I find it so incredibly sad that this has to be an issue. Anywhere with anthing. If two people of the same gender want to be together, how does this affect anybody? They are causing no harm, and there is nothing whatsoever wrong with them. I cannot understand why anybody has strong positive or negative views about it either way. Love is love, it is what is is. I'll never comprehend it.
I think they should have released the game as it is, tráiler and box art included. If Russian government bans it, so be it, maybe they would have been able to get some Streisand effect and get even more exposure.
As it is, it'll just make it harder for PC simmers to get the game, they'll still be able to get it through VPN (like people in China do) and I'm not quite sure how this decision will go with other platforms -Steam, PlayStation network, Microsoft Store for Xbox, redeem codes and physical copies.
I think they should have released the game as it is, tráiler and box art included. If Russian government bans it, so be it, maybe they would have been able to get some Streisand effect and get even more exposure.
Russian govt haven't ban anything. They set the entire game rating to 18+ long ago and that was it. This decision is entirely on EA, apparently they decided that Russia is not worthy of their product out of a sudden.
Honestly I feel sad on behalf of the Russian players. I know many of them online. We share cc and I am a part of Russian groups. I personally think they should have changed the cover. Now they can never experience this amazing pack . Imagine how many if them may have wanted slow dancing for example, and are now being told they can't have it because of a "cover"
I don't think changing it would mean they are not supporting lesbians. If I was in Russia I would be so so sad.
Oh well. They made their decision....
As much as I think this is a good cause on paper and it seems like the thought is in the right place, I don't think the execution is right at all.. This is a pack about wedding stories. They say they want to support the LGBT community, but by doing this they are actively stopping LGBT Russians from being able to tell their wedding stories. They already have their government stopping it in real life so why can't they at least do it in a game?
If it was the gameplay that was the issue, then fair enough I'd agree with what they're doing. But it's not, the issue is that they don't want to change the cover art.. The cover art does not matter. Myself and I think most others don't care who's on the box. The representation these players could've got from playing the game is far more important than the representation they can get from looking at a picture on a box
I think they could have gone with several wedding stories, like the name of the pack says so they could have something suitable for every region and orientation.
As I posted in another thread, in trying to be all-inclusive, they exclude an entire country. And it's not because of what's actually in the pack, but just because of the box art? Really? Alrighty then. *eyeroll*
As I posted in another thread, in trying to be all-inclusive, they exclude an entire country. And it's not because of what's actually in the pack, but just because of the box art? Really? Alrighty then. *eyeroll*
It's called taking a stand against something that is wrong. It's actually important to do that, even when what you are doing has NO quantifiable impact, at the very least it puts attention on the problem. And that alone has value.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”
I'm kinda confused
but then again i guess they couldn't dodge russia bans forever and i guess rather than cutting content from everyone cutting it from russia makes more sense
well I've never been more happy Finland ain't part of russia whew. thank you history people that made me having couple dancing in sims 4 possibility
then again i still wonder if they couldn't make like russia edition? maybe not
just sounds so sad for the russian simmers
They could have made a trailer just for Russia. Wonder how the marketing is in middle east and Asian countries.
You are missing the whole entire point and its sad.
That is disgusting, honestly. It's 2022. Yet somewhere it feels like medieval times. I hope Russian simmers will find a safe way to get this pack. And that is all I am going to say. I don't want to get banned.
Honestly I feel sad on behalf of the Russian players. I know many of them online. We share cc and I am a part of Russian groups. I personally think they should have changed the cover. Now they can never experience this amazing pack . Imagine how many if them may have wanted slow dancing for example, and are now being told they can't have it because of a "cover"
I don't think changing it would mean they are not supporting lesbians. If I was in Russia I would be so so sad.
Oh well. They made their decision....
Your friend feeling sad because they can't buy a 20 dollar video game is not more important than one of the highest suicide rates for LGBT kids in the world.
My blood is boiling reading some of these comments. I think it's truly time to quit this community.
As I posted in another thread, in trying to be all-inclusive, they exclude an entire country. And it's not because of what's actually in the pack, but just because of the box art? Really? Alrighty then. *eyeroll*
It's called taking a stand against something that is wrong. It's actually important to do that, even when what you are doing has NO quantifiable impact, at the very least it puts attention on the problem. And that alone has value.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”
So they're going to punish all the Russian people because they're taking a stand against the Russian government? I'm betting the Russian government couldn't care less what an American video game company doesn't do. But Russian people that play the Sims will care and some may not be too happy about this decision. How is it supposed to make Russian LGBT feel included by being excluded?
