientation..? I dunno about that. What's next? Is the LGBT community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

      Now read that with s/LGBT/animals/.

      Now read that with s/LGBT/power tools/.

      I completely support the right of gays to marry (to the extent that I support any marriage, an institution I wholly reject, as does my long-term partner). But this amounts to a purely manufactured controversy. The game contains what it contains; don't like it? Don't play it. Send a message with your wallet, rather than pissing and moaning about a game you didn't create not behaving like you want it to.

      Ehm, there are Disney movies about animals and power tools, you know?

      And they were not made because someone cried "Is the power tools community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?" Mostly because they can not speak. Except in Disney movies. Where we empathize with them. Like with humans irregardless of race, sexual orientation and use of the word irregardless ...

      --
      NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
    52. Re:Overreacting by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 1

      I disagree entirely!

      Demon girls, angel girls and many others can look very cute also and they are definitely viable options to look at.

      --
      Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
    53. Re:Overreacting by darkonc · · Score: 1
      That's part of the 'invisible hand of the market'. If I don't like the fact that you're pissing on my color/orientation/clothing style, I can refuse to do business with you and discourage my friends from doing so.

      It's called 'leverage'. If you don't like it, you don't have to participate in the marketplace. ---- "rather than pissing and moaning about" people talking to their friends.

      --
      Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
    54. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet you're really popular among utterly useless social justice warriors. Go back to Tumblr and stay there.

    55. Re:Overreacting by mtrachtenberg · · Score: 1

      You will never lack validation, BrendaEM. Ignorance is infinite.

    56. Re:Overreacting by Stickerboy · · Score: 1

      Now read that with s/LGBT/Black/

      Now read that with s/LGBT/animals/.

      Which is totally sound reasoning, if you would like to make the assertion that "LGBT people", "black people", and "animals" are all proper subsets of the group "people". Or, alternatively, that "LGBT people", "black people", and "animals" are all not subsets of the group "people". Which one of those arguments did you want to plant your flag on?

      I'm not the OP, but I'll bite. Why don't you read it with s/LGBT/polygamists/ or s/LGBT/pedophiles/? Regardless of the manufactured controversy over a stupid kids Nintendo game, there will always be someone's morality and outrage somewhere being stepped on "because they weren't included". And if everyone's faux outrage over homosexuals doesn't extend to consenting polygamists, what kind of fucking hypocrites are they really being?

      I mean, Good Noodly Flying Monster, can 3 or more people not enter into a consenting relationship? Why doesn't my Nintendo 3DS let me explore my money's worth of marrying my own bisexual harem??? It's blatant discrimination, I tell you!! (/sarcasm)

      --
      Light a fire for a man and he'll be warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
    57. Re:Overreacting by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      I'm with you on the angel girls.

      Belldandy. /sigh

    58. Re:Overreacting by Elledan · · Score: 1

      Well, there are people in the game. Male and female. Yet there are also people who are neither male or female such as yours truly. Are we intersex people represented in this game or games in general? Movies? Media? No way.

      Yet we're not complaining about most of society not even being aware or caring about our existence. Not too much at least. I'd definitely call the complaints about this Nintendo game asinine as there are countless other games where one could complain about in the same manner, but what it comes down to it in the end is that it is a choice by the creator of the game which one has to respect as an artistic choice unless it's obviously discriminatory (e.g. having anti-homosexual marriage messages in the game).

      --
      Site & blog: http://www.mayaposch.com
    59. Re:Overreacting by Idarubicin · · Score: 1

      Why don't you read it with s/LGBT/polygamists/ or s/LGBT/pedophiles/

      Probably because pedophelia doesn't involve acts between consenting adults able to give appropriate, informed consent. Given that you couldn't resist that analogy, it gives a pretty good idea of where you're coming from on this issue--and it's not a good place.

      And if everyone's faux outrage...

      Personally, I'm just going to stand up for "disappointment", rather than "outrage". (I would go with "outrage" when talking about how, for instance, it's still legal in most U.S. states to fire someone from their job for no reason other than their being gay--but that's just my opinion.) That said, I will firmly declare a "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on" for presuming that because you're not outraged, or you think it's a dumb thing to be upset about, that anyone else expressing serious anger has to be faking it.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    60. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > polygamists

      I'm happy to fight for polygamists rights even though I think it sounds way too complicated for me.

      > pedophiles

      But here I draw the line as polygamists all get the choice when they are old enough to make it. Kids DON'T. That is why it is statutory rape, they are not old enough to make that choice.

    61. Re:Overreacting by aliquis · · Score: 1

      I hope you can kill more than nazis in the new Wolfenstein game.

      Because being able to kill anyone is important!

    62. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is the LGBT community going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

      Well, they're already teaching children to be gay in public school kindergartens, so it wouldn't surprise me at all:
      http://www.wnd.com/2008/10/78829/

    63. Re:Overreacting by aliquis · · Score: 1

      What about paper buy using a hover-board to deliver papers? Never thought about that did they!

    64. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 1

      Are we intersex people represented in this game or games in general? Movies? Media? No way.

      Yet we're not complaining

      Perhaps you should be - or at least, more people should be.

      Don't get me wrong, obviously there are some practical reasons why you simply cannot cater to everybody - facebook tries, and basically lets people put whatever in there, but that's not something you can directly base consequences on; then again, wouldn't basing consequences on it be a form of discrimination?

      unless it's obviously discriminatory

      Isn't the very notion that code had to be written that says "if both Miis are male or both Miis are female, then do not allow marriage code to run" 'obviously discriminatory'? Sure, it's no "God hates fags", but it is a very clear and conscious choice.

      Let me put it another way - assume that the game let Miis identify as Male, Female, or Intersex - and Male/Female, Male/Male, Female/Female Miis could marry - but Intersex Miis couldn't marry Male, Female, or other Intersex Miis in the game. Would you feel that as being discriminatory, or as merely an artistic choice?

    65. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nor does the What About The PEDOS!!!!!!!!

    66. Re:Overreacting by Elledan · · Score: 1

      Well, the sticking point here is that I don't think it's entirely fair to blame a Japanese company for publishing a game in which homosexual marriage is not possible when the very country they're operating from has made this thing illegal.

      To me this seems more like a case of shooting the messenger when it's the Japanese government which should be seen as discriminatory and outdated with this position on marriage. To be honest I'm not sure whether it would be legal for Nintendo to publish this game in Japan if they had made homosexual marriage possible.

      As for the further point of making more people aware of intersex, I'm definitely trying. Through media appearances (see my site for examples) and possibly in the future through some games I wish to develop and publish via my own software company or in cooperation with other studios/publishers. The last thing I want to do, however, is to antagonize or be seen as a complainer. Issues like this should be approached in a level-headed, rational manner to have the proper impact.

      Just my opinion on the matter, of course :)

      --
      Site & blog: http://www.mayaposch.com
    67. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just love it when dorks on the internet play "hot or not" with actresses. As if any woman remotely attractive enough to be on TV would ever consider having sex with them.

    68. Re:Overreacting by QuasiSteve · · Score: 1

      Oh I agree - though I think that at the point where you start localizing it (admittedly I don't know if that went beyond translating) and marketing it to those other markets, given the nature of the game, it can't hurt to give it a once-over for cultural differences.

      I also agree that, fundamentally, what should be targeted is the cause for these artificial limitations. However, in the mean time, Nintendo was in a position to at least remedy the limitations, if not the cause.

      And - broken record here - I also agree that at times, the outrage can be misplaced and does more harm than good. Judging when that is the case, though, is pretty difficult. Case in point, I'm not sure I agree with the initial complaint having been made so widely.. things going viral can have that effect, of course, but often it's that virality that gets people to jump on the bandwagon, so to speak, rather than speaking their own opinion on a matter that is actually relevant and important to them. I.e. I suspect many of the people who joined in that complaint never played that game, may not have bothered to customize their Mii, or even own a Wii to begin with. That doesn't nullify their right to complain, but it does make it seem a little disingenuous. However, given Nintendo's initial response, I can certainly see why so many LGBT(...) complained at that point, as the scope appeared to move from 'some localized game' to "Nintendo's - the corporate structure's - stance on this".

      I'll definitely check out your website :) ... actually, having looked at the gallery (admittedly more to find out about your electronics interest briefly mentioned about on the front page than for the topic at hand), I realize that I'd actually read that Telegraaf article, and find many more interesting things to read. First you had my curiosity, then you had my attention, now you have an entry in my bookmarks list.
      ( Though.. where do I find more information about your electronics projects? )

    69. Re:Overreacting by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 2

      The problem your argument faces is that age-based consent is purely a legal fiction based on the culture the people are part of. Just as the culture was mostly against homosexuality but now accepts it, the same could happen with pedophilia. If it does, you would come across as bigoted for your stance against it.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    70. Re:Overreacting by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Kids DON'T. That is why it is statutory rape, they are not old enough to make that choice.

      A 15 year old girl doesn't have the right to decide what to do with her body? Sounds awfully conservative of you.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    71. Re:Overreacting by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      Wish I could still use my mod points - instead I'll just post a "Well-said".

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    72. Re:Overreacting by Elledan · · Score: 1

      They could have changed it for different countries, yes. Yet the thing people seem to kind of forget here is that it's more of a cutesy little game, not anywhere as fundamental as say one's gender designation on a social networking site. To me it seems like a massively overblown issue which might have warranted possibly an email to Nintendo asking them politely to maybe change this, or even humorously file it as a bug report. Shaming Nintendo into changing this isn't very mature or helpful in my eyes. Humour tends to be more effective in cases like this, leaving a more pleasant aftertaste, if you catch my drift :)

      As for my electronics projects, I sadly don't have much/anything online about it as I only recently have begun to get some time to do anything with it again, especially after moving to Germany :) I got some FPGA dev kits and other assorted equipment trickling in over the coming weeks to do fun stuff with and hopefully not releasing any magical smoke. Stay tuned, basically.

      Thanks for the interest at any rate :) I guess this kind of goes to show how my approach to making an important but unknown topic known works.

      --
      Site & blog: http://www.mayaposch.com
    73. Re:Overreacting by Atzanteol · · Score: 2

      This is just dumb. It's a game!

      I'm all for LGBT rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it don't include your sexual orientation..? I dunno about that.

      Of course you don't. You're well represented. Now imagine you're a 14-year old suddenly realizing that you're different from 90% of the rest of the culture. And that there still exists taboos telling you that *how you are* is somehow wrong. In fact there is an entire section of the population telling you that you are immoral through no fault of your own. In fact there's a very real fear that you could be disappointing your family if you admit it to them.

      NOW try to picture sitting at home playing a game to relax and realizing that even here there you are an outcast.

      Sure in the big picture "it's just a game." But what's wrong with people who are struggling for acceptance as it is pushing back to get greater acceptance in every area of life - including games?

      --
      "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

      - Charles Darwin
    74. Re:Overreacting by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Ask just about any Government agency that enforces laws and/or counsels young people. No, a 15 year old girl doesn't have the right to 'decide' what to do with her own body.

      It's well established that pople in that age are generally vulnerable and inexperienced, and easily taken advantage of. Especially it's easy to convince them that they DO have the right to do reckless/dangerous things, with people like you planting ideas in their heads.

      You picked out 'conservative' to be a boogy-boogy word, didn't you?

