In 2016, or...today if you live in Japan, Fire Emblem Fates will become the first Nintendo game to give your customizable character the option to marry a character of the same sex, following the footsteps of other fantasy roleplaying games such as Skyrim and Dragon Age.
The following statement explains how same-sex relationships work in the new entry of the influential franchise...
"Fire Emblem Fates comes in two different versions, called the Conquest and Birthright editions," Nintendo said. "In the U.S., Conquest and Birthright will both be sold separately, as is already the case in Japan. For those who have purchased either the Conquest or Birthright edition, a third edition will be made available as downloadable content at a later stage. Details on how the three storylines will be made available in other regions will be announced at a later date."
"In the Conquest edition of the game, there is a male character that the game's player may have his/her male main character marry after they bond in battle. Similarly, the Birthright edition features a female character that a female main character may marry after bonding in battle. Both of the aforementioned characters can be encountered in the third edition of the game."
In the same statement, they explained why they believed it was necessary to include this option in the game...
"We believe that our gameplay experiences should reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate and, at the same time, we will always design the game specifications of each title by considering a variety of factors, such as the game's scenario and the nature of the game play," Nintendo said. "In the end of course, the game should be fun to play. We feel that Fire Emblem Fates is indeed enjoyable to play and we hope fans like the game."
While this will be the first Nintendo game to include the option to marry a character of the same sex, it is not the first one to include a LBGT character. Super Mario Bros. 2 (Birdo), Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Vivian), The Glory of Heracles (Leucos) and Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Gracie and Saharah) all featured transgender, gay, transgender, lesbian and gay characters, respectively.