I'm going to say no just because "too US/euro focused" makes it sound like a critique if I said yes, when I am not particularly bothered. Everything has its own bias, scope, setting, and targeted audience. I would like to see various cultural and global content come to the game, but I am not sure how well they could actually correct that focus bias and if they necessarily need to.
Normally I wouldn't think twice about whether or not a game should change its chosen slice of perspective, but I do think The Sims has opened itself up to this type of criticism. Less so because of being a life simulator and more so because of the marketing and rhetoric promoted around the game.
I don't know. I am more attached to the Simlish approach of vaguely familiar to the real world but distinctly unique to a fantasy world rather than trying and failing to represent our vast globe, but if they invited the challenge then they need to stand up to it.
They have to pick a country or region, and it's impossible to please everyone. Besides, it shouldn't be a shocker that it has a heavy US focus, considering that the game comes from the US...
We have England, Japan, Mexico, Eastern European with the US. So, it's not a problem. However, I wouldn't mind Canada to be included in the game considering I'm Canadian. But no worries.
I would expect any simulation game to have it's core representation in the country of origin of the development team. There's a whole lot to learn about individual cultures that really can't be accurately done if the people working on the game have never actually lived and experienced said cultures. Maxis has tried to step outside of their American experiences on a bigger scale but it always seems to end up in inaccuracies (Britechester/Uni) or controversy (Mt Komorebi/Snowy Escape).
That said, I think they do a really good job of at least embracing fashions, hair styles and architecture from a variety of cultures and several of their worlds (Selvadorada, Komorebi, Henford, Windenburg, and possibly even Sulani and Forgotten Hollow) really do at least feel like they are somewhere other than North America. I think making a world resemble a different cultural location is an acceptable medium as opposed to expecting all of the simulation and lifestyle of the world to be fully accurate.
So no, I don't think it's too US/European focused, I think they do a lot of research to add in what cultural representation they can. But I'm also of the opinion that I don't think they should be focusing on any actual real life designs and locations but merely taking inspiration for a little fictional familiarity, and that the world of The Sims should always be it's own. Then no one would feel "left out".
I don’t expect realism in The Sims so I don’t expect accurate cultural representation. The Sims live in their own world, not ours. I think the devs are trying to be inclusive in a generalized alternate reality type of way, and that’s about all we should expect. Anything else just invites controversy, as we’ve already seen. The game is American made, so there are naturally going to be more American reference points. Extending those references outside of that boundary is okay, but trying to fully represent the whole world is folly. I don’t expect my Sims to become Tibetan monks anymore than I expect Anime characters to vacation in Disney World. Sometimes it’s okay to stay in your lane.
No. It's a US game made in the US by (mainly) US citizens. It's fine. Can't represent every country in the world nor would I have them try. I never race or culture played much in the sims. My sims are just sims to me. Living in just a world 🙂
Just give me zombies and a swamp world.
If it were a couple of years or so ago I would have said yes, namely US centric, but the team has added worlds and objects inspired by other cultures and I hope this continues.
As a game based in the US, it will obviously be somewhat US focused. So I don't mind to an extent.
That being said I find the sims 4 base game more US centric than previous versions. The previous versions felt more generic, easier to identify with. I think is caused by the way sims 4 handles worlds. They are all very specific locations and unlike sims 2 and 3 we have no possibility to edit them or create our own.
But if you add in all the packs with different worlds, it gets better. We have Central and Northern Europe (Windenburg), England (Britechester, Henford on bagley) Japan (Mt komorebi), the Pacific (Sulani), South America (Selvadora, unfortunately not residential). San Mychuno and Evergreen Harbour even allow some flexibility as to where we think they are located. Both vibrant modern cities as well as old industrial cities can be found in different parts of the globe. Same principle for a remote forest location without background buildings (yay!) like Glimmerbrook. Of course we have plenty of US worlds (willow creek, oasis springs, del Sol Valley, Strangerville, Brindleton Bay.
