The only valid opinions here are those of the LGBT community. The ones who have to face this kind of discrimination every day.
If you are not in the LGBT community, it is your job to listen, not speak over us.
no one is speaking over you except for the person who posted before you because there above your post
some people disagree with you but thats not the same thing. I would want the pack not the cover.
if it meant I could not play otherwise. thats how I feel there are likely some people in Russia that feel the some as you but I doubt many simmers
lgbtq or otherwise feel good about this and I bet you wouldn't feel good ether if you couldn't play with the new pack. @Zeldaboy180
My post was in reference to someone who was, the comment is now deleted, so I edited it a bit to avoid further confusion.
After reading this message this morning I can understand the reasons why EA have made this decision. My only issue and is one I’m seeing little questioning about is why is this only happening in Russia and not other countries with the same backward laws for the lgbt community? There are many other countries out there with similar and worse laws so why is this decision not effecting them? Why only Russia?
Here can see this move is political move, as Russia at current events is in conflict with USA
Hey, Russian simmer here. Apologizes for my English in advance, I am bilingual but haven’t been practicing much lately. I used to post regularly here on the forums (mostly in the "What Happen In Your Game" thread) but stopped a while ago due to some real life stuff. Just to clarify, I am not a part of the LGBT+ community but nearly all of my friends are. Last night we discussed this situation, and I summed up a few things they’d like the global community to hear. These are their words, not mine.
So to sum it up:
1. As far as we know, there is no proof that anyone requested EA to change the cover. Just rumours.
2. Something we know for a fact is that there are no laws preventing the game from being released under the original cover. The Sims 4 is rated M and that gives it a free pass for anything in Russia. So this is fully on EA.
3. Apparently EA thinks Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are all a part of Russia.
4. The homophobes are celebrating as heck here currently.
5. Now Russian LGBT+ simmers know they don’t matter because they weren’t privileged enough to be born in a different country.
6. The Twitter users who say "this is for your own good" and "fight your government" are like that kind of parent who punches his kid to force him to fight back a bully ten times his size. Except we're not children so it doesn’t just hurt, it’s also humiliating.
7. Apparently a large portion of the sims community is living in a cute bubble where everyone has the same mentality, same experience and same principles as them. But the sad truth is that they really can't speak about what's best for a country they never lived in.
Now. Here's the long version.
Alex, 20 y.o, he/him, gay:
"I have never seen anything more homophobic. And I'm a gay dude in Russia, get the irony? Everything about this is homophobic. They're literally saying "Hey, we know you can't have a wedding in real life, but instead of giving you this nice comfort bubble to plan out your very own wedding at least in a simulation, we prefer you to stay miserable. Even Poland gets to have fun but not you, nope". I was looking forward to the pack, I really was, now I don't even want to turn on the game. They destroyed the only safe place I had. And the worst part is that everyone is supporting them and mocking us. Like, actually mocking. I never felt so hurt by anyone on the internet. They think they're mocking our country but in reality they're mocking us - Russian LGBT+ people. Yeah, sorry, we weren't privileged enough to be born in Canada or whatever. You don't have to fight for us but don't make our lives any harder than they already are, okay?"
Sasha, 26 y.o, they/them, pan:
"There is no proof that it's about the cover. Those are just assumptions made on vague hints. I studied to be a lawyer, I know our laws and I know for a fact there's nothing from our side preventing the pack from being released. So here’s the thing that everyone just has to accept: this is fully on EA. Whatever their reasons are, whatever game they are playing, this is fully and completely their initiative. Our federal laws, as bad as they are, have nothing to do with this. But no one listens because all they hear is "Russia is against LGBT" and they blindly believe it. EA says this is our fault and they blindly believe it. Then again, what should you expect from people who still think Ukraine and Belarus are a part of Russia and don't even know what Kazakhstan is? Because all of those countries aren't getting the pack either, and their laws are different".
Mark, 19 y.o, he/him, gay (Alex's boyfriend):
"I couldn't care less about EA, I'm not a gamer myself, but now I despise them with my whole heart. They say they support our rights but as far as I'm concerned they made my boyfriend feel humiliated and betrayed over a stupid game. A game with tons of packs that he's been putting off money to buy for months. His salary per month is 200 dollars, just so they know. Also first they say "members of The Sims community in Russia will not be able to purchase this game pack" and then they say "to our Simmers around the world, we are grateful to have you in our universe"? So we're not a part of the universe, nice. No one cares about us. What kind of a twisted way to support is that?"