    75. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dash, is that you? Get off the "non-gendered" whackiness. You're a passable woman, and don't have the attitude or mannerisms tp pretend to be maile or "mixed gender". And stop complaining about how stories treat telepaths offensively, "because you're a telepath".

      Lord, I'm tired of your offensitivity messing with perfectly good parties.

    76. Re:Overreacting by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 1

      Welcome to America, where we have now passed through the stage where money is equivalent to speech and reached the point where money is the only socially-acceptable form of speech

      Certainly the only kind of speech the politicians in Washington seem to understand. Money speaks loudest there. Too bad you don't have enough to be heard, most of us don't. Was there a point? Were you suggesting we use our voices? You think the politicians in Washington are listening? With all that much louder money flying around? Hehe, you must be new here.

    77. Re:Overreacting by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      I don't think it's just a PR strategy. From a project management perspective, this is a big change that is probably too late to make. This is one of those things where you have to take several steps back in the development pipeline and change too many things, and indeed renders a lot of QA work and a number of other items effectively wasted.

      This is the kind of change where, if they were forced to implement it, would be a project killer IMO, because I don't think the game is expected to make enough money to justify that cost.

      This is just another classic case of "some may find it offensive." I mean shit, the USA alone is one of few places in the world where there is zero government censorship on video games. I really like it that way, to be honest. I say leave the fairness doctrine back in the 80's where it belongs, and let artists do whatever they feel they must, not what some political activist wants.

    78. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some do some don't. Alas with our imperfect legal system we have to draw lines, sometimes the line will be right for you but wrong for someone else.

      > Sounds awfully conservative of you

      In some areas I am. In others I am not.

    79. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (#46968627 here)

      > You picked out 'conservative' to be a boogy-boogy word, didn't you?

      Makes a change from liberal thou. Alas amuses me when liberal and conservative are used an insult. Most people fall under both for some aspect of their life.

    80. Re:Overreacting by diamondmagic · · Score: 1

      They were never suggesting a boycott, the organizer is an avid Nintendo fan who literally has bought every single first-party 3DS title. They just thought the game would find a better audience this way.

    81. Re: Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes but Bambi wasn't shagging the hunter. WRECK-it-Ralph wasn't doing a Miley Cyrus with his hammer.

    82. Re: Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, people should get together and make a children's game that lets you sodomize animals and fuck corpses too since some people might feel discriminated otherwise!

    83. Re:Overreacting by marcello_dl · · Score: 1

      > Nintendo was pretending that their relationship with their spouse did not and could not exist.

      This is your opinion, LGBT's opinion, maybe the majority's opinion but it is not a fact. Games ARE propaganda, but they are not as powerful as you imply.
      If aliens visit us I won't hide behind a building and start shooting them, after all the coins I squandered on space invaders, not to mention gyruss xevious asteroids galaga scramble...

      Finally a word to fagfags: instead of whining about the same mechanisms that all corporations employ to make their crap more acceptable, make your own mods, with blackjack and same sex hookers, if it is good, I will play it even if I don't feel particularly bothered by sex issues, because, you know, it's a game.

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
    84. Re:Overreacting by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Well, the game isn't about animals or power tools, it's about human relations.

      Back in the 70s when Caucasian people went to Japan it wasn't unusual for young children to stare at them. Even some adults did it. They were unusual and attracted attention. Nowadays it's pretty rare, because images of Caucasian people are not uncommon. They are on TV, on posters, in movies and the like.

      That's where LGBT people want to get to. No funny looks when two women or two men hold hands or kiss each other. The way to do that is to normalize it, make it unexceptional. Having it as a standard option in games would really help. You pick gender, race, sexual orientation, hair colour, clothing etc. Just another parameter, nothing special.

      It would also be nice for LGBT people not to be excluded. If this game excluded black Mii characters (who are supposed to be the player's avatar) because... Well, we just didn't bother to put in code for black people. I don't think many would find that a very acceptable excuse. If you intend to have avatars representing the player and allow them to be heavily customized then excluding certain segments of the human gene pool doesn't seem like a good idea.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    85. Re:Overreacting by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      The feature wasn't lacking in the original release. Two male characters could marry, although not two female characters for some reason. They patched it to remove that, citing it as a bug. Their claim that adding same-sex marriage would be impossible to do via a patch thus smells like bullshit.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    86. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is not a movie of film, this is in fact, as you put it, a game. A game where people play as virtual avatars of themselves and their friends. Two of my friends are gay and married and would want to play this game, but will not be able to have their characters get married to each other in their copies of the game. Yet heterosexual married couples who play the game will be able to do so.

      This isn't a story about a protagonist that has set character traits. This is a game where the whole concept is creating an avatar of yourself to inhabit a virtual world and create your own storylines. They're not asking to change other players' storylines or games. Only to have the ability to have their game reflect their own interests and proclivities.

    87. Re:Overreacting by Stickerboy · · Score: 1

      Why don't you read it with s/LGBT/polygamists/ or s/LGBT/pedophiles/

      Probably because pedophelia doesn't involve acts between consenting adults able to give appropriate, informed consent. Given that you couldn't resist that analogy, it gives a pretty good idea of where you're coming from on this issue--and it's not a good place.

      And yet you say nothing about consenting polygamy, or the fact that age-based consent is strictly based on an arbitrary line of 18, when in many other cultures the age of consent is less. Given the fact that you can't be ideologically consistent, I have to conclude that you just have a pet issue to grind with homosexuality, and you are not really interested in extending your arguments to their logical conclusions.

      You see, you are super quick to jump to the "excluding gay marriages is just like excluding black people marriages in the game!" and yet, where is your outrage for the polygamists? I don't see it or hear it. Or the fact that you don't even have a decent argument why the age of consent is different in some communities than others, but morally it's OK to throw some people but not others in jail for the same act based on location?

      And if everyone's faux outrage...

      Personally, I'm just going to stand up for "disappointment", rather than "outrage". (I would go with "outrage" when talking about how, for instance, it's still legal in most U.S. states to fire someone from their job for no reason other than their being gay--but that's just my opinion.) That said, I will firmly declare a "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on" for presuming that because you're not outraged, or you think it's a dumb thing to be upset about, that anyone else expressing serious anger has to be faking it.

      We'll just have to agree to disagree then. If you don't think there's faux outrage over this stupid Nintendo game being drummed up by the media looking for eyeballs and clicks, and from some members of the LGBT community and its proponents looking for another axe to grind, you sir, are fucking stupid, and that's just a statement of fact. But, indeed, I don't doubt that there are some people out there who aren't faking it, expressing serious anger about this retarded Sims wannabe produced by Nintendo. But that may be more fucking stupid by orders of magnitude more than someone faking it, self-interestedly looking for an angle to play on this issue. That's just my opinion, though.

      --
      Light a fire for a man and he'll be warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
    88. Re:Overreacting by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      So long as it is advantageous to play the victim, people will.

      It's all about the social power people can play using these types of manipulation. Unfortunately I can only see it getting worse.

    89. Re:Overreacting by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Ask just about any pro-choice group if a 15 year old has the right to an abortion without parental consent, or even parental notification, and they will say "Of course she does." But somehow that girl doesn't have the right to choose to perform the action that leads to the abortion.

      One of the 50 states had an age of consent of 14 just over a decade ago. And it probably wasn't a state you would pick if I gave you three guesses.

      And, yes I did pick 'conservative' for its connotation. Because I think there is a great logical inconsistency* in how people view sex, with the liberals and conservatives using their opponents' typical arguments to support their own views. Whether someone has a right or not, whether a right exists or not, what right society at large has, and other aspects of people having sex.

      As for my own thoughts on the subject, I agree that 15-year-olds don't have the maturity to correctly decide what to do. But that doesn't mean they don't have the right anyway. We all know adults who lack the maturity to make wise choices, yet they still have the right to make bad personal choices anyway. What is so magical about the 18th birthday? I'm in my 40's, and still don't see the point of that arbitrary date.

      *Note: The word I want to use is 'hypocrisy', but that would imply a wanton disregard of logic. On this issue, many people don't even realize there is a logic, because their responses are so based on emotional reactions.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    90. Re:Overreacting by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      I'm glad I could amuse you. :^)

      And you can count me as one whose viewpoints are seen in both liberal and conservative circles. My sig isn't just for laughs, after all.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    91. Re:Overreacting by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      By the way, just saw this article and thought it was quite coincidental in timing.

      http://news.yahoo.com/texas-ma...

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    92. Re:Overreacting by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Just a story about age-based sex.

      http://news.yahoo.com/texas-ma...

      Not saying it proves anything, but the timing is spot on.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    93. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about adoption? Children without marriage? Poly-amorous relationships? Common enough in my area that no one blinks an eye, and yet they're not in the game.

      Yes, but then you're actually arguing my point for me. Marriage is in the game. It's just that there's a check in the code that says "if (MiiA.gender == MiiB.gender) { okiedoke; }" which quite actively blocks two male or two female Miis from marrying each other.

      Unless, of course, you view 'gay marriage' as distinctly different from 'straight marriage', because then your argument makes sense.

      =sorry dude, but i really liked your other post that ended in homodextrophobia

    94. Re:Overreacting by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Really? There are laws prohibiting the marriage of left-handed people? Or people being bludgeoned to death for being right-handed? You're a fool.

    95. Re:Overreacting by ColdSam · · Score: 1

      Now read that with s/LGBT/animals/. Now read that with s/LGBT/power tools/.

      Let's do that. So you're suggesting that we have a game/simulation where players can act as people (male or female, black or white or asian or...), animals (of various kinds) or power tools. Now if you want to add a "marrying" type relation for the players of the game the only reason not to let every player relate to every other player is if you think that relationship isn't proper or reasonable. That is a conscious decision they should be held accountable for.

    96. Re:Overreacting by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      Ask an over 50 Catholic. They indeed did bludgeon left handed children for attempting to write with their left hands.

      I chose that example for a reason.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    97. Re:Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > What is so magical about the 18th birthday?

      16 in UK and most of the US, 15 is common in Europe. What is magically about the date? Nothing, the magical date is the best we can currently do to determine if someone is emotionally old enough to make that choice. Feel free to suggest an alternative.

      You could argue for a lower date, but then you are just pushing the issue to "well what about a X-(1 day) year old!".

    98. Re:Overreacting by Xest · · Score: 1

      Problem in this case is that people can play it together and there are game features relating to being married.

      So two people with a male/female avatar get additional content, that means a male/male couple one has to make a female avatar, and the avatars are based on your Nintendo Mii which is meant to represent you.

      So you get a gay couple playing the game and they're like "Hey, let's use the relationships feature so we can do the relationship stuff" - no you can't do that because you're gay, one of you has to change to become a girl. I can see why that might come across as a bit of a kick in the teeth.

      I don't think there'd really be many complaints if you weren't supposed to use an avatar that represents you, or if you couldn't play with friends, but as it effectively encourages you to be yourself and then basically shits on you if you try and have a gay relationship like you may have in real life then there's certainly a problem IMO. If you've already bought it, unwrapped it and played it, then it's probably too late to even return it.

    99. Re:Overreacting by s.petry · · Score: 1

      >As to the s/LGBT/Black/ really? That is an argument that does not exist.

      Why not? Imagine if the game didn't allow your light-skinned character to marry a character with dark skin. It's the exact same thing.