If you want you can have some options to play outside of the US, if you choose your EP/GP carefully. But some regions would still be very welcome to be added like Africa or the Mediterranean.
CAS: too crop top/basic focused.
(not enough unique looking alternative fashion or occult gear or cultural stuff or grandma wear or... basically anything more fun and exciting than shorts and croptop)
B/B: too modern/basic/mid century/basically ikea focused.
and too many items are huge machines where it does not make sense
(like the mighty cupcake machine)
Worlds: too much green lawn and blue sky similar weather and effects
i think we shall have some other world types by now like cities,deserts, african world, fantasy places, creepy forests, underwater, space, historical/cultural ones... just no more "here have lawn" enough lawns
Gameplay: too much... lack of it? but also avoiding new animations seems to be a problem
Food: do not care tbh my sims have plenty to eat like yeah okay they add new culture inspired pack sure add few of that culture but its not like im out here feeling like i lack food options
mannerisms: well it would be lovely to have more options always
I do feel like it is. Especially when other games in the genre are much more diverse with everything than the Sims 4 is. I just feel like Sims 4 is stuck in the past and tries to do simple modern furniture to make up for it, but just ends up enhancing how US/Euro focused this version of the Sims is compared to its counterpart PC, console, and mobile versions.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I figure since most of the devs are probably located in the United Stares, that they can more accurately portray places in the U.S. But like others said, we have North and Middle/South America, Japan, a few packs in England and the EU, and the South Pacific. I live in the U.S. but, haven’t even seen some states, or much of the ones I have been to. I doubt EA is paying many devs to go to other countries to capture the look of other countries, so much of it is likely based on research on the internet ( or books ). And I’m wondering how much time they are even given to do that. I think they have done a pretty good job trying to capture other cultures with clothes and furniture, even if they can’t include every country. I would love to see a romantic French pack, a Mediterranean world, I would love to see a cruise around the Mediterranean with the ship visiting ports around it. An African Safari world would be really neat too.
We have England, Japan, Mexico, Eastern European with the US. So, it's not a problem. However, I wouldn't mind Canada to be included in the game considering I'm Canadian. But no worries.
I second this! Bring on the toques, hockey, and beavers ASAP! (don't be mad, just gentle teasing. I LOVE Canada!)
EDIT: Realized I didn't comment on the OP's question. My bad. No, I don't think so, at the moment. When it was just basegame, sure. But now we have a (fictionalized, I suppose) South Pacific world, a South American world, a Japan world, etc. And now that they've released the new kits, I honestly wouldn't be mad at all about a Korea world and an India world. I also agree with those wanting an Africa world. I think a world based on Kenya would be cool.
I think it is US/euro focused, just not too US/euro focused. It is as i would expect it, a US game focused in life. But it tries to represent other cultures here and there, which imo is good, as long as it doesn't becomes the focus which should always be a game about life.
If you would asked if they are us/english centric I would say 'yes with a but', that they included more hints of cultures now. But since it's an us/euro question, I say no, because the european culture with all it's food, clothes, festivities and sightseeing has very much more to offer, than what we have gotten ingame.
It is US/European focused. I want some part of Africa next. That has an arab and african influence. In fact, maybe livable South American world other than Selvadorada.
CAS: too crop top/basic focused.
(not enough unique looking alternative fashion or occult gear or cultural stuff or grandma wear or... basically anything more fun and exciting than shorts and croptop)
B/B: too modern/basic/mid century/basically ikea focused.
and too many items are huge machines where it does not make sense
(like the mighty cupcake machine)
Worlds: too much green lawn and blue sky similar weather and effects
i think we shall have some other world types by now like cities,deserts, african world, fantasy places, creepy forests, underwater, space, historical/cultural ones... just no more "here have lawn" enough lawns
Gameplay: too much... lack of it? but also avoiding new animations seems to be a problem
Food: do not care tbh my sims have plenty to eat like yeah okay they add new culture inspired pack sure add few of that culture but its not like im out here feeling like i lack food options
mannerisms: well it would be lovely to have more options always
I like the way you've broken it down. I don't feel qualified to answer because I'm US/Euro centred by default, so I won't necessarily see any deficits. However, you've identified some things that could definitely be improved.