So they're going to punish all the Russian people because they're taking a stand against the Russian government? I'm betting the Russian government couldn't care less what an American video game company doesn't do. But Russian people that play the Sims will care and some may not be too happy about this decision. How is it supposed to make Russian LGBT feel included by being excluded?
You are discounting the value of recognition and solidarity. Which tells me you aren't part of the LGBTQ community and you are also opting to not empathize even a little with what they face. i.e. you don't have any understanding of the topic at all.
I think people should see this decision in the view of lgbtq devs instead of EA the company. They are going to lose more sales than gain anything. I'm sure EA wanted the sims team to abide by the laws so they could sell the pack there but a lot of the team are part of the lgbtq community and I think they didn't feel comfortable changing the cover no matter how little effort it would take.
I do feel bad for Russian players but I think it's important to keep in mind that there are a lot of lgbtq developers and this was an important decision for them because they made a stand to stand against a government even if they would lose sales.
Honestly I feel sad on behalf of the Russian players. I know many of them online. We share cc and I am a part of Russian groups. I personally think they should have changed the cover. Now they can never experience this amazing pack . Imagine how many if them may have wanted slow dancing for example, and are now being told they can't have it because of a "cover"
I don't think changing it would mean they are not supporting lesbians. If I was in Russia I would be so so sad.
Oh well. They made their decision....
Your friend feeling sad because they can't buy a 20 dollar video game is not more important than one of the highest suicide rates for LGBT kids in the world.
And having a game taken away from these kids is going to solve this how?.. Russia is not changing its laws because of a sims game pack so all this does is stop Russians (including LGBT Russians) from being able to play a game they enjoy. I think allowing people to represent themselves is more important than seeing sims they relate to on a box. If I was Russian I would prefer to be able to actually play the game and make LGBT stories rather than have that taken away from me in "solidarity"
I think people should see this decision in the view of lgbtq devs instead of EA the company. They are going to lose more sales than gain anything. I'm sure EA wanted the sims team to abide by the laws so they could sell the pack there but a lot of the team are part of the lgbtq community and I think they didn't feel comfortable changing the cover no matter how little effort it would take.
I do feel bad for Russian players but I think it's important to keep in mind that there are a lot of lgbtq developers and this was an important decision for them because they made a stand to stand against a government even if they would lose sales.
This is a noble sentiment, but only time will show if they follow it through.
I think after they reap their reputation points for this move, they will later quietly release the pack for Russia and reap their profit.
Hope I'm wrong.
not going to talk against ea decision but as a player i think Russia needs to be more open minded we are no longer in the pass 1800 1900 era we are in 2022 a more modern era but that's my point as a Canadian player of the sims and think Russia needs to be more open minded when it comes to the sims game itself. edit sorry slight typo in my post
If you went the sims5 to remain offline feel free to sign this petition http://chng.it/gtfHPhHK please note that it is also to keep the gallery
Honestly I feel sad on behalf of the Russian players. I know many of them online. We share cc and I am a part of Russian groups. I personally think they should have changed the cover. Now they can never experience this amazing pack . Imagine how many if them may have wanted slow dancing for example, and are now being told they can't have it because of a "cover"
I don't think changing it would mean they are not supporting lesbians. If I was in Russia I would be so so sad.
Oh well. They made their decision....
Your friend feeling sad because they can't buy a 20 dollar video game is not more important than one of the highest suicide rates for LGBT kids in the world.
My blood is boiling reading some of these comments. I think it's truly time to quit this community.
In general I don't even participate in controversial subjects because it usually leads to nowhere arguments and hurt feelings vs people coming together and understanding eachother so this will be my last post in this thread. But everyone has a right to feel however they feel or believe what they believe. I feel that not just my friends but the whole Russian community was wronged. Straight and queer alike. Nor do I think people should have to suffer for the choices of their gov. But I guess that happens all the time....And yes I understand the point you and others are trying to make on the opposite side and you are not wrong for your feelings I can respect that. 😌
I hope you don't quit the community though. Every member has value. Bye for now (in this thread)
I'm kinda confused
but then again i guess they couldn't dodge russia bans forever and i guess rather than cutting content from everyone cutting it from russia makes more sense
well I've never been more happy Finland ain't part of russia whew. thank you history people that made me having couple dancing in sims 4 possibility
then again i still wonder if they couldn't make like russia edition? maybe not
just sounds so sad for the russian simmers
They could have made a trailer just for Russia. Wonder how the marketing is in middle east and Asian countries.