      You just gave the exact reason I said that the argument does not exist. Your comparison object does not exist, period.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    100. Re:Overreacting by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      I could argue for no date whatsoever. How about an actual test of maturity? If a 13 year old passes, he or she is legally an adult. If someone never takes it, they are never allowed to sit at the grown-ups table for the holidays.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    101. Re: Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The game craps on you if you're transsexual, or polygamist. I'm a transsexual polygamist. Let's start a campaign until Nintendo has to cave.

    102. Re: Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hear, hear!

  5. Where's the apology for lack of Polyagmy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For a family friendly company they completely dropped the ball when it comes to living my virtual harem fantasies.

    1. Re:Where's the apology for lack of Polyagmy? by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

      I know well adjusted poly people, go get yourself that harem : )

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    2. Re:Where's the apology for lack of Polyagmy? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      How old are they? Have they been poly for at least several decades, or are they still just exploring their youth?

      I used to know a whole band of swingers. They were okay people, really nice people actually. I don't judge them. But they don't push their preferences on other people.

    3. Re:Where's the apology for lack of Polyagmy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh I've got the real harem rolling, but Nintendo won't let me have a virtual one so I'm going to piss and moan on the internet claiming life isn't fair.

  6. Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The game is offensive unless it allows relationships between ethereal giraffe genderqueer fursonas and tri-curious pansexual midget doctors. Right?

    Is it so bad that people just want to make a game that reflects the relationships the majority of people on Earth have? Do they really have to support every sexual minority to be "fair"?

    1. Re:Jesus christ by tepples · · Score: 1

      The game is offensive unless it allows relationships between ethereal giraffe genderqueer fursonas and tri-curious pansexual midget doctors. Right?

      Nintendo came so close to that with Animal Crossing series, and now this...

    2. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My sexual orientation involves having sex with millions of dollars that Nintendo gives me in real life. Unless my Mii can make Nintendo give me millions of dollars in real life, Nintendo is insensitive against my completely normal carnal urges.

    3. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The programmers had to set conditions up on which characters are allowed to marry. They specifically excluded same-sex marriages.

      If you've invented a back-story that your midget doctor wants to marry a fursona, as long as one is male and one is female, they can get married in this game. So your absurd scenario is actually possible, while a real scenario that affects a significant percentage of the population isn't possible.

      The point is that Nintendo went out of their way to exclude same-sex relationships. Would slashdot be similarly blazé had Nintendo excluded asians from marrying non-asians in the game?

    4. Re:Jesus christ by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      It is not about who are valid or not. Gay people, computer folk, etc. are obviously all valid and mostly cool people. The point is just what kind of common baseline the game wants to target.

    5. Re:Jesus christ by Vapula · · Score: 3, Interesting

      They HAD to program that test, excluding same-sex marriages, because such marriages are illegal in Japan (and in many countries).

      Allowing it would have have to be on a country basis... and that'd have required much more work than a single test. Don't forget that english-localized games are send in many more countries than only USA.

      And I don't even talk about the nightmare if the two protagonist don't live in the same country and are playing through internet, one in a country where same-sex marriage is allowed and one where it's illegal.

      Nintendo choice was the one requiring the less work and presenting the less legal risk.

    6. Re:Jesus christ by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      What is refreshing about Animal Crossing is that there are a whole gamut of gender roles depicted, and predominantly 'male' and 'female' appearing animals throughout, but no sexual roles whatsoever. It's like, get this... a kids story.

      I wouldn't say Animal Crossing is 'so close' because, frankly, there isn't anywhere I want it to 'go.'

      But fine, if you have an agenda, champion the popular culture that pushes that agenda. But know who and what you are in doing so.

    7. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BrendaEM oh?

    8. Re:Jesus christ by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Homosexuality, transsexualism and all the other bullshit should be treated just like any other mental disorder.

      Actually at least homosexuality is inherited from mother. If someone is gay, there's an elevated chance that his uncle from mother's side is also gay. So apparently it's in the genes, but the exact gene(s) are not known. This is what I have heard.

    9. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I found your offensiveness excessively offensive.
      Now run back to tumblr crying about how my hurtful comments have raped you.

    10. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Homosexuality, transsexualism and all the other bullshit should be treated just like any other mental disorder.

      Actually at least homosexuality is inherited from mother.

      I don't know whether that's true, but even if it is it doesn't in any way contradict what the GP said.

    11. Re:Jesus christ by Calydor · · Score: 1

      And I am sure that whoever receives your 'report' will handle it with utmost dilligence. After all, in Slashdot's lifetime a whopping ONE comment has been deleted due to serious legal threats.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    12. Re:Jesus christ by Missing.Matter · · Score: 2

      They HAD to program that test, excluding same-sex marriages, because such marriages are illegal in Japan (and in many countries).

      What? These are not real marriages we are talking about. These are pretend marriages between pretend characters. Murder is also illegal in Japan but there are plenty of Japanese video games, television shows, movies, books etc. depicting murder. Ever seen Battle Royale? You want to tell me the that shit is legal in Japan?

    13. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, but you're begging the question. Nintendo did not have to program that test. Nintendo chose to. Let's not invent legal risks that don't exist.

      Come on, Slashdot - for a community in which a lot of the members have been victims of discrimination, you're not coming across as very tolerant or accepting of others.

    14. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually at least homosexuality is inherited from mother.

      [citation needed]

      What about all the "gay" girls that later realize they weren't gay at all? (See Anne Heche and Amber Heard for two recent celebrity examples.) We see this all the time and, no, they're not bisexual. They just experience a short period of confusion or experimentation -- a phenomenon that the existence of which is quickly denied and obfuscated by the LGBT army (see Anne Heche's lame, public excuse for her hetero reawakening.)

    15. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remeber GTA's hot coffee? Companies have to be very careful when dealing with these things. If you think it wouldn't be a way worse PR nightmare to include gays in a game for kids you're kidding yourself. In Japan it might work, but in the US the company and its employees would be burned alive. The only worse move would be to do something like that Resident Evil that was in Africa and included black zombies, which the PC police say you should not defend against because they're black and that'd be racist. In the end of the day it's too damn risky to touch these issues.
      Of course, it can work if the game is marketed towards that audience. I doubt the gay market would be worth targetting for big games, though.

    16. Re:Jesus christ by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      And I am sure that whoever receives your 'report' will handle it with utmost dilligence. After all, in Slashdot's lifetime a whopping ONE comment has been deleted due to serious legal threats.

      Fucking Sci-fags....

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    17. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean just like in real life, where you can't marry a close relative, you can't marry someone who is already married, you can't marry someone who doesn't want to marry you, and you can't marry someone below a certain age? Those sorts of restrictions? Maybe the programmers weren't for true marriage equality. Or maybe they were just being sensible.

    18. Re:Jesus christ by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Same-sex marriage is legal in Japan. It isn't legally recognized but there is nothing to stop anyone having a same-sex marriage ceremony and describing themselves as married, and in fact such things are becoming more common now. The government looks likely to legally recognize it in the next few years.

      Nintendo was under no obligation to block same-sex marriage.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    19. Re:Jesus christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yet another 1 line fart reply from gmhowell.

  7. Time for company spankings! by MonsterMasher · · Score: 1

    .
    IMHO, whomever it is that is responsible should have his/her genitals spanked by each of the owners of the company.
    Since it is a large public company someone(s) will be doing a lot of traveling around exposing themselves and their willy/VaJj whacked.
    .
    That would take care of that problem...
    .
    .

  8. Never Cave by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whenever anything like this happens, the creator/company should... ...never respond. ...deflect any questions. ...brush off any further demands/questions. ...change nothing about the game in order to not risk alienating the users who like the game as it is. ...never lose your composure when dealing with these people.

  9. This is ridiculous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does anybody else think that this is ridiculous...?

    This *IS* ridiculous, right Slashdot? Right?

    These issues smack of a manufactured controversy.

  10. Bad apples by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 0

    This must be being done by some bad apples. Perhaps my experience was different but when I was in my 20's around gay people, they mostly wanted to just be accepted and/or left alone to do their own thing. I'm not sure where this community crossed the line into forcing their views upon others. I definitely really don't approve.

    1. Re:Bad apples by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This must be being done by some bad apples. Perhaps my experience was different but when I was in my 20's around gay people, they mostly wanted to just be accepted and/or left alone to do their own thing. I'm not sure where this community crossed the line into forcing their views upon others. I definitely really don't approve.

      There are too many of those "bad apples" in the gay community that promote aggressively their sexual disorder (yes... i am one of those "homophobic"!) - and they are too many of those left-wing heterosexual faggets that exist politicaly only as "sexual disorder promoters".
      The line has been crossed time ago, when normal ("normal" means... normal!) people were forced to accept abnormal behaviours as... normal!
      The real issue of this story (and of most others about "gays") is not "gay rights" but sexual disorder promotion - or just "sexual promotion" (if you are too sensitive about the correct term...).

    2. Re:Bad apples by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      when I was in my 20's around gay people, they mostly wanted to just be accepted and/or left alone to do their own thing

      They weren't quite so uppity?

    3. Re:Bad apples by SydShamino · · Score: 1

      Yeah, when I was in my 20s most Hispanics just wanted to work hard to better their families, most women were pretty happy staying in the home once they had kids, most Slashdotters were marginalized geeks who just wanted to play with computers. Now, Hispanics want to be respected as equals in the political arena, women want equal pay for equal work, and Slashdotters want people to stay off their lawns. I definitely really don't approve that ethnic, gender, and social groups who previously stayed in their own second-class-citizen corners have decided they want rights equal to those of straight white Christian sports-loving men like myself, and dare to speak up about it sometimes.

      --
      It doesn't hurt to be nice.
  11. I'm offended by carbuck · · Score: 0

    because Half Life 2 only allows me to play as a white guy. I should be allowed to play as Gina Freeman, Giovanni Fabianno, Guadalupe Fernandez, or Guela Feigenbaum.

    1. Re:I'm offended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      or a headcrab. Because headcrab relationships with heads deserve respect!

    2. Re:I'm offended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I accidentally downmodded you, but want to preserve the rest of my mods in this thread, so posting to apologize for bad moderation.

    3. Re:I'm offended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd like to think someday you will be able to create the look of your own character in every game. We're at the point where this should be feasible already.

    4. Re:I'm offended by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Leisuresuit Headcrab? Sounds like an interesting game.

    5. Re:I'm offended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Half-Life 2 lets you put in your own graphics.

      Problem solved.

  12. Overreacting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is just dumb. It's a game!

    I'm all for minority rights and such, but really to criticize a game just cuz it includes insensitive stereotypes about your race? I dunno about that. What's next? Is the NAACP going to demand air time in Disney cartoons next?

    Besides, no one complained about Final Fantasy VII, a game that shows one African-American as an "ignorant nigger". So what! It's a game!

  13. Oh well I don't want to be political but *continue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We're alive, we're human, we deserve representation. The only thing political about this is the strange pretension that if you just don't talk about us we'll disappear.

  14. Re:First World Problems by Sique · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually, the complaint arised when two people who owned already the game found out they couldn't have their Mii characters marry in the game. But let a fact not spoil your rant. Keep up the good work!