Lina, 19 y.o, she/her, lesbian
"I never realised how ignorant the community is. Even if it really is about the cover, that's just twisted as heck, not letting us play because some privileged Canadian will get offended that Russia got a cover with a hetero couple. For them it's just a fun way to pass time. Here for many people it's a form of escape. I mean, what are they even trying to say with this statement? "Your government is bad?" We know! And we're tired. We don't live in cutesy houses with white picket fences, we're barely crawling here. This won't change anything except show us once again how little we matter. And also give a nice hint to all gaming companies that they can hurt us and get away with it. They think they know us, have the right to speak for us and decide for us. Except they don't".
Overall this whole situation is hurtful, humiliating and unfair. And not just the letter itself, but the reaction to it as well. People think they are celebrating a win over homophobia, but from our side it honestly feels like they are cheering on the fact that LGBT+ people from Russia and CIS countries got excluded for something they have no power over. The intentions may have been good but I personally feel like never opening this game again.
4. The homophobes are celebrating as heck here currently.
That alone is reason enough to conclude this was most definitely a very bad decision by EA, imo.
I read your whole post, just didn't quote the whole thing for the sake of length of this reply. I want to thank you so much for taking the time to share all of that here.
I think it was very important we hear what the Russian voices have to say on this matter and I hope all of the people in these forums who are deigning to 'share their own opinion' on the subject take the time to read it as well.
Tbh they didn't even have to put a hetero couple on the cover (if the cover really is the issue).
They could have left it blank.
I personally would have seen it as solidarity too: if gay people can't be there, then straight people shouldn't be there either.
This is all just an incredibly sad situation all around. I feel bad for the community in Russia in general, with what they have to experience in Russia. What we take for granted in many countries, and even with that we can sometimes have difficult times. We take whatever struggles we've had for granted and in some areas of the world it's much harder. I say this from some personal experience. I came out in the late 90's, but in America. It was still difficult for me to do, but looking back I think I had it pretty easy. Maybe I felt it was harder because it was right around the time of Matthew Shepard's murder. Sorry, getting emotional and off track. Point is, if I thought i had it hard, they have it even harder.
I feel bad for the simmers in Russia who won't be able to purchase this pack. It's isolating them even more. It comes across as they don't matter A: because they're Russian and B: because of who they are attracted to. And now one of the ways they can play as themselves is being denied to them.
I don't think EA had an easy time with this decision, and from the surface it may seem like a good hting. But it's actually not. I don't mean that as EA did anything to intentionally cause these hurt feelings, but it's happened nonetheless.
I honestly feel that the best thing EA could do is patch this in for free for Russian players. They can't purchase it, so this would get around that. You might say it would cost profits , but it wouldn't lose profits as the situation currently stands. There's not a profit or sale to be made.
It's kind of sad that I have to point out that anything I say is only just my opinion and may be a different one from someone else.
@Zeldaboy180 I’m sorry but it’s the Russian simmers who we need to listen to on this matter both the non and lgbt community as both are affected by this decision. I’m getting tired of seeing non Russian simmers commenting on this issue. I have Russian speaking family who have been affected by this decision.
@Koteyka thanks for compiling that in one post - it's exactly what I've seen to be the reaction from Russian simmers aswell. You should share the post with the gurus.
Allons-y!
---> Afterlife Game Pack Idea - improved ghosts, cemeteries and funerals, psychics, new skills, new career and more! <---
This thread on twitter explains exactly what going on according to our federal laws. It's quite lengthy but it's worth reading if you would like to know more on the topic and hopefully it can stop some of the disinformation going on:
@Koteyka thanks for compiling that in one post - it's exactly what I've seen to be the reaction from Russian simmers aswell. You should share the post with the gurus.
No problem! I was very hesitant at posting it but I felt like it had to be said. So many people are debating on whether it was the right choice or not without even hearing those who actually were caught in the crossfire I'm not sure how to share it directly with the gurus, but I hope they can read it here.
@Koteyka thanks for compiling that in one post - it's exactly what I've seen to be the reaction from Russian simmers aswell. You should share the post with the gurus.
