For many of us gaming is a huge part of our lives, having found a sense of community, diversity and togetherness as well as massive amounts of fun from a young age. 

Gaming has been a huge distraction in the last year and people have been getting involved in record numbers, especially on the Nintendo Switch which is about to surpass the infamous Nintendo Wii’s incredible figure of over 100 million consoles sold worldwide. 

That is thanks in no small part to their cast of colourful characters and IPs, especially Animal Crossing: New Horizons which has sold by the bucket load during the pandemic. While Nintendo is one of the biggest players on the gaming stage, its games rarely (if ever) feature sexual relationships making them a safe have for queer and gender diverse people. 

Nintendo themselves have supported Pride for years but are now recognising this within their company and in a just published Corporate Social Responsibility Report, it has outlined how serious it’s now taking diversity and inclusion. 

As well as discussing their support for women and people of colour they say ‘At Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japan), we want to create a work environment that supports and empowers each and every one of our unique employees.’

They didn’t stop there either continuing: ‘We introduced the Partnership System in March 2021 as one initiative based on this philosophy. This system ensures employees who are in a domestic partnership with a same-sex partner have the same benefits as employees in an opposite-sex marriage. We have also established that a common-law marriage between a same-sex couple will be observed in the same way as a legal marriage.’

Thank you Nintendo. Nothing hurts more than when a company you love or the creator of a character that you’ve grown up with all your whole life doesn’t share your values. It can tarnish your whole memory. Gaming is a multi billion dollar industry, surpassing the film industry even before the pandemic so it’s amazing to see one of the biggest players of them all embrace us wholeheartedly and meaningfully.