    --
    .sig: Sique *sigh*
  15. As a bigoted American, I demand my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I demand the right to abuse and mistreat other players and NPCs in the game, to show my disgust at them, and to burn them at the stake because they are witches.

    Why doesn't Nintendo tolerate my intolerance?

    1. Re:As a bigoted American, I demand my rights! by Talderas · · Score: 1

      You can come close to doing most of those in Saints Row IV.

      You're allow to make rude gestures to pedestrians or even run at them while totally naked and thrust your crotch in their face as you knock them down. You also get the power to, as the protagonist puts it, "I can set things on fire" so you can burn pedestrians as you see fit.

      Unfortunately, I do not believe Saint's Row IV is available on any Nintendo console.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  16. Kind of understandable from Nintendo by jones_supa · · Score: 0, Troll

    It does not mean that they are discriminating anyone. Being attracted to the opposite sex is the standard thing for mammals (and most creatures). Being a gay is anomaly. What if we made a game about hamsters, and they did not include any albino hamsters, would that be discrimination towards albinos? No. They are just focusing on the baseline, that's all.

    Now, on the other hand, there is a lot of LGBT people, so making the game support same-sex relationships could have been a good business move.

    1. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by BrendaEM · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Is 1:10 people really an anomaly?

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    2. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Yep.

    3. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Noxal · · Score: 1

      I am not a motherfucking anomaly.

    4. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, it is.

    5. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Is 1:10 people really an anomaly?

      1 out of 10 people being homosexual is a gross exaggeration. That number includes bisexuals and any heterosexuals who admitted to a survey monkey of having once had a homosexual thought. 9/10 adults are straight to the core, and 9/10 of the 1/10 are 99.9% straight.

    6. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Agreed, my word choice wasn't probably the best. Let's call it "deviation" instead.

    7. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Vapula · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you take recent studies done to correct population sampling (more than 100000 people, randomly selected), you fall under 5% for LGBT (some studies made on more than 500000 people lead to less than 3%)

      In most of these studies, Bisexual account usually for half of the people which leads to 1-2% homosexuals...

      Can 1-2% be called an anomaly ?

    8. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gingers are an anomaly, so are green eyed people
      Maybe you should think about not dividing people into normal and anomaly instead of trying to join (or be considered to be part of) the "normals".

    9. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. And it's especially anomalous to treat such a small fraction of people like their feelings matter a lot more than everyone else's.

    10. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Number42 · · Score: 1

      Still too negative. "Minority?"

    11. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by RazorSharp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Is 1:10 people really an anomaly?

      1:10 where? San Francisco, the United States, the world? I'd like to see an objective source that validates that statistic. I hear people throw it around a lot but I've never seen it verified.

      Any organism that actively engages in a behavior that inhibits its ability to reproduce is an anomaly. That's just a basic understanding of how natural selection works. Humans, with our self-reflecting consciousness, have a great tendency to do anomalous things as our behavior is more than mere impulse, so I don't mean it as a disparaging remark. I personally don't want to reproduce because I don't think the human race needs to increase our numbers at this time, and this type of decision makes me an anomaly among organisms.

      I can't stand the California attitude that evolution is a hardened fact yet being a homosexual is like being born to a ultra-special race that must be cherished and insulated from anything that might possibly be misconstrued as a slight against their amazing specialness. Do I believe that homosexuals should be discriminated against? No. Do I think they should be able to marry? I don't believe that marriage should be a legal status among straights or homosexuals. Call your partnership with your significant other whatever you want to call it. Do I think that every TV show and movie and video game should have token gay people? No. At a certain point the pursuit of inclusiveness makes a spectacle of those included. It used to be the token black guy who always had something snappy to say. Now it's the token gay guy. I guess next up will be the token tranny.

      --
      "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
    12. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Arrgghhh... ;)

    13. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe, maybe not, but you ARE a weak link in the evolutionary chain. Thank you for not procreating.

    14. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not a motherfucking anomaly.

      Anomaly: a deviation from the common rule

      If you aren't part of the majority, you are an anomaly. There is nothing wrong with that. Most people can't program, or even do math higher than basic algebra, it is the ones that can who are anomalous. Most people are dumb, it is the smart ones that are anomalous, and so on.

    15. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

      In the US, the number is closer to 1:27, since only 3.8% of the population identify as LGBT. Other research on the topic indicates that social pressure may be pushing that number down, but that even if everyone who was LGBT identified as LGBT, the number would still only be around 5% of the US' population.

      For some perspective on whether or not 3.8-5% gets considered to be an anomaly, I have Morton's toe, which occurs in about 10% of the population, yet it's still considered an anomaly. If an uncontroversial variation of the human human toe with 2-3x more occurrences than the thing you're asking about is still considered an anomaly, then it seems to me that you've already answered your own question.

      Mind you, I'm not prescribing that it should be called that. I'm merely describing that, given the numbers and other occurrences against which we might compare it, it seems like it would fall in line with being called as such. Take it with some salt.

    16. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Noxal · · Score: 2

      I'm a ginger too, you insensitive clod!

    17. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Noxal · · Score: 1

      How am I a weak link in the evolutionary chain? And how do you know I won't procreate?

    18. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 1

      You soulless creature! Just wait till Cartmen deals with you! :)

      Respect my authority! :)

      --
      Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
    19. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, why are you excluding bisexuals? We're not just straight people in disguise. We're bi because we also enjoy same-sex relationships.

    20. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      FYI, most transgender people consider "tranny" to be a slur.

      And I don't know many LGBT people who are thrilled with the idea of the "token" gay character either, because such a character is always played for laughs. I can't tell you who's being pandered to there, but it's sure not us. I value the few instances of deep characters who happen to be gay, just because sometimes people are gay.

    21. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by dotgain · · Score: 1

      I have Morton's toe, which occurs in about 10% of the population

      Now I know what to call that thing that I've got that you also have.

    22. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The question of "is being gay normal?" is misleading. Because if you look at any population which is large enough to be statistically accurate, you will have a certain percentage of gay people. And even the most liberal estimates don't top 10%
      So having some gay people IS normal, but for any specific person to be gay is by definition not normal.

    23. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now it's the token gay guy. I guess next up will be the token tranny.

      Already starting to happen, in fact. On Elementary, there is a token tranny whose sole point is to be a tranny. Heshe's a maid who cleans the protagonists' house, and serves no real purpose other than to prove how "progressive" the show is.

    24. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It depends how you define a homosexual. Sexuality is not binary, there are many people who may like the opposite gender for the most part, but if they met the right person of the same sex... Wikipedia has lots of citations for demographics.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    25. Re:Kind of understandable from Nintendo by Talderas · · Score: 1

      San Francisco is, allegedly, 15% LGBT. However the average for the US as a whole is something less than 5%.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  17. I dont wanna be POLITICAL but *continues existing* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We're alive, we're human, we deserve representation. The only thing political about this is the strange pretension that if you just don't talk about us we'll disappear.

    resub: thanks, mobile ui, for cutting off the title without warning. I wonder if this p tag will fuck up too. This site is falling apart

  18. It's a life simulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not an abomination simulation.

  19. Secret guidelines by tepples · · Score: 1

    The game contains what it contains; don't like it? Don't play it. Send a message with your wallet

    And buy what game instead? Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, and iOS all have secret guidelines for what content is acceptable on their respective platforms.

    1. Re:Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      so build your own lgbtii system that allows whatever content you want.

    2. Re:Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      too bad all the systems are highly monopolized, syndicated, and not interoperable and protected by legal bureaucratic red tape and military and police force.

    3. Re:Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is this another case of the patriarchy holding the fags down?!?

    4. Re:Secret guidelines by tepples · · Score: 1

      PC is not monopolized. Nobody restricts what desktop applications you can install on a Windows box. Nor is Android. Nobody restricts what APKs you can adb install. It's pretty much Apple, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox that still have lockouts, although some Slashdot regulars with alliterative nicks would be quick to defend the perceived value to end users of Apple's and Sony's lockouts.

    5. Re:Secret guidelines by dadelbunts · · Score: 1

      Oh that god awful burecratic red tape required to make pc games.

    6. Re:Secret guidelines by MBGMorden · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Mass Effect and Dragon Age both had same-sex relationship options, and both were available on Xbox and Playstation, so those platforms certainly don't restrict that from appearing on there. Not sure about Nintento and iOS, but I doubt they'd ban the concept on the entire platform.

      Besides - the whole thing has gotten a bit silly lately anyways. Dragon Age 2 not only allowed same-sex relationships, but made it so that EVERY character capable of starting a romance could enter into a relationship with your character regardless of your gender. That effectively removes heterosexuality from the game and renders everyone bisexual, which is in no way realistic.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    7. Re:Secret guidelines by Ambvai · · Score: 1

      Several of the recent Harvest Moon games, which do appear on Nintendo platforms, allow for same-sex marriages. You can even get children in them too, via adoption or babies showing up on your doorstep (I think).

    8. Re:Secret guidelines by aliquis · · Score: 1

      And buy what game instead? Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, and iOS all have secret guidelines for what content is acceptable on their respective platforms.

      PCs don't and the largest chunk of change is put into buying PC games too.

    9. Re:Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't need to be playing any games, fat ass. Go for a hike or a bike ride.

    10. Re:Secret guidelines by tepples · · Score: 1

      I just rode 25 miles today, and I still have time for video games. Want me to draw you a Google Map?

    11. Re:Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, realism is very important in a game about elves and dwarves and dragons.

      Don't get me wrong, I think the 'everyone is automatically love with you' aspect of recent Bioware games is indeed silly, but not because it is "unrealistic" - it's just poor character development.

    12. Re: Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Draw me in disbelief.

    13. Re:Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And in Skyrim you get to do necrophilia with the "Night Mother" by climbing in her coffin, Cicero talks about how he "oils her and takes care of her", and to swap gear with Cicero, you have to ask to "Rearrange his Equipment" to which he reponds "oh-h-h-h-h! Listner, that tickles*!!!"

      Creepiest little putz I've seen in years.

    14. Re:Secret guidelines by cbhacking · · Score: 1

      Apple's OS X App Store might have restrictions (I don't know, though I wouldn't be surprised), but you can still install arbitrary programs from whatever source you like. I'm not normally one to defend Apple - they're at the forefront of the whole "people can't actually be trusted with general-purpose computers" thing, and I hate them for it - but things aren't quite as bad as you say. It's easier to put arbitrary stuff on OS X than on Android, in fact.

      --
      There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
    15. Re:Secret guidelines by dave420 · · Score: 1

      On Android you just download an APK file and run it to install it. For it to be easier in iOS the packages have to be either already on your device, or automatically installed when downloaded. Which one is it? :)

    16. Re:Secret guidelines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I really, REALLY wish you were right! But the only Harvest Moon game that has allowed anything akin to same-sex marriage is the Japanese version of Harvest Moon More Friends of Mineral Town, where you can only play as a girl and can have a 'Best Friend Marriage" with the town's love interests.

      There is a game on Steam Greenlight game called Stardew Valley which is a Harvest Moon-like with customizable characters, multiplayer, and same-sex marriage. It's apparently still in the works, but no word on a release date.

  20. Re:They're 5% of the population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You don't understand either. Everyone owes them a favor for all the great things they always do for the rest of us. Where's your gratitude? You should grovel for their forgiveness like Nintendo.