No problem! I was very hesitant at posting it but I felt like it had to be said. So many people are debating on whether it was the right choice or not without even hearing those who actually were caught in the crossfire I'm not sure how to share it directly with the gurus, but I hope they can read it here.
I hope you don't mind; I already shared your post on twitter. I took a screenshot so that people can read it easily.
Allons-y!
---> Afterlife Game Pack Idea - improved ghosts, cemeteries and funerals, psychics, new skills, new career and more! <---
@Koteyka I also thought that EA had taken the right decision here, but your post convinced me from the opposite. Thank you for writing this wonderful text, the most moving and important I have ever read on this forum. Greetings and solidarity from Germany
I was confused at first when I saw the relating posts on tumblr posted by other Russian simblrs because I knew all sims 4 packs were already 18+ in compliance with the law, but then I saw that rubbish EA corporate nonsense I knew that they wanted publicity instead of solidarity.
EA's trying to fool everyone by playing the victim here. They should have done this in 2014 if they really cared about the lgbt minorities. For plumbob's sake you don't talk about caring those people and then cutting them off next, that's common sense; at least still give them some third-party way of purchasing a legal copy so they don't feel entirely disconnected from the rest of the fanbase.
I don't know what to think anymore about this whole situation. I've been reading a lot of tweets regarding this decision, and quite frankly, It's starting to not sit right with me.
I'm still excited for the pack...but not as much now.
Sims 4 Family: Benjamin, Shine, Princess Roddy, Sophia and Hamish Furystrykar and Shelly Heart. Princess Roddy is my avatar, and he's a boy!
The only valid opinions here are those of the LGBT community. The ones who have to face this kind of discrimination every day.
If you are not in the LGBT community, it is your job to listen, not speak over us.
At the end of the day, this is a lose/lose situation. Had they censored the lesbian couple out of the promotions, there would have been just as much backlash. Look at Disney for example. They censored things like Gaston's assistant being gay in beauty and the beast, censored gay star warriors characters etc. Even Valkryie, a bi superhero was censored.
Disney's censorship is so severe that people are genuinely wondering if Billy, Aka Wiccan, one of the most popular characters in the Marvel comics, will be allowed to have his husband. They get flack for it a lot.
On the other hand, now Russian players miss out due to their awful government.
There is no winning.
Well aren't straight Russians also missing out? Does their opinion not matter?
Does a Russian LGBT persons opinion matter more than a LGBT person from another country? Who decides?
Hey, Russian simmer here. Apologizes for my English in advance, I am bilingual but haven’t been practicing much lately. I used to post regularly here on the forums (mostly in the "What Happen In Your Game" thread) but stopped a while ago due to some real life stuff. Just to clarify, I am not a part of the LGBT+ community but nearly all of my friends are. Last night we discussed this situation, and I summed up a few things they’d like the global community to hear. These are their words, not mine.
So to sum it up:
1. As far as we know, there is no proof that anyone requested EA to change the cover. Just rumours.
2. Something we know for a fact is that there are no laws preventing the game from being released under the original cover. The Sims 4 is rated M and that gives it a free pass for anything in Russia. So this is fully on EA.
3. Apparently EA thinks Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are all a part of Russia.
4. The homophobes are celebrating as heck here currently.
5. Now Russian LGBT+ simmers know they don’t matter because they weren’t privileged enough to be born in a different country.
6. The Twitter users who say "this is for your own good" and "fight your government" are like that kind of parent who punches his kid to force him to fight back a bully ten times his size. Except we're not children so it doesn’t just hurt, it’s also humiliating.
7. Apparently a large portion of the sims community is living in a cute bubble where everyone has the same mentality, same experience and same principles as them. But the sad truth is that they really can't speak about what's best for a country they never lived in.
Now. Here's the long version.
Alex, 20 y.o, he/him, gay:
"I have never seen anything more homophobic. And I'm a gay dude in Russia, get the irony? Everything about this is homophobic. They're literally saying "Hey, we know you can't have a wedding in real life, but instead of giving you this nice comfort bubble to plan out your very own wedding at least in a simulation, we prefer you to stay miserable. Even Poland gets to have fun but not you, nope". I was looking forward to the pack, I really was, now I don't even want to turn on the game. They destroyed the only safe place I had. And the worst part is that everyone is supporting them and mocking us. Like, actually mocking. I never felt so hurt by anyone on the internet. They think they're mocking our country but in reality they're mocking us - Russian LGBT+ people. Yeah, sorry, we weren't privileged enough to be born in Canada or whatever. You don't have to fight for us but don't make our lives any harder than they already are, okay?"
