I'm in late 30's and started with sims 1 but really got hooked with sims 2.
It is nice to see all ages are represented in the poll. I hope EA realizes the target group is not just teenage girls.
The "target group" is whatever they want it to be. It could be 90 year old men if they wanted. Of course that doesn't mean everyone who plays the game is inside that target group, but I think it's probably the largest demographic. This type of poll is fun for discussion's sake but it's not really going to give us an accurate picture as to who's playing the game. The players who use the forum make up an extremely small part of the overall community and it seems to attract older players (which makes sense since it also serves as a platform for people to discuss older games)
I think in the case sims...... target age is not too much of a thing, my oldest daughter who is 23 years younger than me and in a lower age category has very much the same kind of taste when it comes to this game as I do. Whereas my youngest daughter who is 37 years younger than me is into video games, but prefers shooters and such, she did play sims 1 and 2 with us for a bit, but her taste was totally different, as she enjoyed just making sims, with large eyes and then killing them. Where as my older one viewed it more like a doll or playing Barbies ( similar to me). My youngest never really cared for dolls. I do have a business degree, and marketing was my strongest subject. I think EA would do best to target a “type” of people with this game rather than an age group. There are going to be many people in all age groups that don’t care for this type of simulator, but if they instead target the type that would like it they would have a customer for life. And I know when I was younger I couldn’t afford buying all the expansion packs. We were paying on a home and had to share a computer back then. But now, I’m retired, have much more time on my hands and can spend my disposable money on sims, my kids and one friend buy me sims cards now. As we get older more of us have the money to spend it on the sims because the game has become a priority in our life.....my oldest daughter barely in the category just below mine finds the game a priority for her too because like me, this type of game appeals to her. Building a customer base by concentrating on customer ‘type’ ( and there is more than one type ), rather than age I think would be a better marketing strategy, and I think the marketing team could learn a lot from older sims players ( about what we like in the game ), because most of us have played the games longer, and many of the younger players ( who will continue to play, not all will ), would probably like many of the same things....
When I started playing The Sims (it was The Sims 1) I was very young. One thing that kept me playing was, that it didn't feel like a game for children. It actually felt like an adult game (with things like cake dancers and burglars). It felt like it kinda gave me "insights" into a world I wasn't old enough for yet.
That was one of the big attractions for me. You know, many underage gamers like playing games that are actually not intended for their age. Curiosity and the excitement for something new is hard to resist when you are young.
However The Sims franchise has changed. From an attempt to be a reallife simulation it has turned into a fluffy puffy unicorn cuteness trying desperately to cater to an underage audience only. It totally lost it's spice imo. Things like cake dancers for example are absolutely unthinkable nowadays.
I bet a lot of potential players who are actually in the right "target age" would never touch a game as tame as The Sims 4.
So many romance interactions have become simply prudish and overly sentimental while they once were actually naughty and in keeping with the time, broad humor is basically missing and "bad" aspects of the world like burglars have been completely removed.
The Sims 4 has become an idyllic world kid's game without any depth!...but sadly this approach will bore even many of the kids who are supposed to be the main audience.
There are still a lot of "older" players supporting the game, beause they once loved it and nostalgia is a strong feeling as well.
I'm one of these players. And without any doubt there are many things that have improved, like CAS or the sims in general beeing less ugly.
But the game has a serious image problem in my opinion which is related to the choice of the target audience it wants to reach.
It's just not "cool" enough to be attractive for many minors. (Hard to be cool when trying to be as prudish as can be.)
And in consequence it makes many adult players suddenly feel like "You are definitely too old for this".
But this is just my opinion and I didn't intend to state it as a matter of fact.
I’m in my 60’s and I totally agree. They need to target types rather than age groups for this type of game. I had no problem with my 9 year old playing the older sims games. I mean, we still have woohoo, why dumb down everything else?.... it doesn’t’ make sense.
So I always thought a game like The Sims would only appeal to people in their teens and twenties, but boy, was I proved wrong! I know a lot of people started playing this series since it came out nearly twenty years ago and would thus be much older now. I'd like to see just how many older people play this game. I'm in my early twenties and started playing at about 12, BTW.
EA_Lanna: Simmers, we encourage safe posting and ask that you please practice this. Please do not specify your exact age in comments if you are a minor. These comments will be removed per our rules.
Its funny to see that the players are mostly those like me that have grown up with sims 1/2/3... But, its also sad to see that the second smallest one is the newer generation of players. I can see why, Sims 4 is not appealing like it was back when i was kid. I would like the game quite as much as i did.
You can't make that generalization simply because only 10% of forum respondents are 13-19 years old.
Don't be sad. They're on YouTube, Twitch, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram, Google+, and Snapchat.
So I always thought a game like The Sims would only appeal to people in their teens and twenties, but boy, was I proved wrong! I know a lot of people started playing this series since it came out nearly twenty years ago and would thus be much older now. I'd like to see just how many older people play this game. I'm in my early twenties and started playing at about 12, BTW.
