Rumor: Localization source on NoA’s freedom when it comes to NCL, adding same-sex relationships to Tomodachi Life would have been difficult
USGamer spoke with “one high-level localization specialist” in light of the controversy surrounding Tomodachi Life. For those unaware, some gamers have taken dissatisfaction in the fact that the game does not support same-sex relationships.
USGamer first asked its source about how much freedom Nintendo of America has in this situation, and whether NCL would have acquiesced to NoA deciding to add in same-sex relationships.
“On the one hand, it’s tempting to say ‘yes,’ because Nintendo of America enjoys one of the healthiest relationships in the business with its parent company when it comes to localization. No one else has the leeway to make sweeping changes like this one. The US version of Animal Crossing has added Western holidays, events, and items; the main character of Rusty’s Big Deal Baseball got a complete makeover for the US version; and even Tomodachi Life already has a number of non-trivial changes to the US release, which Nintendo has boasted about elsewhere. In an industry where it can be almost impossible just to get the original developers to add proper support for plural cases, NOA was in a better position than anyone to push for same-sex relationships in the game.”
The same source also explained why adding in same-sex relationships could end up being a huge undertaking.
“It has potential knock-on effects for every other aspect of the game, all of which would be have to be tested to make sure it’s still compatible with the new system. That’s especially hard for a game where so little is under the tester’s direct control. My gut read is that for same-sex relationships to work in a game like this, they have to be included during the initial planning and design stages. I suspect there’s not a way to include them late in the project’s life, without essentially redoing the game over again.”