Sasha, 26 y.o, they/them, pan:
"There is no proof that it's about the cover. Those are just assumptions made on vague hints. I studied to be a lawyer, I know our laws and I know for a fact there's nothing from our side preventing the pack from being released. So here’s the thing that everyone just has to accept: this is fully on EA. Whatever their reasons are, whatever game they are playing, this is fully and completely their initiative. Our federal laws, as bad as they are, have nothing to do with this. But no one listens because all they hear is "Russia is against LGBT" and they blindly believe it. EA says this is our fault and they blindly believe it. Then again, what should you expect from people who still think Ukraine and Belarus are a part of Russia and don't even know what Kazakhstan is? Because all of those countries aren't getting the pack either, and their laws are different".
Mark, 19 y.o, he/him, gay (Alex's boyfriend):
"I couldn't care less about EA, I'm not a gamer myself, but now I despise them with my whole heart. They say they support our rights but as far as I'm concerned they made my boyfriend feel humiliated and betrayed over a stupid game. A game with tons of packs that he's been putting off money to buy for months. His salary per month is 200 dollars, just so they know. Also first they say "members of The Sims community in Russia will not be able to purchase this game pack" and then they say "to our Simmers around the world, we are grateful to have you in our universe"? So we're not a part of the universe, nice. No one cares about us. What kind of a twisted way to support is that?"
Lina, 19 y.o, she/her, lesbian
"I never realised how ignorant the community is. Even if it really is about the cover, that's just twisted as heck, not letting us play because some privileged Canadian will get offended that Russia got a cover with a hetero couple. For them it's just a fun way to pass time. Here for many people it's a form of escape. I mean, what are they even trying to say with this statement? "Your government is bad?" We know! And we're tired. We don't live in cutesy houses with white picket fences, we're barely crawling here. This won't change anything except show us once again how little we matter. And also give a nice hint to all gaming companies that they can hurt us and get away with it. They think they know us, have the right to speak for us and decide for us. Except they don't".
Overall this whole situation is hurtful, humiliating and unfair. And not just the letter itself, but the reaction to it as well. People think they are celebrating a win over homophobia, but from our side it honestly feels like they are cheering on the fact that LGBT+ people from Russia and CIS countries got excluded for something they have no power over. The intentions may have been good but I personally feel like never opening this game again.
Not just lgbt Russian simmers , they just exclude the whole entire Russia simmer base.The whole thing is sad and pathetic.Edit It really say they say are inclusive, but they have excluding other bases .
Tbh they didn't even have to put a hetero couple on the cover (if the cover really is the issue).
They could have left it blank.
I personally would have seen it as solidarity too: if gay people can't be there, then straight people shouldn't be there either.
I was thinking the same. I can agree that it wouldn't be right to censor it and just replace them with a straight couple but there are tons of other ways around it. In my opinion it would've made just as much of a statement as you said to just leave it totally blank or erase out the sims, and then it's like the cover in itself is a protest against how ridiculous the censorship is. Then it's a win-win, the devs can make a clear point against censorship and players can still enjoy the pack.
Not just lgbt Russian simmers , they just exclude the whole entire Russia simmer base.The whole thing is sad and pathetic.
Absolutely, I agree! But with these actions EA deeply hurt a lot of the most vulnerable members of their community and that's something I personally wanted to point out. It's not just the loss of some gameplay that's hurting my friends, it's the entire attitude. It's EA posting an entire letter about love and the importance of freely telling your stories and yet not showing a hint of support for those who can't. It's the people down there in the comments telling them "this is a win over homophobia", "we're sorry but this is best for you", "go protest to your government". The people who believe they are supportive but are expressing it in a very damaging way, erasing my friends everyday struggles with a snap of the fingers. It hurts.
Not just lgbt Russian simmers , they just exclude the whole entire Russia simmer base.The whole thing is sad and pathetic.
