Besides being cringey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKVaEM0VfXU
I feel like this video is manipulating.It feels like they took a bunch of people with self-esteem issues than put them on the center. The thing is this game is not meant to be a safe space, and you shouldn't be using this game as the main comfort. I have issues as well, and this does not sit well with me.
Comments
This video is looking in the faces of all the players who made the franchise profitable and saying "We don't care about you anymore."
Mom: go play the sims4
👀
They did what ?
This was the ‘job’ ad for the video.
Oh my God looking at the add this was just plain propaganda.
I do not like this ad at all. It's irresponsible. A video game should never ever be suggested as an alternative for counseling. I'm surprised that they didn't get much backlash for this ad.
I guess I'm old fashioned. I just think video games should be fun to play.
It's also misleading because the sims 4 when it started .Never was branded as an a escape, or safe paradise.
There is something about The Sims that is incredibly calming. It’s not the “living another life vicariously through pixel people” but more, you know, “this is something I can just concentrate on for hours, build and weave communities and stories and suddenly everything in my head that’s trying to tear me apart, constantly, just fizzles away.”
For a short period of time, every single day, I have no anxiety. My constant dysphoria and body image issues are forgotten and I’m playing my transgender self, in a highly detailed game, managing a gigantic family of vampires, moving them around and building a network of some kind of expansive family bloodline. It’s just everything I could have asked for from a game, and even more. No toxic global chat channel constantly butting into my experience, no high-stress competitive environment, nobody telling me how they think I should live my life, or how they think I shouldn’t live at all.
http://newnormative.com/2017/10/18/sims-isnt-just-game-therapy-tool/
The Sims is not a supplement to therapy. I'm glad that some people are able to find peace in the game. It is a form of escapism. I often play video games to escape as well, and it's not just limited to the Sims. But even when I am going nuts and need to escape for awhile, I would never call gaming therapy. It's really not the point, though, when it comes to this ad.
The issue with this ad is that it is using these stories as a way to convince people to buy the game. That is awful and exploitative. It would be one thing if it were on a message board or on some article some place, but it is an advertisement.
(I did a complete rewrite because I misunderstood one point of the message quoted)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl8AYEYMeG8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4lOoijWD-g
This honestly has to be the most tone deaf ad I've seen in ages. They KNOW they have a subpar product that they've been half-baking by the lack of content, letting the older packs rot (Seriously, what's the point of getting Dine Out when every new pack bugs the living crap out of Dine Out and EA refuses to look back and try and fix it? Honestly at this point, Dine Out has been the biggest waste of $20 I've made in a long time.). But you know what? We can't say anything bad about Sims 4, because look at what they're doing! You can finally make the Transgender or Non-Binary Sim that said people have wanted to make for years! You can now make a real Muslim Sim without relying on mods! And on top of all that, look at how much this game is helping everyone! All these people with mental health issues, or people with depression, or bully victims or suicidal thoughts are now magically better because of the Sims! You'd have to be a real piece of human garbage to trash talk the Sims now! See what I just said? All of this is just being done to shield The Sims 4, Maxis and EA from any valid criticism!
That's right folks, this was all done to hide behind marginalized people while sticking their head out from behind them going "Na nana na boo boo!" and sticking out their tongues at you like the immature folk at EA are.
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/924539/features-that-needs-depth-and-ways-to-improve
ETA: A couple of those faces seem awfully familar to me. Maybe I saw those 'real people' and not actors in a commercial somewhere. It will dawn on me one day where I have seen them before. But sure, they are real people, real gamers, right? And not actors? lol I think I have seen them somewhere before. Just not sure where, yet.
Edited to add: When I do figure out where I have seen them, it won't surprise me at all for Maxis to admit, oh yes, those are actors but the stories they told were real stories by real players. We asked real players to tell us their stories, then these paid actors told those stories for them in this video.
Unfortunately, the reality is that when people are depressed or their lives aren't good for whatever reason, some turn to drugs, others turn to gambling, some turn to video games, etc. Anything to distract one from the fact that their actual life isn't the best. I do wish that wasn't the case.
If you see them ,please link them.
Yes, I understand that people use escapism as a way to deal with depression and other issues. And that is what makes this advertisement even more reprehensible. Instead of a video game, what if an alcohol company used this theme for advertising? As I said before, this ad is exploitative.
Edit: It's not a group of people hanging out and sharing their experiences. It's an advertisement. That is why it is gross.