You are missing the whole entire point and its sad.
I am not missing the point at all. A few years ago they removed the woman from the cover art of a TS2 pack sold in the middle east. I read somewhere that in Thailand or Malaysia sims also used to shower in their bathing suit because of obscenity laws. It would be interesting to know how they are marketing this pack in the rest of the world where such subject matter is highly sensitive because Russia it's not the only one.
As much as I think this is a good cause on paper and it seems like the thought is in the right place, I don't think the execution is right at all.. This is a pack about wedding stories. They say they want to support the LGBT community, but by doing this they are actively stopping LGBT Russians from being able to tell their wedding stories. They already have their government stopping it in real life so why can't they at least do it in a game?
If it was the gameplay that was the issue, then fair enough I'd agree with what they're doing. But it's not, the issue is that they don't want to change the cover art.. The cover art does not matter. Myself and I think most others don't care who's on the box. The representation these players could've got from playing the game is far more important than the representation they can get from looking at a picture on a box
I feel really sorry for our Russian friends to be honest. In general I'm impressed that EA decided to not change anything on this Game Pack and show its support for LGBTQ+ community. This is very good. But I afraid that a lot of Russian simmers will lose the oportunity to play the game as they want and to represent theirselves. This is not their fault that the government decided to censor LGBTQ+ content. Due to this decision Russian simmers can not be free in real life and in the virtual life. I have to add that I heard that this ban is only por under 18 content so due to that I assume that The Sims which is +18 in Russia can be selling on their market without any restrictions.
As much as I think this is a good cause on paper and it seems like the thought is in the right place, I don't think the execution is right at all.. This is a pack about wedding stories. They say they want to support the LGBT community, but by doing this they are actively stopping LGBT Russians from being able to tell their wedding stories. They already have their government stopping it in real life so why can't they at least do it in a game?
If it was the gameplay that was the issue, then fair enough I'd agree with what they're doing. But it's not, the issue is that they don't want to change the cover art.. The cover art does not matter. Myself and I think most others don't care who's on the box. The representation these players could've got from playing the game is far more important than the representation they can get from looking at a picture on a box
Hiding representation of LGBT+ people is sending quite a message: in Russia, if you're not straight, you have to hide it.
I don't think refraining to publish the game in Russia was the way to go, EA should have published the game with the current cover and, if the Russian government had issues with it, let them face international sanctions.
Compromising to hate isn't the way. Showing oppressed groups in every day situation normalizes their existence and acceptance between the whole of a society.
While this is a beautiful and necessary sentiment for the LGBT+ community in general, I think it's also very, very sad for the Russian community of Simmers, particularly their LGBT citizens who already live in a dangerous, oppressive society, feeling completely alone in the world, and won't be able to have a grand wedding outlet in their games, for their own stories. They shouldn't have to be excluded. It's horrible to think that this kind of government control can affect a simple freedom that we, in the U.S., sometimes take for granted; a simulation game.
I think EA is caught between a rock and a hard place here and had a very difficult decision to make. Or maybe it wasn't so difficult, I don't know. Their developers and employees are international and from so many different walks of life that the perspective certainly isn't a narrow one so I think when they have to take a closer look or make a difficult call for something like this, they weigh the circumstances very carefully.
I can't help but wish there had been a better solution for our Russian Simmer friends while still keeping the integrity of the story for the LGBT+ community. I would be very interested to hear from Russian players about it. If it were possible to purchase and gift the pack to some of them, I would do so in a heartbeat. But I think the game code would fail if they tried to use it? Can anyone answer that?
Anyway, I just also want to say that anger and accusations aren't going to help the situation. It's entirely possible to simultaneously feel triumph and validation for the LGBT+ community while also feeling compassion for the Russian players who are forced to miss out due to an oppressive government.
Comments
As it is, it'll just make it harder for PC simmers to get the game, they'll still be able to get it through VPN (like people in China do) and I'm not quite sure how this decision will go with other platforms -Steam, PlayStation network, Microsoft Store for Xbox, redeem codes and physical copies.
Russian govt haven't ban anything. They set the entire game rating to 18+ long ago and that was it. This decision is entirely on EA, apparently they decided that Russia is not worthy of their product out of a sudden.
I don't think changing it would mean they are not supporting lesbians. If I was in Russia I would be so so sad.
