Nintendo to Release U.S. Version of Japanese Game That Excludes Gay Couples

Nintendo is scheduled to release an American version of Tomodachi Life in June -- the same game that was redesigned to exclude the possibility of same-sex romantic pairings when it was released in Japan in 2013, reports Hardcore Gamer.

Tomodachi Life is an offbeat simulation game in which players can create avatars of people in their life called Miis and then interact with them through activities such as games and feeding. Players can also encourage Miis to form relationships. In the original Japanese version, it was briefly possible to allow male Miis to marry each other. However, Nintendo released a patch last year that prevented same-sex coupling. In a statement released around that time, Nintendo argued that fans had misinterpreted earlier images.

While the game's American commercial highlights how players can "watch [their characters] fall in love," it's as yet unknown if Nintendo will allow same-sex coupling in the game.

Similar simulation games, such as Electronic Arts' The Sims, allow for romantic partnering of people of the same sex, and have been released in the States to great success.