  21. A game and the reality by BrendaEM · · Score: 0

    The reality is:teens and even adolescents sometimes kill themselves because they believe they do not fit in a make-believe worlds that ignorant people sometimes create.

    I imagine a world without Nintendo.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    1. Re:A game and the reality by Nemyst · · Score: 1

      Overract much? Sure, they should've added LGBT stuff in their game (although I'm not quite sure trans can even be represented in a game about Mii avatars...), but I'm pretty sure Nintendo's games have helped a LOT more teenagers (through a way of escaping bad events, or a distraction and way too calm themselves, and so on) than they've hindered. This isn't some sort of conscious campaigning against LGBT, it's an omission. To then imagine how the world would be better without them is both ludicrously harsh and undermines your position by making you even more insensitive than you claim them to be.

      But hey, keep on crusadin', most people are way too scared of the fanatical devotion to this movement to speak up when things turn bonkers. I didn't like the karma that much anyway.

    2. Re:A game and the reality by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      Gosh, you're so brave, speaking truth about a movement so powerful that... ... the majority of states haven't made it legal... ... it's still quite legal in many states to discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender presentation ... ... on a website that has modded up most of the comments AGAINST people speaking out for inclusion... ... you're a real fucking hero. Possibly one of the bravest people I've ever come across. Bravely squandering (not really) your Slashdot karma to say Enough is Enough about a cause which other people have risked their well being and their lives for. I feel honored to have had the chance to interact with you here.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    3. Re:A game and the reality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The reality is:teens and even adolescents sometimes kill themselves because they believe they'll never find their one true soul mate or that person has already kissed someone else. Teens can be stupid.

    4. Re:A game and the reality by RazorSharp · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Boo hoo. If people want to kill themselves for stupid reasons I'm not going to stop them. The world is better off without pussies who can't deal with a little hardship.

      --
      "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
  22. The LGBT crowd must be placated! by mikein08 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Nintendo needs to tell the LGBT crowd to get a life, be concerned with real issues, and pound some sand in the process.

    1. Re:The LGBT crowd must be placated! by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

      What could be more important than the hopes, dreams, and future than a lot of kids who need to know that what they are is valid?

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    2. Re:The LGBT crowd must be placated! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If those children are basing their hopes, dreams, and future off some videogame, it's already doomed.

    3. Re:The LGBT crowd must be placated! by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

      Yes, attraction, fondness, and love can happen before sex, you Anonymous Coward.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    4. Re:The LGBT crowd must be placated! by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

      People base their future on their stimulus and surrounding, well, that is strange : P

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    5. Re:The LGBT crowd must be placated! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What could be more important than the hopes, dreams, and future than a lot of kids who need to know that what they are is valid?

      Sexual identity/orientation doesn't begin to develop until around the age of puberty, in which case they are not children but adolescents.

      Your gay child will never be able to have a child which is a combination of his/her DNA and his/her same-sex partner's DNA.

    6. Re:The LGBT crowd must be placated! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, attraction, fondness, and love can happen before sex, you Anonymous Coward.

      Fondness has nothing to do with being gay or straight. And only one kind of love has to do with orientation, and that's sexual love.
      Being gay/straight is purely a matter of sexual attraction, sexual desire, it's all about the sex. The fact that you think kids are capable of having such sexual drives simply shows how much of a fucking deviant you yourself are.

  23. Jamie from HMMM is bi by tepples · · Score: 1

    Besides, no one complained about Harvest Moon, another game that only permits heterosexual marriages. So what! It's a game!

    You must not have seen how bisexual Jamie is in Harvest Moon: Magical Melody.

  24. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Their feelings should be important to everyone because they're special. Not like the rest of you. You don't matter at all. You just exist to watch history unfold -- for the benefit of the chosen.

    Especially irrelevant: the vision of the game's creators. Artists must comply!

  25. Wouldn't let my kids play an LGBT game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, if the game was promoting homosexuality, there is no way in hell I would let a child play it. These are grown-up issues that shouldn't be on a child's mind when he's playing a video game.

    1. Re:Wouldn't let my kids play an LGBT game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure it's possible to "promote" homosexuality when it isn't even a choice. Children aren't so dumb, so unless your child is ridiculously sheltered they will clearly learn about the existence of homosexual relationships before they are adults. Unless you plan to pull some "they're just close friends" stuff like when everyone had to be closeted to avoid discrimination, which honestly seems like it could be more harmful than simply acknowledging reality.

      But I'm pretty sure you're trolling. lol

  26. Tiresome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like another commenter I'm all for human rights. But the gay mafia thing has just gone a little too far. I really hope organizations start to tell them to just shut up. Having gay depicted in even aspect of life is getting more than a little tiresome. Really pretty soon they'll have to have characters of every race, every living arrangement, every transgendered combination, every disease, every handicap... they'll be ISO certification to make sure games are inclusive. Nobody will every be able produce a game.

    Look my friends you're in a lifestyle LGBT is like 3% of the population. We certainly don't want discrimination but we also don't want to have to readjust everything so everyone in every minority feels totally included and no ones feelings are hurt. Life isn't fair, get over it.

  27. foo by n1ywb · · Score: 0

    foo

    --
    -73, de n1ywb
    www.n1ywb.com
  28. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Fanny bandits only care about destroying society. You must either love gay sex or be sent to the gulags!!!

  29. Re:First World Problems by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

    Actually, the complaint arised when two people who owned already the game found out they couldn't have their Mii characters marry in the game. But let a fact not spoil your rant. Keep up the good work!

    It's a game. Games are not real life and don't always have to accommodate every single form of relationship. As far as I know without some modification you can't have same sex marriages in Skyrim either. Get over it.

  30. The LGBT-extremist at work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In classic books (Shakespeare, Zola, Voltaire, Plato,...), marriage is between man and woman
    Should we rewrite these because 1% of the population is LGBT ?

    Several thousand of years of definition of marriage say that it's between a man and a woman.
    Even now, there are more countries where you'd be executed for being homosexual than countries where same-sex union is accepted.

    So, here, I stand with Nintendo. In their country, same sex union is illegal, as is many countries where their games are sold. In some countries, promoting homosexuality to minors is also illegal (think of Russia for example). So, they HAVE to be on the LEGAL SAFE way, even if a few people don't like it. (LGBT are 1% of population and I'm quite sure that many of them can understand that games may not always include their life choice).

    Not all content (books, films, games) can be LGBT-friendly... it's not about annoying them, it's only because the world is not limited to "today in LGBT-friendly countries".

  31. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Especially irrelevant: the vision of the game's creators. Artists must comply!

    Well, if Nintendo feels like the profitability of this series is going to be at stake because they decided not to include same-sex marriage, then, yeah, they are going to comply.

  32. Nintendo is not for first timers by tepples · · Score: 2

    Even with a Kickstarter campaign, how would such people come up with the "relevant game industry experience", "stable business organization", and "list of published game titles" that Nintendo expects?

    1. Re:Nintendo is not for first timers by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      who says it has to be on a WII?, there are alternatives that would be better suited for a kickstarter than nintendo (or sony or microsoft for that matter)

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  33. Montgomery transit boycott by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative

    Racial equality wasn't achieved by black people voting with their wallets.

    Are you claiming that the Montgomery, AL, transit boycott of 1955-1956 didn't help?

    1. Re:Montgomery transit boycott by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      There you go, bringing facts into an emotional argument.

      That's not fair.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    2. Re:Montgomery transit boycott by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      Correct. People didn't free themselves through valiant Civil Rights struggle.

      Bureaucrats and Politicians in Washington did it for them. And they should get down on their knees and thank them every day for it!

    3. Re:Montgomery transit boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's take a second look at the Montgomery Transit Boycott:

      A black woman is arrested for "failing to obey seat assignments". M.L. King Jr. heads a transit system protest. Transit system is devastated. People's houses are firebombed. Boycotters physically attacked. Arrests made on black people for "conspiring to interfere with a business". Federal court rules the segregation laws are unconstitutional; ruling is later upheld in supreme court.

      Yup, a lack of payment was involved, but it's reductionistic to call that situation "voting with your wallet".

    4. Re:Montgomery transit boycott by Talderas · · Score: 1

      Correct. People didn't free themselves through valiant Civil Rights struggle.

      Bureaucrats and Politicians in Washington did it for them. And they should get down on their knees and thank them every day for it!

      Yes, get down on their kness and thank them.... orally.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  34. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    As far as I know without some modification you can't have same sex marriages in Skyrim either. Get over it.

    Skyrim always allowed same-sex marriage.

  35. Re:Negativity by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

    Well, whomever screams "fa$$ot" loudest usual is.
    I reported your comment.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
  36. Distinctive outfit mentioned by NPCs by tepples · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure where part of the plot hinges on a character's distinctive outfit. Consider the famous overalls in Super Mario RPG or the hero's tunic in pick a Legend of Zelda game. It'd be interesting to hear how you suggest that the developers make the non-player characters react to the player's choice of appearance.

  37. Re:First World Problems by Vapula · · Score: 3, Interesting

    LGBT is 1% of Nintendo Buyers.
    And most LGBT people won't care/complain...

    So, it'll be 1/10000, 1/20000 or even less (don't forget that Nintendo primary commercial targets are children and Japan where same sex union is illegal) who could decide to not buy the game... unlikely to have any impact to Nintendo profitability...

    And if Nintendo decides to implement it, it'll require lots of extra-development as they'll have to comply with local laws of some countries (including their own) where same sex union is forbidden. which means lots of extra costs...

    And maybe as many (or more) people *not* buying the game because same sex union is allowed in it and they are strongly opposed to it...

  38. Re:They're 5% of the population by s.petry · · Score: 4, Informative

    Try approximately 1% of the population. The wiki here shows 3.8% average but when you look at how they estimate numbers their estimates are grossly incorrect. For example people that express "curiosity" are counted, as are those that may have experimented at some point in time. Here is a quote to show the inaccuracy clearly.

    According to the Williams Institute review conducted in April 2011, approximately 3.80 % of American adults identify themselves being in the LBGT community; wherein, (1.70%) identify as lesbian or gay, bisexual (1.80%), and/or transgender (0.30%);

    The way they get the 3.8% number is to tally up all of the results, yet there is no control preventing people from answering to multiple categories. Depending on who is running the study, bisexuals may automatically be counted as lesbian or gay. Other studies may ask the questions separately, but a bisexual person would normally respond that they have same sex relationships so are also lesbian or gay. People identifying themselves as transgender are bisexual, gay, or lesbian (don't make the mistake of jumping to circular reasoning on that one) almost all of the time.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  39. No gay marriage and no straight marriage either by tepples · · Score: 1

    there is no way in hell I would let a child play it

    Then perhaps they should instead be playing games that don't let player characters get married in the first place. Heterosexual life partnership is likewise a "grown-up issue[] that shouldn't be on a child's mind when he's playing a video game." This rules out a lot of Harvest Moon games, as one of the goals is to make one of the NPCs your waifu.

    1. Re:No gay marriage and no straight marriage either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, heterosexual marriages are normal. The child is already exposed to it having a mother and a father. Homosexuality has no room in video games for children. Maybe if it's some NC-17 equivalent game, then okay, but not a game made for kids. There's no legitimate reason to expose children to the perverse nature of homosexuality.