- The crop tops and sleeveless shirts. Not every culture is comfortable with this, and as we age, many of us are definitely not comfortable with showing that much skin. But mostly, I worry about my Sims getting cold. We don't all live in California.
- B/B: Yes - we could definitely use more antiques, though I think this has improved with recent packs. And I'd really like some smaller options for the telescope and microscope. You know, stuff that would fit in an average person's home. Not everyone lives on a half-acre with a McMansion.
- Fewer lawns, for sure. More xeriscaping options would be nice - that should have been part of the eco pack. More gardens for locations that do get rain.
- Food: my main issue with foods is that we do have some options, but the options don't count toward the healthy lifestyle. More Mediterranean and grain-based options would be nice.
I see there have been a number of responses now, but I didn't happen to see which you voted for, OP. Where do you fall on the issue?
Oh you noticed? 🤣 I'm not sure where I fall. I think it does have a focus on US/Euro culture, but im fine with that because thats the target audience and where its based. I cant expect it to be everything to everyone, thats unreasonable. But my greediness wants me to have so much more focus on more cultures 🤣 so ultimately, no, its not "too" focused because I think the focus is appropriate. But in an ideal world, the focus is balanced evenly between all countries 😀
But im also interested in what others think too, especially since some have said it is focused too much on US/Euro, hence the poll. Im also one of those who want a new world to be based from an asian or african country
The Sims has currently lost its identity. Bring it back for TS5
Im also one of those who want a new world to be based from an asian or african country
If they plan to include a village or a tiny town based on an african country, I expect a massive outcry from the sim community. Whatever they will do, something will be wrong in the eyes of the players and then there will be no forgiveness. If I'm wrong about the sim community, I'm happily wrong.
Imagine an overrepresentation of white and asian-based sim in a centralafrican-based sim village, reverse to HoB. I can already see whole socialmedia channels burning, rightfully in my eyes. The same people who don't care about HoB-overrepresentation, will be definately explode if this happen on an african-themed village. I would be really cautious, especially after the japanese dlc incident. I know an overrepresentation won't happen, but I really asking myself would the PoC-player accept it if a white family would live in an african-themed village or would they be angry, because the white/asian sim ruined the immersion?
I personally don't think so, it's made by a company who is located in the US. So to me it's pretty obvious that they will lean more towards things in the game that are familiar and that they can represent more accurately.
I would not expect/demand a game that is made in another country to be more "Americanized" simply because I'm American. I would accept the fact that the developers are not American and wouldn't know everything about American culture/lifestyles/fashion/foods/architecture, etc.
I think Sims4 does a decent job at making diverse looking worlds. But for me, one of the problems with the worlds is that we are "stuck" in those worlds with no way to change it up to look more like what we think it should look. If we had the ability to change the world to represent the world we think it should be, that would have helped a lot.
Im also one of those who want a new world to be based from an asian or african country
Imagine an overrepresentation of white and asian-based sim in a centralafrican-based sim village, reverse to HoB. I can already see whole socialmedia channels burning, rightfully in my eyes. The same people who don't care about HoB-overrepresentation, will be definately explode if this happen on an african-themed village. I would be really cautious, especially after the japanese dlc incident. I know an overrepresentation won't happen, but I really asking myself would the PoC-player accept it if a white family would live in an african-themed village or would they be angry, because the white/asian sim ruined the immersion?
Yeah, youre overthinking this or being facetious lol
White families are found everywhere, even in countries in Africa. Asian families are found everywhere, even in countries in South America. And every kind of race can be found anywhere. But if you want a certain playstyle or world, go for it. This is why I wish we had more control over the way townies spawn. I do wish there were tabs to control how many townies, what sex, single/married, what age, what color/ethnicity etc generates in your world. I actually have had a world I wanted asian set in the past, and I had to keep editing townies. I wasnt angry or outraged though, thats just how the game is designed.