Absolutely, I agree! But with these actions EA deeply hurt a lot of the most vulnerable members of their community and that's something I personally wanted to point out. It's not just the loss of some gameplay that's hurting my friends, it's the entire attitude. It's EA posting an entire letter about love and the importance of freely telling your stories and yet not showing a hint of support for those who can't. It's the people down there in the comments telling them "this is a win over homophobia", "we're sorry but this is best for you", "go protest to your government". The people who believe they are supportive but are expressing it in a very damaging way, erasing my friends everyday struggles with a snap of the fingers. It hurts.
Oh I know, I was just saying they had no problem excluding others.
I was confused at first when I saw the relating posts on tumblr posted by other Russian simblrs because I knew all sims 4 packs were already 18+ in compliance with the law, but then I saw that rubbish EA corporate nonsense I knew that they wanted publicity instead of solidarity.
EA's trying to fool everyone by playing the victim here. They should have done this in 2014 if they really cared about the lgbt minorities. For plumbob's sake you don't talk about caring those people and then cutting them off next, that's common sense; at least still give them some third-party way of purchasing a legal copy so they don't feel entirely disconnected from the rest of the fanbase.
I also find it rather interesting, that the reasoning in the English version of the letter is different from the Russian one. Their reasoning for English speakers is federal laws (which ones I wonder) and for Russian speakers - their "values" only, because Russian players know exactly, that their laws would not prohibit the release of this pack as it is as 18+ game, just like all previous packs released to date. Roskomnadzor (Russian organization responsible for banning stuff so to say) has a website where they list every company and product that was banned or restricted by them - EA or Sims 4 is not listet there.
But at least EA cleared their reputation as an Evil Emire by twitter users, which was the whole point of this stunt as it seems.
Is it possible for them to just release an alternate cover (not with a het couple, but like maybe that picture of two paired rings in the link to the original post they made on the issue? It's a pretty graphic) or no cover at all along with no trailer for the Russian Origin page (not all origin pages but for the Russian one specifically)?
Like I'm not familiar with how Origin works/functions but I feel like there should be an option for alternate promotional images or for none at all (or omitting them). They don't have to replace the two wlw couple for a het pair; just list the game. The couple will still be in the game.
This is a very tough situation and one of scenarios in which I don't think there's really any "right" answer. There is certainly a wrong answer and it is the Russian government and anti-LGBTQ+ laws that is undoubtedly in the wrong in this case.
But as for what EA and the Sims team should do? I honestly don't know. As it was already mentioned in this thread, they are quite frankly caught inbetween two very difficult, controversial decisions in which there are no clear winners.
Should they give in and change the cover art? - They could, but would likely end up facing backlash for siding with the Russian government and giving into h*mophobic laws. Even if it were only the cover art for Russia and nowhere else. Although some people have said they don't think people could care that much about cover art even if it doesn't affect them personally... surely there are a few people who would think the changing of cover art for Russia alone, is all about them trying to get more sales and would claim they "don't care" about LGBTQ+ people as much as they claim. I remember the controversy from Snowy Escape over an animation that signified different things to different countries. EA ended up changing it due to what the bowing at the shrine represented to Korean simmers, and as a result ended up facing backlash from Japanese simmers. While the situations themselves are not comparable, I only bring it up as an example of how people tend to react when things like this are removed or changed.
But on the other hand, EA and the Sims team refusing to change the cover art just because of the Russian government's stance on LGBTQ+ content in a way does solidify their stance on the matter and imply that they stand with the LGBTQ+ community. And by choosing not to change things so that the gamepack can be sold without any issue in Russia, are essentially losing out on funds they would have had otherwise had they just changed the cover. But at the same time, they are unintentionally excluding Russian simmers, including those who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. I say unintentionally, because I don't feel excluding them was done with any prior intent, much less a malicious one. But at the same time, I can understand why Russian simmers, especially LGBTQ+ Russian simmers would feel like they're being abandoned by EA.
EA and the Sims team are in a very difficult position here and regardless of what decision they take, they will likely receive backlash from one group or the other. It's very much a lose-lose situation in which there is no winning from either side (the sides being EA and Russian Simmers.) I do emphasize with those that this decision affects and I hope that Russian players can find some way to get the pack, but I am hesitant to call EA the bad guy in this situation and have to believe this wasn't a decision that was made lightly.