  40. Re:Fucking faggots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of your cock in my mouth. -another man

  41. Every handicap by tepples · · Score: 1

    Really pretty soon they'll have to have characters of every race, every living arrangement, every transgendered combination, every disease, every handicap

    Should I take a step toward this "every handicap"? Here's a video of my prototype so far.

  42. Nitpick alert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    . . . 'In purposely limiting players' relationship options. . .

    FTFY. "Purposefully" means something else.

  43. Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by captjc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Nintendo is going to be blasted either way. As a game that is rated for everyone, and as a company that is seen as a children's toy company, if they included it, the latest controversy will be that this toy company is trying to indoctrinate everyone's precious little snowflakes into the homosexual agenda. I'm sure that either Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or and one of the Fox News cadre will call for a boycott of all Nintendo products and all the ignorant middle age assholes that actually give credence to what these people say will be going around with signs saying, "God hates Mario" or whatever. While Nintendo isn't as utterly screwed as the media like to portray it as, that kind of bad publicity would put them into a very bad place.

    However, the big problem was that same sex relationships were possible in the Japanese version of the game via what Nintendo calls a "bug." If it was never possible in the first place, it could have been defended as a simple design decision, but by having it possible and getting rid of it, the media is spinning it as some sort of social commentary by Nintendo. So, by fixing the bug, now they are getting the wrath of the LGBT community and are facing the kind of bad publicity that they really don't need right now.

    Basically, all this will do is ensure that these kind of social simulators will remain as Japan only.

    --
    Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
    1. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm very much in favor of a same-sex option in Tomodachi Life, but the notion that a bug allowed same-sex marriages in the Japanese version is incorrect. It's the result of poorly-translated patch notes. In actuality, what happened was that Japanese gamers created female characters that looked like male characters, and vice-versa, in order to work around the restriction on same-sex marriages. Thy can still do that, by the way. The patch doesn't prevent that, but rather just fixes some data corruption issues.

      http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ChristianNutt/20140508/217351/Understanding_Nintendos_Tomodachi_Life_problem.php

      If the Tomodachi series of games is restricted to Japan hereafter, it won't be the first Nintendo game to be country-restricted due to sexuality issues. Both Captain Rainbow and Tingle's Rosy Ruppe Land were not released in the United States, though the latter was released in Europe.

      Although these games were most likely not released in the US due to fears of homophobia, their portrayal of LGBT characters may include some unflattering stereotypes in the guise of jokes, and could be attacked from the other side as well. As much as I'd personally like to play Captain Rainbow, I'm a worried about the possibility that there would be too many mean-spirited jokes revolving around Birdo being transgendered. I've watched enough anime to know that there are jokes about transgender individuals that are acceptable over there that would not be acceptable over here.

      I find your logic inescapable. I doubt Nintendo will implement same-sex options in the next Tomodachi game, and due to this, they won't release it in western countries. But I think I've come to peace with that. Whenever you have cross-cultural communication, there are always some things that just don't translate. In my younger days, I always thought it was a travesty when Japanese games was never released in the US, but it turns out that life goes on without them.

    2. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by _xeno_ · · Score: 1

      Which is why, if anything has been learned from the Mozilla Eich fiasco, the lesson should be "always ignore the LGBT community."

      They're never worth engaging. Ever. Apologies won't be enough, LGBT-friendly policies won't be another, nothing will be enough once you're in their sights. Despite apologizing, despite pledging not to change Mozilla's LGBT-friendly policies, despite giving in to all of their demands, the LGBT community would not let up and forced him to resign.

      And, hey, guess what? This apology also isn't being accepted! All Nintendo has accomplished is legitimizing the complaints and getting them more widely recognized. They should have just ignored them. The LGBT community would continue their ineffective ranting on Tumblr and everyone else could go about their lives without caring.

      Although, on the other hand, I had never heard of this game until people started getting outraged about it. Now I have. Maybe this will work out in Nintendo's favor in the end. After all, there is no such thing as "bad publicity."

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    3. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is a social commentary for a company to remove a marriage option.

      Somehow, Bioware, Bethesda, EA, Microsoft, etc. can create games that don't passively discriminate against gay people. Not sure why Nintendo isn't doing the same.

    4. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they were to re-instate the bug, there might be other unintended consequences. It was after all a bug - not intended behaviour. A guess list would include: the game not being able to progress, not bing able to load a savegame later, missed out parts of plot, Not be able to draw animations causing crashes.....

      They had not designed it this way from the beginning, so perhaps the complaint should be about that. But the bug fix is a slight distraction. It probably was a bug, and not a social commentary.

    5. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Which is why, if anything has been learned from the Mozilla Eich fiasco, the lesson should be "always ignore the LGBT community."

      Or weaponize the butthurt and turn it into dollars, get the right wingers lining up to spend money like Chick-fil-A does!

    6. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by captjc · · Score: 1

      Because Bioware, Bethesda, EA, Microsoft, etc aren't Nintendo. These games are mostly for teens and adults. Nintendo has the reputation as being a company that makes games for children. They have almost always been associated with family friendly entertainment. As such, they are a bigger target. Anything even remotely controversial will be latched on by "OMG Think of the children!!!"

      By the way, Bioware got blasted by Fox News when Mass Effect was released, basically being called a go-anywhere-rape-anyone sex simulator.

      --
      Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
    7. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      They're never worth engaging. Ever. Apologies won't be enough, LGBT-friendly policies won't be another, nothing will be enough once you're in their sights. Despite apologizing, despite pledging not to change Mozilla's LGBT-friendly policies, despite giving in to all of their demands, the LGBT community would not let up and forced him to resign.

      Were you also clutching your pearls in the 70's, as it became less and less acceptable in polite society to be a depraved bigoted shitsack towards blacks?

    8. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by _xeno_ · · Score: 1

      So who in any of these examples is being "a depraved bigoted shitsack towards [LGBT people]?" The answer is no one.

      But you still have people complaining.

      Hell, PAX added a "diversity lounge" to try and appease the complaints of the LGBT community. (What were they complaining for? In what way was PAX non-inclusive? Not a clue. But they were anyway.) Did that go over well?

      Nope. Just more complaining.

      Wait, what am I thinking? I'm probably trying to engage with someone in the LGBT community, aren't I? And the first rule is to never bother, because you'll never win, no matter how much you try to meet their demands.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    9. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

      How is it a controversy to reflect reality? How is it unsuitable for kids to say that there are different sets of parents, male/female, male/male, and female/female? The kid already knows from going to school and seeing it in other media, who cares if it's in this game too?

    10. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Sims has allowed gay couples for nearly 15 years. I'm pretty sure people stopped complaining about it (or at least, news outlets stopped covering people complaining about it) over 10 years ago. I don't think anyone significant would have batted an eye at Tomodachi Life allowing it. At this point it's old hat.

    11. Re:Damned If they do. Damned if they don't by Talderas · · Score: 1

      So what you're saying is that the LGBT community is equivalent to trolls.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  44. Look at it from a different perspective by cardpuncher · · Score: 2

    These are just avatars in a game. Someone actively decided that certain rules would apply to their interactions - there was no necessity to impose any societal values on those interactions, players would simply have applied those values they felt appropriate for themselves. In other words, the developers decided to impose their own vision of societal norms when there was no real need to do so.

    This is a very similar issue to the "emoji racism" campaign - someone actively designed the almost-exclusively-white characters, even though there was no functional or other requirement to exclude black faces. It almost certainly wasn't concious racism - they just failed to think beyond their limited personal experience and reflect the wider world.

    That's a reasonable thing to call out.

    1. Re:Look at it from a different perspective by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      There's a couple of things to point out here. One significant point is that the game works with the player's personal avatars, called mii's. The very point of the mii avatar is that it's supposed to represent you as a person. By creating a "life simulator" for those mii avatars, they should really have known to include the game features that people find important to them. Also, even if gay marriage isn't legal in Japan, it's not like the game is not allowed to depict it, nor does it mean there aren't gay people in Japan who would like to pretend their mii is getting married to someone of the same sex.

      Moreover, they did know from the start that this would certainly be ported to countries in which gay marriage is legal and expected as a feature. As a game developer, you have to make allowances for cultural differences in your product if they expect to sell in different locals. That's both common and business sense.

      All that being said - I don't think this snafu is worth forever writing off Nintendo. It was probably an honest oversight, simply slipping below their cultural radar.

      They eventually realized and owned up to their mistake. More importantly, it feels like no one even noticed this, but they stated that while it wouldn't be practical to rework this game, they pledged to properly design in the desired features in their next game of this type. Has anyone realized that, unless they're blatantly lying, and we have no reason to believe they are, this campaign scored a significant victory?

      Here's the actual quote from Nintendo:

      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.

      You guys actually won... not an immediate or full victory, but a victory nonetheless, and no one seems to have noticed. My sig seems more appropriate than ever.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  45. Shut up and don't take my money by Noxal · · Score: 1

    Not that voting with my wallet is relevant here; they don't make anything interesting anyways and my 3DS XL is a piece of shit.

    I can kinda maybe understand being upset at us queers demanding to be in every type of media ever, but when Nintendo acted to exclude us as they did here, FUCK THEM.

  46. Orphan tropes are popular by tepples · · Score: 1

    What about adoption?

    I'd guess probably half of popular video games with child or adolescent player characters probably have dead or missing parents. There are plenty of storytelling design patterns related to orphans, such as Parental Abandonment, Conveniently an Orphan, and Deceased Parents Are the Best.

  47. Re:Negativity by Noxal · · Score: 1

    I'm not a pedophile. And you can just come try to kill me. You'll find your worthless carcass riddled with hollow points in no time. ;)

  48. Re:Negativity by BrendaEM · · Score: 3, Interesting

    More girls are raped than boys, so it would seem that more pedophiles are heterosexual.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
  49. Re:Negativity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since there are much more (10 to 100 times more) heterosexuals than there are homosexuals, the contrary would be quite damning.

  50. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well..then... you can't have same sex marriage in Zelda either. Get over it and offa my lawn.

  51. Re:I dont wanna be POLITICAL but *continues existi by oic0 · · Score: 1

    Its creative fictional entertainment. Demanding to be added to someone elses fictional universe for fairness sake is absurd lol. "Dear author, I demand you add me to your book RIGHT NOW!!!"

  52. Porting problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The problem is that Japan is not a LGBT-friendly country (well, it's not a country with laws supporting it, though it's a country that doesn't actively kill their populace for engaging in weird fetishes either.)

    If Tomodachi Life had intended to be localized for American audiences from the beginning, it may still not have had the feature. Hell games like "the Sims" doesn't even have it. The only game I'm actually aware of that has the "gay marry" option is Mabinogi, and that's a feature only available in the American version because, again, the Koreans don't recognize GLBT-friendly stuff either.

  53. So dumb. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When will LGBT become LGBTA group, get with the times, people want relationships with animals now. Why should it be limited to the human species? Maybe the group should get ahead of the game and include robot relationships. Normal people do not want to see same sex relationships, It frankly should stay out of children's games, parents don't want their children to turn gay by playing a simulation game.

  54. Change the name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nintendo will need to change the name from Tomodachi Life to Tomodachi Existance, or something...
    Same sex relationships are Life ending.

  55. Just a bit whiney in my opinion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I generally am supportive towards LGBT people, and will continue to be, but it's becoming apparent that they are also a little bit of whiney.