I dont really care what twitter thinks about my personal game and neither should you. Im only annoyed if the sims team accepts those extreme political or social views and then limits options for everyone else.
Do you really want the team to stop including anything thats not US/Eurocentric because of irrational complaints?
Also you say sims team shouldnt include X because there may be complaints, but there are world influenced by real countries already in the game. Why are those "safe" to include and others are not? Thats a double standard.
I remember the issue with SE controversy, and I dont like the decison the team made.
The Sims has currently lost its identity. Bring it back for TS5
Comments
Normally I wouldn't think twice about whether or not a game should change its chosen slice of perspective, but I do think The Sims has opened itself up to this type of criticism. Less so because of being a life simulator and more so because of the marketing and rhetoric promoted around the game.
I don't know. I am more attached to the Simlish approach of vaguely familiar to the real world but distinctly unique to a fantasy world rather than trying and failing to represent our vast globe, but if they invited the challenge then they need to stand up to it.
That said, I think they do a really good job of at least embracing fashions, hair styles and architecture from a variety of cultures and several of their worlds (Selvadorada, Komorebi, Henford, Windenburg, and possibly even Sulani and Forgotten Hollow) really do at least feel like they are somewhere other than North America. I think making a world resemble a different cultural location is an acceptable medium as opposed to expecting all of the simulation and lifestyle of the world to be fully accurate.
So no, I don't think it's too US/European focused, I think they do a lot of research to add in what cultural representation they can. But I'm also of the opinion that I don't think they should be focusing on any actual real life designs and locations but merely taking inspiration for a little fictional familiarity, and that the world of The Sims should always be it's own. Then no one would feel "left out".
Tales From The Myst
The Blue Moon Jukebox
Just give me zombies and a swamp world.
That being said I find the sims 4 base game more US centric than previous versions. The previous versions felt more generic, easier to identify with. I think is caused by the way sims 4 handles worlds. They are all very specific locations and unlike sims 2 and 3 we have no possibility to edit them or create our own.
But if you add in all the packs with different worlds, it gets better. We have Central and Northern Europe (Windenburg), England (Britechester, Henford on bagley) Japan (Mt komorebi), the Pacific (Sulani), South America (Selvadora, unfortunately not residential). San Mychuno and Evergreen Harbour even allow some flexibility as to where we think they are located. Both vibrant modern cities as well as old industrial cities can be found in different parts of the globe. Same principle for a remote forest location without background buildings (yay!) like Glimmerbrook. Of course we have plenty of US worlds (willow creek, oasis springs, del Sol Valley, Strangerville, Brindleton Bay.
If you want you can have some options to play outside of the US, if you choose your EP/GP carefully. But some regions would still be very welcome to be added like Africa or the Mediterranean.
I'm just gonna say:
CAS: too crop top/basic focused.
(not enough unique looking alternative fashion or occult gear or cultural stuff or grandma wear or... basically anything more fun and exciting than shorts and croptop)
B/B: too modern/basic/mid century/basically ikea focused.
and too many items are huge machines where it does not make sense
(like the mighty cupcake machine)
Worlds: too much green lawn and blue sky similar weather and effects
i think we shall have some other world types by now like cities,deserts, african world, fantasy places, creepy forests, underwater, space, historical/cultural ones... just no more "here have lawn" enough lawns
Gameplay: too much... lack of it? but also avoiding new animations seems to be a problem
Food: do not care tbh my sims have plenty to eat like yeah okay they add new culture inspired pack sure add few of that culture but its not like im out here feeling like i lack food options
mannerisms: well it would be lovely to have more options always
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I second this! Bring on the toques, hockey, and beavers ASAP! (don't be mad, just gentle teasing. I LOVE Canada!)