Comments
oh okay @Zeldaboy180
Here can see this move is political move, as Russia at current events is in conflict with USA
2 of the 3 you ssaid is because USA laws (countries at black list for export)
in online games it is exploit a bug
(if you know what I mean)
So to sum it up:
1. As far as we know, there is no proof that anyone requested EA to change the cover. Just rumours.
2. Something we know for a fact is that there are no laws preventing the game from being released under the original cover. The Sims 4 is rated M and that gives it a free pass for anything in Russia. So this is fully on EA.
3. Apparently EA thinks Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are all a part of Russia.
4. The homophobes are celebrating as heck here currently.
5. Now Russian LGBT+ simmers know they don’t matter because they weren’t privileged enough to be born in a different country.
6. The Twitter users who say "this is for your own good" and "fight your government" are like that kind of parent who punches his kid to force him to fight back a bully ten times his size. Except we're not children so it doesn’t just hurt, it’s also humiliating.
7. Apparently a large portion of the sims community is living in a cute bubble where everyone has the same mentality, same experience and same principles as them. But the sad truth is that they really can't speak about what's best for a country they never lived in.
Now. Here's the long version.
Alex, 20 y.o, he/him, gay:
"I have never seen anything more homophobic. And I'm a gay dude in Russia, get the irony? Everything about this is homophobic. They're literally saying "Hey, we know you can't have a wedding in real life, but instead of giving you this nice comfort bubble to plan out your very own wedding at least in a simulation, we prefer you to stay miserable. Even Poland gets to have fun but not you, nope". I was looking forward to the pack, I really was, now I don't even want to turn on the game. They destroyed the only safe place I had. And the worst part is that everyone is supporting them and mocking us. Like, actually mocking. I never felt so hurt by anyone on the internet. They think they're mocking our country but in reality they're mocking us - Russian LGBT+ people. Yeah, sorry, we weren't privileged enough to be born in Canada or whatever. You don't have to fight for us but don't make our lives any harder than they already are, okay?"
Sasha, 26 y.o, they/them, pan:
"There is no proof that it's about the cover. Those are just assumptions made on vague hints. I studied to be a lawyer, I know our laws and I know for a fact there's nothing from our side preventing the pack from being released. So here’s the thing that everyone just has to accept: this is fully on EA. Whatever their reasons are, whatever game they are playing, this is fully and completely their initiative. Our federal laws, as bad as they are, have nothing to do with this. But no one listens because all they hear is "Russia is against LGBT" and they blindly believe it. EA says this is our fault and they blindly believe it. Then again, what should you expect from people who still think Ukraine and Belarus are a part of Russia and don't even know what Kazakhstan is? Because all of those countries aren't getting the pack either, and their laws are different".
Mark, 19 y.o, he/him, gay (Alex's boyfriend):
"I couldn't care less about EA, I'm not a gamer myself, but now I despise them with my whole heart. They say they support our rights but as far as I'm concerned they made my boyfriend feel humiliated and betrayed over a stupid game. A game with tons of packs that he's been putting off money to buy for months. His salary per month is 200 dollars, just so they know. Also first they say "members of The Sims community in Russia will not be able to purchase this game pack" and then they say "to our Simmers around the world, we are grateful to have you in our universe"? So we're not a part of the universe, nice. No one cares about us. What kind of a twisted way to support is that?"
Lina, 19 y.o, she/her, lesbian
"I never realised how ignorant the community is. Even if it really is about the cover, that's just twisted as heck, not letting us play because some privileged Canadian will get offended that Russia got a cover with a hetero couple. For them it's just a fun way to pass time. Here for many people it's a form of escape. I mean, what are they even trying to say with this statement? "Your government is bad?" We know! And we're tired. We don't live in cutesy houses with white picket fences, we're barely crawling here. This won't change anything except show us once again how little we matter. And also give a nice hint to all gaming companies that they can hurt us and get away with it. They think they know us, have the right to speak for us and decide for us. Except they don't".
Overall this whole situation is hurtful, humiliating and unfair. And not just the letter itself, but the reaction to it as well. People think they are celebrating a win over homophobia, but from our side it honestly feels like they are cheering on the fact that LGBT+ people from Russia and CIS countries got excluded for something they have no power over. The intentions may have been good but I personally feel like never opening this game again.
That alone is reason enough to conclude this was most definitely a very bad decision by EA, imo.
I read your whole post, just didn't quote the whole thing for the sake of length of this reply. I want to thank you so much for taking the time to share all of that here.
