Tomodachi Life (3DS) Official Topic: Releases 6th June 2014

[Victor Mildew]

Looks awful.

[jawafour]

It also looks properly old-style Japanese crazy, which I find quite endearing. It's been a long time since the halcyon days where this sort of thing was the norm, it's nice to see it again.

Bang on target, CaA. The 3DS has some terrific games but, at least in the UK, nothing that is too different from the norm. This title seems set to bring back some of the craziness that was far more familiar in the DS era; it's good to see something a little weird but engaging appear.

I keep wanting to call this Tamagotchi Life.

Snap .

Looks awful.

I antcipate the game being marmite-ish; but at worst it does help to extend the 3DS library into more off-beat areas.

[Dual]

haha Tamagotchi I had one of those.

[Victor Mildew]

haha Tamagotchi I had one of those.

Still got mine

[jawafour]

Great Iwata work by NintendoLife.

[jawafour]

NintendoLife has spent a bit of time tinkering with Tomodachi Life and jotted down a brief overview. It sounds intriguing; the approach and ideas probably won't suit everyone but it's great to see something so different arriving on the 3DS.

[Starquake]

It seems to be a ridiculous, eastern style, over the top and damn right sickly game.

It's gonna be ace

[jawafour]

Eurogamer has updated on their time spent meandering through the world of Tomodachi. I don't think their experiences will change any minds, but it's intriguing for those folk who dig the idea.

[Herdanos]

Miis are the worst thing Nintendo has ever created.

You're not thinking hard enough. They've produced all kinds of toss.

Funny, yet very true.

[jawafour]

Nintendo USA has released an advert for Tomodachi...



Now I feel like a complete creep just for having the game pre-ordered . The game is for 'older' fans as well, right?

[rudderless]

Yeah, you can be pretty subversive with it if you like, and there's enough weirdness in it as well as the cutesy stuff. You can have characters saying "bollocks" when they're angry and things like that.

[jawafour]

...You can have characters saying "bollocks" when they're angry and things like that.

Tomodachi Life - GRcade Edition .

[Dowbocop]

According to the Metro there's a minor kerfuffle with this as you can't have gay relationships in the game. Nintendo basically said maybe in the sequel...

[Mockmaster]

Yes, it caused quite the stir.

This BBC news segment best elucidates the situation.



Nintendo has since apologised.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... dachi-life

"We apologise for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game's design, and such a significant development change can't be accomplished with a post-ship patch. At Nintendo, dedication has always meant going beyond the games to promote a sense of community, and to share a spirit of fun and joy. We are committed to advancing our longtime company values of fun and entertainment for everyone. We pledge that if we create a next installment in the Tomodachi series, we will strive to design a game-play experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players."

[Mafro]

Boo-fucking-hoo.

The first guy is alright in that video but the second guy's a tosser. They must change it to reflect western culture? GTFO you grey smarm pie.

[Supachipz]

This all stems from some incorrect reports in the Japanese media which suggested that Nintendo had actively patched out Same sex relationships post release, which was not actually the case

From IGN:

BY JOSE OTERO

According to Nintendo, numerous news outlets misreported an issue related to the Japanese version of Tomodachi Life this past December. A patch issued to Tomodachi Collection [the name of the game in Japan] did not, despite reports, patch an exploit that allowed two men to enter a relationship and, eventually, have a baby.

The issue of censorship was raised online when Nintendo released a patch to correct “strange relationships.”


“There actually was a misconception over what the issue in December was,” product marketing manager Bill Trinen told IGN last April. “There were two things that were going on at the time that essentially were grouped together as one. The first, that there was a patch. And what the patch was fixing was actually a data leak.”

Trinen explained that a free tool on the 3DS eShop allowed players to transfer over Mii characters from the 2009, Japan-only DS version to the 3DS game caused a problem. When a player brought those characters into 3DS’s Tomodachi Collection, it caused a data transfer issue that corrupted the save data and prevented people from progressing.



In the Japan, some players were creating male Mii characters and switching their gender.

