A screenshot from Fire Emblem Fates.
Nintendolife and Eurogamer have noted that Tomodachi Life’s lack of same sex marriage, and the negative response from fans when this was noticed, may have helped usher in these changes. Nintendo also commented on their design choice, stating:
Regardless of what spurred Nintendo to include same sex marriage in the game, this is a great step forward for equality and acceptance of homosexuality in the video gaming world. As same sex marriage is a rather current issue in many Western societies, featuring it in a video game by a popular company will likely bring more attention and positivity to it.
If Nintendo is willing to change to accommodate the times and ever-growing diversity, then perhaps we will soon see transgender characters in the mix? We can only hope that Nintendo will continue in this progressive direction in the future!