Nintendo refuses to include same-sex relationships in upcoming video game

Despite the pressures of a grassroots social media campaign, Nintendo has confirmed that it will not alter its upcoming game Tomodachi Life — a Sims-esque 3DS game that hinges on the relationships between its characters — to include same-sex relationships.

"Nintendo never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of Tomodachi Life," said the company in a statement. "The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that all of our fans will see that Tomodachi Life was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary."

That answer isn't likely to satisfy gamers like Tye Marini, who originally launched what he dubbed the "Miiquality" campaign. "The relationships and interactions between Mii characters in the game — coupled with their relation to you in real life — are what makes this game so appealing," he says. "I want to be able to marry my real-life fiance's Mii, but I can't do that. My only options are to marry some female Mii, to change the gender of either my Mii, or my fiance's Mii, or other male Miis, or to completely avoid marriage altogether, and miss out on the exclusive content that comes with it."

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Tomodachi Life is already available in Japan, and will hit shelves in North America and Europe on June 6. --Scott Meslow