Oh well. They made their decision....
If it was the gameplay that was the issue, then fair enough I'd agree with what they're doing. But it's not, the issue is that they don't want to change the cover art.. The cover art does not matter. Myself and I think most others don't care who's on the box. The representation these players could've got from playing the game is far more important than the representation they can get from looking at a picture on a box
As I posted in another thread, in trying to be all-inclusive, they exclude an entire country. And it's not because of what's actually in the pack, but just because of the box art? Really? Alrighty then. *eyeroll*
Completely done with EA
It's called taking a stand against something that is wrong. It's actually important to do that, even when what you are doing has NO quantifiable impact, at the very least it puts attention on the problem. And that alone has value.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
You are missing the whole entire point and its sad.
Your friend feeling sad because they can't buy a 20 dollar video game is not more important than one of the highest suicide rates for LGBT kids in the world.
My blood is boiling reading some of these comments. I think it's truly time to quit this community.
So they're going to punish all the Russian people because they're taking a stand against the Russian government? I'm betting the Russian government couldn't care less what an American video game company doesn't do. But Russian people that play the Sims will care and some may not be too happy about this decision. How is it supposed to make Russian LGBT feel included by being excluded?
Completely done with EA
You are discounting the value of recognition and solidarity. Which tells me you aren't part of the LGBTQ community and you are also opting to not empathize even a little with what they face. i.e. you don't have any understanding of the topic at all.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
I do feel bad for Russian players but I think it's important to keep in mind that there are a lot of lgbtq developers and this was an important decision for them because they made a stand to stand against a government even if they would lose sales.
And having a game taken away from these kids is going to solve this how?.. Russia is not changing its laws because of a sims game pack so all this does is stop Russians (including LGBT Russians) from being able to play a game they enjoy. I think allowing people to represent themselves is more important than seeing sims they relate to on a box. If I was Russian I would prefer to be able to actually play the game and make LGBT stories rather than have that taken away from me in "solidarity"
I think after they reap their reputation points for this move, they will later quietly release the pack for Russia and reap their profit.
Hope I'm wrong.
Repose en paix mamie tu va me manquer :
1923-2016 mamie
In general I don't even participate in controversial subjects because it usually leads to nowhere arguments and hurt feelings vs people coming together and understanding eachother so this will be my last post in this thread. But everyone has a right to feel however they feel or believe what they believe. I feel that not just my friends but the whole Russian community was wronged. Straight and queer alike. Nor do I think people should have to suffer for the choices of their gov. But I guess that happens all the time....And yes I understand the point you and others are trying to make on the opposite side and you are not wrong for your feelings I can respect that. 😌
I hope you don't quit the community though. Every member has value. Bye for now (in this thread)
I am not missing the point at all. A few years ago they removed the woman from the cover art of a TS2 pack sold in the middle east. I read somewhere that in Thailand or Malaysia sims also used to shower in their bathing suit because of obscenity laws. It would be interesting to know how they are marketing this pack in the rest of the world where such subject matter is highly sensitive because Russia it's not the only one.
I agree
Hiding representation of LGBT+ people is sending quite a message: in Russia, if you're not straight, you have to hide it.
I don't think refraining to publish the game in Russia was the way to go, EA should have published the game with the current cover and, if the Russian government had issues with it, let them face international sanctions.
Compromising to hate isn't the way. Showing oppressed groups in every day situation normalizes their existence and acceptance between the whole of a society.
I think EA is caught between a rock and a hard place here and had a very difficult decision to make. Or maybe it wasn't so difficult, I don't know. Their developers and employees are international and from so many different walks of life that the perspective certainly isn't a narrow one so I think when they have to take a closer look or make a difficult call for something like this, they weigh the circumstances very carefully.
I can't help but wish there had been a better solution for our Russian Simmer friends while still keeping the integrity of the story for the LGBT+ community. I would be very interested to hear from Russian players about it. If it were possible to purchase and gift the pack to some of them, I would do so in a heartbeat. But I think the game code would fail if they tried to use it? Can anyone answer that?
Anyway, I just also want to say that anger and accusations aren't going to help the situation. It's entirely possible to simultaneously feel triumph and validation for the LGBT+ community while also feeling compassion for the Russian players who are forced to miss out due to an oppressive government.
Peace.
According to what I read here,
The Sims 4 is rated 18+ in Russia.
LGBTQ+ content is rated 18+ in Russia.
What was the objection from the Russians?