EA_Lanna: Simmers, we encourage safe posting and ask that you please practice this. Please do not specify your exact age in comments if you are a minor. These comments will be removed per our rules.
Its funny to see that the players are mostly those like me that have grown up with sims 1/2/3... But, its also sad to see that the second smallest one is the newer generation of players. I can see why, Sims 4 is not appealing like it was back when i was kid. I would like the game quite as much as i did.
You can't make that generalization simply because only 10% of forum respondents are 13-19 years old.
Don't be sad. They're on YouTube, Twitch, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram, Google+, and Snapchat.
I would say this was insightful, but I think the person you were quoting is just as right as you are because the more into this game you are, the more likely you are to discover to sims forum...
Hey, usually I leave my community hunting for tumblr but simblr isn't quite my thing. (I want stories of the premades and there are SO FEW OF THEM!)
Also hi, I'm nearing my thirties. First Sims game was Sims 2 for the GBA because my mom didn't want me playing a game where I could be god. She's religious. I am not. I WILL BE THE HEATHEN AND PLAY THE SIMS AND WEILD NEAR CONTROL.
I'm 52 years old.
I started playing Sims when I was about 45. I first played Sims Freeplay and Sims 3 mobile games on my tablet and when I finally bought Sims 4 I fell in love with it immediately. My only regret is that I didn't start playing earlier, I would've liked to experience the earlier Sims games too, especially Sims 2.
I'm 30, turning 31 in July. Sometimes it feels like time flies way too fast.
I've played The Sims since the first game and have them all, both pc and on all consoles. I was a heavy gamer before but now I almost exclusively play The Sims.
@Kimmer@SERVERFRA I'm with you there 53 years old - started playing Sims 3 many many years ago when I got it for my daughter and she got bored with it. I moved onto Sims 4 quite late only 4 years ago, one of the reasons being that they didn't have toddlers at the start.
I'm very soon 35 years old (just few days to my birthday). I've played The Sims since 2001. I've played many different games before The Sims but The Sims is the best game for me and since starting to play it, that's been the only game I play. When The Sims 2 came, I played only that (I didn't continue to play the first version anymore). The Sims 2 was wonderful and I played it very long time. I skipped The Sims 3: I've never played it because I just didn't like it. In August 2017, I started playing The Sims 4, and since then I've only played The Sims 4. (I still have The Sims 2 on my old computer and I could still play it but as much as I love The Sims 2, The Sims 4 has totally got me hooked so I think I might not be able to play The Sims 2 anymore.) I love playing The Sims 4, and I'll continue to play it as long as I can :)
"Where words fail, music speaks" ~ Hans Christian Andersen ♥*♥*♥ My Gallery ID: Aaleyn
It's interesting by looking at your poll here, the majority of the people playing are all adults. There are very few teens who took the poll or maybe not even playing, but Maxis keeps chasing after the potential 13 year old to buy this product and markets it to reach that demographic. But forum users seem to be all adults. It's as ironic as when they found out The Sims (original) was not being played by young, teen males but middle aged females.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
It's interesting by looking at your poll here, the majority of the people playing are all adults. There are very few teens who took the poll or maybe not even playing, but Maxis keeps chasing after the potential 13 year old to buy this product and markets it to reach that demographic. But forum users seem to be all adults. It's as ironic as when they found out The Sims (original) was not being played by young, teen males but middle aged females.
You said it yourself though. Forum users. We tend to be older players who've been playing for a long time. I don't think a lot of teens post here. They're on social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok.
55 and just started The Sims 4 Dec/Jan and can't deny I'm hooked. It's serious eaten into the time I use to spend on Second Life, but can't say I'm missing it.
It's interesting by looking at your poll here, the majority of the people playing are all adults. There are very few teens who took the poll or maybe not even playing, but Maxis keeps chasing after the potential 13 year old to buy this product and markets it to reach that demographic. But forum users seem to be all adults. It's as ironic as when they found out The Sims (original) was not being played by young, teen males but middle aged females.
I have a 14 year old who plays this game, but she plays other games way more often. Usually she plays for a few days when an expansion comes out and then doesn't play again until the next one. She'd rather play minecraft or the plethora of steam games we own.
55 and just started The Sims 4 Dec/Jan and can't deny I'm hooked. It's serious eaten into the time I use to spend on Second Life, but can't say I'm missing it.
Heh, Second Life. I wonder what kind of intergalactic drugs I was on when I was there. Glad I left lol
It's interesting by looking at your poll here, the majority of the people playing are all adults. There are very few teens who took the poll or maybe not even playing, but Maxis keeps chasing after the potential 13 year old to buy this product and markets it to reach that demographic. But forum users seem to be all adults. It's as ironic as when they found out The Sims (original) was not being played by young, teen males but middle aged females.