EDIT: Realized I didn't comment on the OP's question. My bad. No, I don't think so, at the moment. When it was just basegame, sure. But now we have a (fictionalized, I suppose) South Pacific world, a South American world, a Japan world, etc. And now that they've released the new kits, I honestly wouldn't be mad at all about a Korea world and an India world. I also agree with those wanting an Africa world. I think a world based on Kenya would be cool.
I like the way you've broken it down. I don't feel qualified to answer because I'm US/Euro centred by default, so I won't necessarily see any deficits. However, you've identified some things that could definitely be improved.
- The crop tops and sleeveless shirts. Not every culture is comfortable with this, and as we age, many of us are definitely not comfortable with showing that much skin. But mostly, I worry about my Sims getting cold. We don't all live in California.
- B/B: Yes - we could definitely use more antiques, though I think this has improved with recent packs. And I'd really like some smaller options for the telescope and microscope. You know, stuff that would fit in an average person's home. Not everyone lives on a half-acre with a McMansion.
- Fewer lawns, for sure. More xeriscaping options would be nice - that should have been part of the eco pack. More gardens for locations that do get rain.
- Food: my main issue with foods is that we do have some options, but the options don't count toward the healthy lifestyle. More Mediterranean and grain-based options would be nice.
Oh you noticed? 🤣 I'm not sure where I fall. I think it does have a focus on US/Euro culture, but im fine with that because thats the target audience and where its based. I cant expect it to be everything to everyone, thats unreasonable. But my greediness wants me to have so much more focus on more cultures 🤣 so ultimately, no, its not "too" focused because I think the focus is appropriate. But in an ideal world, the focus is balanced evenly between all countries 😀
But im also interested in what others think too, especially since some have said it is focused too much on US/Euro, hence the poll. Im also one of those who want a new world to be based from an asian or african country
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
If they plan to include a village or a tiny town based on an african country, I expect a massive outcry from the sim community. Whatever they will do, something will be wrong in the eyes of the players and then there will be no forgiveness. If I'm wrong about the sim community, I'm happily wrong.
Imagine an overrepresentation of white and asian-based sim in a centralafrican-based sim village, reverse to HoB. I can already see whole socialmedia channels burning, rightfully in my eyes. The same people who don't care about HoB-overrepresentation, will be definately explode if this happen on an african-themed village. I would be really cautious, especially after the japanese dlc incident. I know an overrepresentation won't happen, but I really asking myself would the PoC-player accept it if a white family would live in an african-themed village or would they be angry, because the white/asian sim ruined the immersion?
I would not expect/demand a game that is made in another country to be more "Americanized" simply because I'm American. I would accept the fact that the developers are not American and wouldn't know everything about American culture/lifestyles/fashion/foods/architecture, etc.
I think Sims4 does a decent job at making diverse looking worlds. But for me, one of the problems with the worlds is that we are "stuck" in those worlds with no way to change it up to look more like what we think it should look. If we had the ability to change the world to represent the world we think it should be, that would have helped a lot.
Yeah, youre overthinking this or being facetious lol
White families are found everywhere, even in countries in Africa. Asian families are found everywhere, even in countries in South America. And every kind of race can be found anywhere. But if you want a certain playstyle or world, go for it. This is why I wish we had more control over the way townies spawn. I do wish there were tabs to control how many townies, what sex, single/married, what age, what color/ethnicity etc generates in your world. I actually have had a world I wanted asian set in the past, and I had to keep editing townies. I wasnt angry or outraged though, thats just how the game is designed.
I dont really care what twitter thinks about my personal game and neither should you. Im only annoyed if the sims team accepts those extreme political or social views and then limits options for everyone else.
Do you really want the team to stop including anything thats not US/Eurocentric because of irrational complaints?
Also you say sims team shouldnt include X because there may be complaints, but there are world influenced by real countries already in the game. Why are those "safe" to include and others are not? Thats a double standard.
I remember the issue with SE controversy, and I dont like the decison the team made.
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.