“The other thing that was going on was that quite a few Japanese players were dressing up Mii characters,” Trinen explained. “Essentially they would create a male version of a Mii character and assign their gender as female, and that was how the two males were able to have a baby.”

The patch did not change the fact that players could do that.

It only addressed the data transfer issue according to Trinen. “Because we didn’t have the DS version [in the West], there is no data transfer issue for us,” Trinen said. “So it was actually two separate things that got lumped together into one piece of confusion that resulted in people not quite understanding what had gone on.


“From our perspective it’s kind of tough because as a game development company, our primary focus is always looking at creating entertainment and fun and entertaining products,” Trinen explained. “And there’s a lot of decisions that can go into that process. What we try not to do is… well, it would be very easy to look at Animal Crossing and say, ‘well, what wasn’t included in an Animal Crossing, so what’s Nintendo saying about that?’ We’re not really saying anything about anything; we’re just constantly trying to create fun and entertaining experiences.”

Trinen said that, unfortunately, Tomodachi Life isn’t designed to be a perfect simulation and, therefore, the line between entertainment and real-life becomes a challenge for Nintendo. “We’ve got to try to find what’s the best way to create this experience and really have a fun and entertaining experience. And for us it’s all about a whimsical world where you bring these people together and you see what happens as a result.”


We asked Trinen if Nintendo had made any prior effort to clear up this confusion. “I think, at the time, in Japan there actually wasn’t confusion,” Trinen said. “As it was reported in Japanese, they had an understanding of what the [data corruption] issue was. The other wasn’t an issue. It was just a unique way that people were playing the game.”

Trinen continued, “At the time, because the game wasn’t out here, we hadn’t really gotten into the detail on it. And that was primarily because we hadn’t announced that we were working on the game.”

Nintendo describes Tomodachi Life as a funny alternate reality to IGN. “It is a difficult thing to understand. Your first impression is really going to be to compare it to an Animal Crossing, or to look at it as a sort of simulation game. But we don’t really look at it so much as a simulation,” Trinen explained. “We look at it really as this sort of living breathing world, and it’s a bit of an alternate reality, where the Mii characters of people you know in everyday life come together to interact and mingle. And the results of it are incredibly funny, with unexpected moments that occur between all of these characters.”

Of course, it's regrettable that same sex relationships aren't a standard option in the game but for me the first guy it that video is spot on. It needs to be addressed in future games forward now they know that it's likely to come to the West, but to expect them to be able to click their fingers and change it prior to release is a ridiculous view point.

They have explained their reasoning behind it and have since apologised and said they will be more inclusive going forward , which should draw a line under it: whether it will or not is a different question.

[Seven]

It's bit of shame but I'll live without it. Looking forward to this

[Learning Curve]

I must be getting old because my reaction to this game is one of bewilderment and confusion. I just don't "get" what it is about or why anyone want to play. Jesus, this is how my parents must feel about all games...

[Dandy Kong]

Part of the "kerfuffle" was about Nintendo's press releases, which were clumsy at best. Referring to the exploit that allowed two same sex Miis to marry as "strange relationships" is not the best way to word it. Later, as a response to the 'Miiquality' initiative, they said they didn't add same-sex relationships because

Nintendo never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of Tomodachi Life

Which is a strange thing to say because leaving out same-sex relationships can be seen as "social commentary" as well, just catering to the other side of the argument.

Saying "Nintendo doesn't do same-sex relationships because Japan" sounds like bollocks to me, there is plenty of pop culture from Japan that has (references to) gay relationships.

Anyhoo, I appreciate their apology and that they will take this into account from now on. So who knows, in the sequel, my Mii can have a virtual relationship with my boyfriend's Mii*. Yay!

* or any male Mii...

[Learning Curve]

Hmm, is it me or does the argument in favour of them not changing anything now not quite hold up? I mean, the 3DS is an online enabled console and these games are online so there is technically nothing stopping a patch from being issued.

I don't really buy the cultural arguments about Japan either. From my admittedly small knowledge of Japanese culture, I know that "girls love" and "boys love" entertainment is quite common in anime, manga and videogames.