    1. Re:Just a bit whiney in my opinion by Sketchly · · Score: 0

      That's because they don't get any proper sex.

  56. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nintendo are being morally responsible by protecting the family unit in Putin-esque spirit and should be commended. I'm all for gay rights, but not broadcasting the issue. Nintendo should just have ignored the whiners in question.

  57. 2DS/3DS vs. Android by tepples · · Score: 1

    Who brought up Wii? The article states that the game in question is made for Nintendo 2DS and 3DS. The big advantages of the 2DS and 3DS over (say) Android are 1. the centralized avatar builder, which this game uses, and 2. the discrete directional controls and trigger buttons without having to buy a MOGA clip-on gamepad that I haven't actually seen anyone use. The disadvantage is Nintendo's bias against first-timers.

    1. Re:2DS/3DS vs. Android by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      you are correct, i should have used nintendo rather than wii

      on the other hand im sure that if there is a TRUE demand for such a game, android and IOS would work out just fine, and you have the added bonus of the fact that more people have IOS android than they do all consoles combine.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    2. Re:2DS/3DS vs. Android by tepples · · Score: 1

      [Nintendo products have] discrete directional controls and trigger buttons without having to buy a MOGA clip-on gamepad

      im sure that if there is a TRUE demand for such a game, android and IOS would work out just fine

      When people emphasize "real" or "true", I'm reminded of something. So let's clear up definitions first so that this discussion doesn't fall apart:

      By "true demand", are you referring to demand that would encourage people to buy a $40 clip-on gamepad just for one game? Are there even any games like that?

    3. Re:2DS/3DS vs. Android by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      no, what I am saying when I say "true" demand, is this.

      Will ALL the people who are "outraged" by this buy the game if it included gay marriage? If no, there isnt a market for the game, If yes kickstarter campaign would work. For this type of game you could get away with all touch controls, its a sim style game you dont need joysticks and keypads for that type of game, it could be optimized for touch

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  58. Still anomalous. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The much-quoted "one in ten" is not a statistic, it's propaganda. It's been thoroughly debunked time and again. Real-world statistics show a worldwide average of under 1% with some nations or states being as high as 5%.

  59. Re:First World Problems by Drew_9999 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    LGBT is 1% of Nintendo Buyers.

    Citation?

  60. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why would removing a single if statement in the code involve that much extra work. In fairness, adding that if in the first place was the extra work.

    It's not so much altering the game to allow same sex marriage as they shouldn't have put in the extra code to prohibit it in the first place.

  61. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not to mention different-species marriage!

  62. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So why implement a gender check in the first place? To not allow same sex marriage was a design choise, not a mistake.

  63. Against same-sex marriage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And maybe as many (or more) people *not* buying the game because same sex union is allowed in it and they are strongly opposed to it...

    This. The issue is a controversial one in many regions.

  64. oh no, reported to the hall monitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is he going to face detention now?

  65. Re: First World Problems by _xeno_ · · Score: 2

    Because marriage in the game is intended to produce children (note: not applying that to reality at this time, please don't argue that), and having two characters of the same sex breaks the game when it attempts to determine which character is the father and which is the mother.

    It was literally a crash bug, which is why they patched it out.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
  66. Re:Negativity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're assuming that only men can be paedophiles. I find your misandry highly offensive.

  67. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No one said they had to comply. They're free to ignore the complaints from their customers just as the customers are free to not buy any more games from nintendo. Seeming as how Nintendo has already apologised it seems that it isn't a case of artistic merit.

  68. LBGT/feminist PC Cathedral at work... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck, they will stand on their soapbox and complain about everything. Inclusiveness is one thing, but the arrogance in expecting companies to cater everything to the 1% its just a useless powerplay.

  69. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We're not reading about this because two people complained. Nintendo would have ignored a protest by 2 people. Do all protesters own the game? I doubt it.

  70. Attention Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nintendo, I didn't buy your sim game and I never played it, but I especially wouldn't have bought it or played it had you made it possible for same sex marriages on your game. Give us a break. Don't apologize for doing the right thing.

  71. 1-2%: Selection Bias & Lying. Also self-decept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1-2%: Selection Bias and Lying. Also self-deception.

    Sexuality, like many human complex characteristics is almost certainly a continuum. Probably a relatively flat bell-curve.

    IOW most people are actually bisexual by nature (genotype), it is nurture (especially the social environment) that determines phenotypes and behavior.

    Citation: Compare US to Ancient Greece and Rome (Citizens) as well as modern permissive tribal cultures. Compare Western Europe to US. Compare US to Russia or China. etc.

    Sexual expression is heavily, perhaps overwhelmingly affected by society. So all these 'studies' mean fuck all if they do not take that into account. Read Kinsey and Masters and Johnson in depth for an introductory understanding of these ideas. And we have gone way beyond that in understanding. Actually gathering statistics - almost impossible because of confounding factors. Instead - observe populations and how they act based on what is socially acceptable.

    TLDR: It really is a choice for many people. Given a free and open choice most of us would have lots more sex with a wide variety of genders.

  72. Re:First World Problems by Sique · · Score: 1

    Yes, it's a game. And no one is forced to buy it. And Nintendo is free to market it to a smaller portion of the potential buyership by restricting it artificially. I wouldn't have bought it because of those artificial restictions. And I am straight. And because there are not only LBGTs complaining, but the market just shrank by Nintendo acting inconsiderately, Nintendo made a turnaround and will patch the game in the next release. And now you complain that Nintendo tries to appeal to a buyership you don't like? You are allowed to try to stir up a shitstorm like the one that caught Nintendo right now. If you prevail and Nintendo again removes the patch again, you win. And what exactly will you have won?

    --
    .sig: Sique *sigh*
  73. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But the game is launched in June, right?

  74. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lets just make some numbers up on the spot to validate what I want to say. Ah the joys of the internet.

  75. Re:Thank God by davester666 · · Score: 2

    We're sorry we didn't do it in this universe, but we might do it in an alternate, parallel universe. Try switching to other universe to see.

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  76. Yeah, they went to extra work to implement it by billstewart · · Score: 1

    If they hadn't done that, then it wouldn't have affected people who only wanted to do opposite-sex marriages.

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  77. Complying with local laws?? In games?? by billstewart · · Score: 1

    A large percentage of video games involve killing people, which is generally illegal, often using weapons which would be illegal in the countries the games are sold in (if the laws of physics allowed your BFG-9000 and Death Ray to exist.) Also, a number of countries have laws affecting who can get married, and this game certainly isn't implementing lots of checks on whether you've been married before or are a citizen or whatever.

    They went out of their way to write code to disallow same-sex marriage; if they hadn't checked for it, it should have worked fine. It's a different case than not including polygamy, where you have to take a whole bunch of data structures that have two entries and expand them to larger numbers (but not larger than four, if you're in a Muslim country.)

    _xeno_ commented below that the real reason it's there is that the marriage feature leads to children, and that was breaking on the code for identifying the parents of the child (what, Heather has two mommies?) Ok, so this was a cheap-ass fix, but it wouldn't have been that much work to do a better fix; if nothing else, don't allow same-sex couples to have kids, instead of not allowing them to get married. Still unrealistic, but less so.

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
    1. Re: Complying with local laws?? In games?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get with the program; is fine to depict horrific murders but sex is bad. One leads to war which is profitable; the other leads to happiness which isn't.

    2. Re:Complying with local laws?? In games?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A large percentage of video games involve killing people, which is generally illegal, often using weapons which would be illegal in the countries the games are sold in (if the laws of physics allowed your BFG-9000 and Death Ray to exist.)

      Unless you're trying to claim that people are generally OK with games for children depicting graphic violence, then you actually are supporting the parent's point not refuting it. The BFG-9000 was not in a game sold to kids or marketed as family-friendly. You don't run around brutally murdering people in games for kids. If you want a game to be "family friendly" then in most countries that means you avoid subjects which are illegal and/or highly controversial.

      You then continue to claim "They went out of their way to write code to disallow same-sex marriage; if they hadn't checked for it, it should have worked fine." and then immediately contradict yourself with " the real reason it's there is that the marriage feature leads to children, and that was breaking on the code for identifying the parents of the child".

    3. Re:Complying with local laws?? In games?? by uninformedLuddite · · Score: 1

      if nothing else, don't allow same-sex couples to have kids, instead of not allowing them to get married. Still unrealistic, but less so./quote. Then the complaint would be that they couldn't adopt children in-game and that their 'lifestyle choices' were not allowed.

      --
      The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
    4. Re:Complying with local laws?? In games?? by billstewart · · Score: 1

      My nephew spent a number of his teenage years on the couch in front of the TV and various game consoles, earphones in for talking to his buddies, shooting zombies or enemy soldiers or each other or whoever they felt like shooting that afternoon.

      --

      Bill Stewart
      New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  78. National and Natural Laws in Games by billstewart · · Score: 2

    Video games don't even have to obey the laws of physics, much less national and local laws. It's nice if they can at least obey the laws of Cartoon Physics consistently, for whatever version of that they choose to implement.

    Is there a Japanese-localized version of Grand Theft Auto?

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  79. But you'll die before enjoying it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Colorectal cancer!

  80. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In this case it is not "just a game" it is social commentary. Same sex relationships are "wrong" according to this game.

  81. Re:Fucking faggots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Hahaha disregard that inane homophobic drivel, I suck cocks!!!!!

  82. illegal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just because gay marriage is not recognized in Japan doesn't mean that it is illegal in any way to discuss or depict it in any media. I have no Idea how you could come to such a conclusion.

  83. Moving from one country to another by tepples · · Score: 1

    Consoles' firmware already contain an ID for a region, but regions are coarser than countries. Besides, it's often fairly easy for people to relocate from one region with very different levels of acceptance of expressions of homosexuality. Consider the United States of America, a federal republic whose several states disagree on whether to recognize same-sex domestic partnerships. Also consider the Schengen Area, which includes most of mainland western Europe.

    1. Re:Moving from one country to another by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, which is why Mass Effect 2 sold no copies and was hated by mainstream gamers. Hmmm.

  84. Re:They're 5% of the population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Surely you have to factor in how honestly people will respond to the question, too?

    Attitudes to gay rights are making significant progress right now, but I doubt you can sweep away decades of oppression and living in hiding so quickly.

  85. It's a handheld by tepples · · Score: 1

    [Console makers] have secret guidelines for what content is acceptable

    PCs don't

    True, desktop allows unlimited sideloading, and Microsoft publishes its Windows Store guidelines. But carrying a 3DS would appear far more convenient than carrying a laptop.

    1. Re:It's a handheld by aliquis · · Score: 1

      But he mentioned "a selected few" / not everyone / leaved out Windows/PC on purpose.

      "Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, and iOS"

      As for 3DS now with so many games getting controller support also for PC and Intel doing low-end chips maybe it would be possible to make a portable PC console.

  86. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FYI, Skyrim allows same sex marriages without mods.

  87. Re:Negativity by dotgain · · Score: 1

    Base rate fallacy.

  88. Re:if the sodomites want games that they like, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A group of consumers told Nintendo that this feature was important to them. In an attempt to increase future sales in western markets, Nintendo stated that they will include this feature in subsequent installments of the game.

    It's the free market in action. Stop your whining commie.

  89. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You do not have to do any modification whatsoever in Skyrim to have a same sex marriage.