I think it was very important we hear what the Russian voices have to say on this matter and I hope all of the people in these forums who are deigning to 'share their own opinion' on the subject take the time to read it as well.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
They could have left it blank.
I personally would have seen it as solidarity too: if gay people can't be there, then straight people shouldn't be there either.
I feel bad for the simmers in Russia who won't be able to purchase this pack. It's isolating them even more. It comes across as they don't matter A: because they're Russian and B: because of who they are attracted to. And now one of the ways they can play as themselves is being denied to them.
I don't think EA had an easy time with this decision, and from the surface it may seem like a good hting. But it's actually not. I don't mean that as EA did anything to intentionally cause these hurt feelings, but it's happened nonetheless.
I honestly feel that the best thing EA could do is patch this in for free for Russian players. They can't purchase it, so this would get around that. You might say it would cost profits , but it wouldn't lose profits as the situation currently stands. There's not a profit or sale to be made.
No problem! I was very hesitant at posting it but I felt like it had to be said. So many people are debating on whether it was the right choice or not without even hearing those who actually were caught in the crossfire
EA's trying to fool everyone by playing the victim here. They should have done this in 2014 if they really cared about the lgbt minorities. For plumbob's sake you don't talk about caring those people and then cutting them off next, that's common sense; at least still give them some third-party way of purchasing a legal copy so they don't feel entirely disconnected from the rest of the fanbase.
._.
I'm still excited for the pack...but not as much now.
Well aren't straight Russians also missing out? Does their opinion not matter?
Does a Russian LGBT persons opinion matter more than a LGBT person from another country? Who decides?
Not just lgbt Russian simmers , they just exclude the whole entire Russia simmer base.The whole thing is sad and pathetic.Edit It really say they say are inclusive, but they have excluding other bases .
I was thinking the same. I can agree that it wouldn't be right to censor it and just replace them with a straight couple but there are tons of other ways around it. In my opinion it would've made just as much of a statement as you said to just leave it totally blank or erase out the sims, and then it's like the cover in itself is a protest against how ridiculous the censorship is. Then it's a win-win, the devs can make a clear point against censorship and players can still enjoy the pack.
https://chng.it/xQTsS69qjk
I hope it's okay to post the link here, if not I'm sure the mods will let me know.
Absolutely, I agree! But with these actions EA deeply hurt a lot of the most vulnerable members of their community and that's something I personally wanted to point out. It's not just the loss of some gameplay that's hurting my friends, it's the entire attitude. It's EA posting an entire letter about love and the importance of freely telling your stories and yet not showing a hint of support for those who can't. It's the people down there in the comments telling them "this is a win over homophobia", "we're sorry but this is best for you", "go protest to your government". The people who believe they are supportive but are expressing it in a very damaging way, erasing my friends everyday struggles with a snap of the fingers. It hurts.
Oh I know, I was just saying they had no problem excluding others.
I also find it rather interesting, that the reasoning in the English version of the letter is different from the Russian one. Their reasoning for English speakers is federal laws (which ones I wonder) and for Russian speakers - their "values" only, because Russian players know exactly, that their laws would not prohibit the release of this pack as it is as 18+ game, just like all previous packs released to date. Roskomnadzor (Russian organization responsible for banning stuff so to say) has a website where they list every company and product that was banned or restricted by them - EA or Sims 4 is not listet there.
But at least EA cleared their reputation as an Evil Emire by twitter users, which was the whole point of this stunt as it seems.
Like I'm not familiar with how Origin works/functions but I feel like there should be an option for alternate promotional images or for none at all (or omitting them). They don't have to replace the two wlw couple for a het pair; just list the game. The couple will still be in the game.
Edit: clarification
But as for what EA and the Sims team should do? I honestly don't know. As it was already mentioned in this thread, they are quite frankly caught inbetween two very difficult, controversial decisions in which there are no clear winners.
EA and the Sims team are in a very difficult position here and regardless of what decision they take, they will likely receive backlash from one group or the other. It's very much a lose-lose situation in which there is no winning from either side (the sides being EA and Russian Simmers.) I do emphasize with those that this decision affects and I hope that Russian players can find some way to get the pack, but I am hesitant to call EA the bad guy in this situation and have to believe this wasn't a decision that was made lightly.