You said it yourself though. Forum users. We tend to be older players who've been playing for a long time. I don't think a lot of teens post here. They're on social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok.
I’m in my 60’s and I’ve thought of getting a Twitter account just for the sims, but haven’t done it yet. I don’t quite understand how it works.
Late 20s. It's amazing to see my age group is predominant on this forum. I wish I could have more simmers in my social group to hang out with. I know no one who plays within my social circle, but it would be great to be able to meet people who also play.
Granted, I do think, as mentioned above, that the forum doesn't truly represent the demographic of the players, as the younger generation connects through other socials.
simming since 2000┃origin: daFigg ┃radiohead-head, potterhead, doodie-head
In my 30s, started with SimCity 2000 and Sim Tower, the Sims Deluxe later in 2002, so I have been playing Maxis games awhile. My first video game was Mario and Duck Hunt on NES. My dad got me into gaming a got an Atari for his wedding gift and he was very into pong. I love Zelda games too and my cousins got me into arcade games and Sega games. So I have been gaming most of my life. I got two college degrees and currently working for the state, so playing the Sims helped me inspire to achieve goals even if I fail at times. My gaming collection has grown quite a bit thanks to Epic Games and this site: https://www.indiegamebundles.com/category/free/ and Twitch Prime, so always inspires me to get new ideas for the Sims playing other games. Plus helps with the Sims burn out as well.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Comments
I think in the case sims...... target age is not too much of a thing, my oldest daughter who is 23 years younger than me and in a lower age category has very much the same kind of taste when it comes to this game as I do. Whereas my youngest daughter who is 37 years younger than me is into video games, but prefers shooters and such, she did play sims 1 and 2 with us for a bit, but her taste was totally different, as she enjoyed just making sims, with large eyes and then killing them. Where as my older one viewed it more like a doll or playing Barbies ( similar to me). My youngest never really cared for dolls. I do have a business degree, and marketing was my strongest subject. I think EA would do best to target a “type” of people with this game rather than an age group. There are going to be many people in all age groups that don’t care for this type of simulator, but if they instead target the type that would like it they would have a customer for life. And I know when I was younger I couldn’t afford buying all the expansion packs. We were paying on a home and had to share a computer back then. But now, I’m retired, have much more time on my hands and can spend my disposable money on sims, my kids and one friend buy me sims cards now. As we get older more of us have the money to spend it on the sims because the game has become a priority in our life.....my oldest daughter barely in the category just below mine finds the game a priority for her too because like me, this type of game appeals to her. Building a customer base by concentrating on customer ‘type’ ( and there is more than one type ), rather than age I think would be a better marketing strategy, and I think the marketing team could learn a lot from older sims players ( about what we like in the game ), because most of us have played the games longer, and many of the younger players ( who will continue to play, not all will ), would probably like many of the same things....
I’m in my 60’s and I totally agree. They need to target types rather than age groups for this type of game. I had no problem with my 9 year old playing the older sims games. I mean, we still have woohoo, why dumb down everything else?.... it doesn’t’ make sense.
I would say this was insightful, but I think the person you were quoting is just as right as you are because the more into this game you are, the more likely you are to discover to sims forum...
Also hi, I'm nearing my thirties. First Sims game was Sims 2 for the GBA because my mom didn't want me playing a game where I could be god. She's religious. I am not. I WILL BE THE HEATHEN AND PLAY THE SIMS AND WEILD NEAR CONTROL.
I started playing Sims when I was about 45. I first played Sims Freeplay and Sims 3 mobile games on my tablet and when I finally bought Sims 4 I fell in love with it immediately. My only regret is that I didn't start playing earlier, I would've liked to experience the earlier Sims games too, especially Sims 2.
I've played The Sims since the first game and have them all, both pc and on all consoles. I was a heavy gamer before but now I almost exclusively play The Sims.
I love playing The Sims 4, and I'll continue to play it as long as I can :)
You said it yourself though. Forum users. We tend to be older players who've been playing for a long time. I don't think a lot of teens post here. They're on social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok.
I have a 14 year old who plays this game, but she plays other games way more often. Usually she plays for a few days when an expansion comes out and then doesn't play again until the next one. She'd rather play minecraft or the plethora of steam games we own.
Heh, Second Life. I wonder what kind of intergalactic drugs I was on when I was there. Glad I left lol
There should be an option that says - But I feel 23.
I’m in my 60’s and I’ve thought of getting a Twitter account just for the sims, but haven’t done it yet. I don’t quite understand how it works.
Granted, I do think, as mentioned above, that the forum doesn't truly represent the demographic of the players, as the younger generation connects through other socials.
There are only a few games out there where my laughing from pure enjoyment of the game starts hurting me and The Sims 4 is one of those games.
...
Dear moderators,
I sneezed and accidentally selected the wrong age bracket.
Could you undo that for me please? 🥺