  90. Re:They're 5% of the population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And you're not really straight... you're counted twice as a bisexual and a straight guy for fucking a women. What an asshole.

  91. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Act IV, Scene III

    ACT IV, SCENE III, CONTINUED

    Lifts-Her-Tail: Certainly not, kind sir! I am here but to clean your chambers.

    Crantius Colto: Is that all you have come here for, little one? My chambers?

    Lifts-Her-Tail: I have no idea what it is you imply, master. I am but a poor Argonian maid.

    Crantius Colto: So you are, my dumpling. And a good one at that. Such strong legs and shapely tail.

    Lifts-Her-Tail: You embarrass me, sir!

    Crantius Colto: Fear not. You are safe here with me.

    Lifts-Her-Tail: I must finish my cleaning, sir. The mistress will have my head if I do not!

    Crantius Colto: Cleaning, eh? I have something for you. Here, polish my spear.

    Lifts-Her-Tail: But it is huge! It could take me all night!

    Crantius Colto: Plenty of time, my sweet. Plenty of time.

  92. 87% of stats are made up on the spot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Please do show us your source for these numbers.

  93. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dudes sucking cock is all the rage. Keep up with the times man! Fucking conservative pussy eaters...

  94. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, you keep up with the times! It's horse cock now! Goatse was a visionary.

  95. Gay animals are gay by tepples · · Score: 1

    Homosexual pairing has been observed in other mammalian species. What makes you think it wouldn't be just as present in elves, in little people, or in giant flying lizards?

    1. Re:Gay animals are gay by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      My point wasn't that there wouldn't be homosexual pairings between elves. Just that you wouldn't have a homosexual option for every single romanceable character in the game.

      If they're going to make romance options in the game there should be some straight characters, some bisexual, and some homosexual. Making them all bisexual and then calling it a day is just lazy and boring.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
  96. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a good thing governments specifically included marriages in video games as also illegal. Oh wait, they don't.

  97. Re:Negativity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're just afraid that cock might taste good. Which it does by the way :)

  98. F* the LGBT!!! by gabrieltss · · Score: 0

    F* the LGBT!!! I am SO sick and tired of their Mafia tactics. People have the RIGHT to NOT accept their garbage! If they don't like it TOUGH $H!t!! They just need to GET OVER I!!! I'm not Racists - I hate everyone equally! I'm just so done with their "we have the the right to exist, but no one else has the right not not accept us." - He LGBT - gutess what LOTS OF PEOPLE DO NOT ACCEPT your lifestyle - get the F* over it! Get over yourselves you sick and twisted get over it!!!

    --
    The Truth is a Virus!!!
    1. Re:F* the LGBT!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't decide if your post is more offensive to the English language or to the LGBT community. Considering that gays aren't a distinct race of course you aren't a racist. You're just a mouth-breathing fuckwit.

  99. Re:Fucking faggots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bitch please ... the gays are going to inherit the earth. Now get back down the glitter mines. Dig mumma up something pretty!

  100. The BIG picture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The big picture hasn't changed. This "outrage" comes conspicuously right after Nintendo announced substantial losses. One political group (LBGT) is pouncing on the chance to manipulate a financially weakened company who has an objectively HUGE influence over American youth. This has nothing to do about tolerance or equality, and the Social Justice Warrior movement is basically the LBGT equivalent of the Black Panthers.

  101. Re: First World Problems by denmarkw00t · · Score: 1

    I would consider buying it if they do include same sex marriage in the future. I'm straight, married to a woman, and not into dudes at all. But, I'm all for games that include the option. I'm for human equality or whatever you want to call it, and while it may not have affected my buying choice beforehand, if Nintendo DOES include samesex marriage then I'll be more inclined to buy because they were thoughtful enough to implement it after this "incident." I'd rather a company be sensitive to 1/1000 of potential customers than not, and that means a lot to me as one of the 999/1000 that it might appeal to.

  102. Re:1-2%: Selection Bias & Lying. Also self-dec by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is just wishful thinking. You don't want to be part of the minority so you make up reasons to discard the data.

  103. Re:Negativity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More girls are raped than boys, so it would seem that more pedophiles are heterosexual.

    No, more girls report being raped than boys. And more males are convicted of rape than females. But that does not mean that girls are raped more often or that boys are more likely to be rapists.
    And it also ignores the fact that rape is a matter of opinion- as long as the "rapee" does not consider it rape, then it's not.

  104. Re:Negativity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I like the point that your post makes.

    But I like the implication your post makes more. You know - the implication that only men commit rape.

  105. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Simple solution - drop marriage altogether. Just goes to show why our civilization can't have nice things, they'd have to be implemented for every nook and cranny of society or all of a sudden the twitterverse is filled once again with "We are downtrodden!"

  106. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can you have children in skyrim ?

  107. Re:First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You do realize that video game marriages aren't real, right? It would only be a problem to sell the game in countries where it is illegal to PORTRAY same sex marriages, not perform them (which is what, UAE, Singapore, other places where the game would probably be banned for a dozen other reasons anyway?). Those countries are far far fewer and far far smaller markets for video games than the ones where it is illegal to perform the ceremony, but not illegal to portray them in fiction. They'd probably not lose anything by simply not selling or marketing the game to those few countries.

  108. Re:1-2%: Selection Bias & Lying. Also self-dec by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do you know, in gay speak, "straight" just means "virgin".

    For many more people than you would expect, there is a person they would be gay for, in the right circumstances. There are some people who make a game out of finding these people and these circumstances. Personally, I get propositioned by straight guys without even having to go looking. Just imagine:

    You've been out drinking and carousing with some young, handsome, clean-cut guy: a man's man, with the body and charisma of a young Brad Pitt, or maybe Tom Cruise. Maybe you went clubbing, and he was just as into the ladies as you were, and more successful at gaining their attention. Neither of you score, though, and somehow you transition to a more intimate situation -- for a nightcap, say. Adonis puts his hand on your thigh, and with eyes and a smile that tell you he knows everything about how to make another man feel good, he suggests that you get to know each other better.

    Kinsey says at least 10% would say yes, and I would say this is an underrepresentation.

  109. Re: First World Problems by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't want my children exposed to a game that normalized homosexual marriage, personally. I'm disappointed in Nintendo for not having the moral compass to stand up to these deviant's. They make games for children, for Christ's sake.

    This is just so very wrong.

    --
    -1 Uncomfortable Truth
  110. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yep, far better to send children the message that it doesn't exist or shouldn't be talked about. That won't have any negative consequences for them later on in life.

    Your attitude is, if anything, worse than that of the noisy crazies like Westboro. Your attitude is to hide it as if it is something dirty. A parent with an attitude like that is part of what causes the high suicide rate in the LGBT youth. If you are a parent then I pity them. They have an ignorant fool for a parent.

  111. best game by nikola_850 · · Score: 1
  112. No Reason... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...You should not be able to marry all thirty of them.

    Oops, wait, the same sex marriage people say you shouldn't. How ironic.

  113. Re:First World Problems by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

    I didn't complain, I was just pointing out that it's only a game.

  114. Re:First World Problems by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    LGBT is 1% of Nintendo Buyers.

    Around 5% of the human race is gay. I couldn't find good stats for bisexual and transgender demographics, but in any case we are talking about an issue that affects at least 1 in 20 people directly, and their close friends and family indirectly.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  115. NINTENDO has taken the SEGA way. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slowly drifting into oblivion. But then, I can't wait to play Zelda on my iPhone :-)))))))))))))))))

  116. Oh please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We've become so sensitive on such insignificant bullshit like this.

  117. Reversal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's turn this around. What if a game only allowed gay/lesbian marriages, how would you respond to that? Would you still use the argument "So what! It's a game!"?

  118. Re:They're 5% of the population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did you read your own article? 3.8% of adults self-identify as being in the LGBT community. In addition, many more people are attracted to the same sex but do not self-identify as LGBT:

    According to the Williams Institute review conducted in April 2011, approximately 3.80 % of American adults identify themselves being in the LBGT community; wherein, (1.70%) identify as lesbian or gay, bisexual (1.80%), and/or transgender (0.30%); which corresponds to approximately 10 million adult Americans as of the 2010 Census.[2] However, a measurable higher percentage acknowledge having same-sex attraction, or experience, without identifying as LGBT. This makes it difficult to accurately record the demographics of LGBT community in the U.S.

  119. Re: First World Problems by astar · · Score: 1

    Curiously it is illegal in North Carolina to perform a same sex marriage ceremony simulation. Sure, you cannot get the government paperwork and everyone knows this but a minister doing the deed anyway is a criminal. So the government is being sued on 1st amendment religious freedom grounds by churches and ministers. You were saying?

  120. No Buggery? what is Nintendo think? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sodomites rule the world.

    Next pedos and animals shaggers will won't including :(

    I for one will not be playing the filth.

  121. It's stupidly ignorant to deny reality. by Senior+Engineer · · Score: 1

    Reality is that which survives all attempts to deny it's existence. We've had same-sex relationships since we've had humans. And denial- by deliberate editing one reality out of a game- is denial at the core. Hell, like as not there's MORE money to be made from inclusiveness than exclusion. Quite apart from the purported social values cruft that usually gets invoked about now. Rest assured- in time- the money will dictate inclusion if nothing else does first. Me personally- I wish the companies would GTFU and act adult= have some diversity options.

  122. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When someone says "I'm straight, married to a woman, and not into dudes at all.". I generally subtext that in the same way I do the phrase "Some of my best friends are black!"

  123. Re:First World Problems by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

    I've been parroting this for a while. Rather than be annoyed at someone else's non-standard (ooh, heaven forbid I say that) Implementation, just eliminate it.

  124. Tomadachi life is copying Tomagotchi life's name! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I saw the commercial, and i instantly thought of my childhood game Tomagotchi Life!!!! Why is nintendo supposdly stealing and changing the name of Tomagatchi Life?

  125. iOS != OS X by tepples · · Score: 1

    It's pretty much Apple, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox that still have lockouts

    Apple's OS X App Store might have restrictions (I don't know, though I wouldn't be surprised), but you can still install arbitrary programs from whatever source you like

    True, a Mac is like a Windows PC in this respect. But perhaps I wasn't clear enough that I was referring to iOS, not OS X. The privilege to install whatever you want on an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad costs $99 per year, plus $650 if your current computer happens to be something other than a Mac.

  126. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It isn't normal. No need to be such a prick.

  127. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They shouldn't have complied. It just gives the pressure groups another taste of blood.

  128. Re: First World Problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No. With an add-on, you can adopt. So the outrage against Nintendo is pathetic and unjustified.

  129. creepy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is homosexuality the only thing that people ever talk about anymore?

    Why does a children's video game corporation have to join an activist movement or face consequences? Just leave Nintendo alone.

  130. In Minecraft opposite sex marriage is not possible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just saying, only way of creating little humans is to put two guys in the mood.

  131. I support 25% of this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can guess.

  132. What this means is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Such marriages aren't recognized under Japanese law, but there is no legal obstacle to depicting them in a video game, or any other media, for that matter. Whether it would be controversial and affect Nintendo's sales is another question, though people don't seem to politicize this sort of issue so much in Japan to begin with (which has both its good and its bad aspects, as the lack of legal recognition of such unions indicates).