Same sex relationships in The Sims 4 has netted the title an 18+ rating in Russia due to the country’s controversial anti-homosexuality laws.
The rating, which is also considered ‘prohibited for children’ in Russia, has been granted due to the same gay propaganda laws passed in 2010 that caught the attention of the international community around the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
Talking to Polygon, EA confirmed that they have no intention of altering the game for the market.
’We have no plans to alter The Sims 4,’ said Sims spokesperson Deborah Coster. ’One of the key tenets of The Sims is that it is up to the player to decide how to play the game. We provide the simulation sandbox and player choice and creativity does the rest.’
Same sex relationships have been in the Sims series since the first game and was according to The Sims 4’s lead AI programmer David Graham, was simply included by lead engineer Jamie Doornboos one day without him consulting anyone and without him being challenged on it.
Previous titles in the Sims series have escaped the adults only rating in Russia as they have predated the 2010 law with The Sims 3 being released in 2009. The Sims 4 is currently scheduled for a late 2014 release and will be shown off more at this year’s E3 conference.
Last week, Nintendo came under fire for excluding same sex relationships from its own life-sim, Tomodachi Life. The company did however apologise for the omission and pledged to include the feature if they work on another instalment to the series, arguing that it was a simple oversight rather than a specific agenda held by the company.
The rating, which is also considered ‘prohibited for children’ in Russia, has been granted due to the same gay propaganda laws passed in 2010 that caught the attention of the international community around the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
Talking to Polygon, EA confirmed that they have no intention of altering the game for the market.
’We have no plans to alter The Sims 4,’ said Sims spokesperson Deborah Coster. ’One of the key tenets of The Sims is that it is up to the player to decide how to play the game. We provide the simulation sandbox and player choice and creativity does the rest.’
Same sex relationships have been in the Sims series since the first game and was according to The Sims 4’s lead AI programmer David Graham, was simply included by lead engineer Jamie Doornboos one day without him consulting anyone and without him being challenged on it.
Previous titles in the Sims series have escaped the adults only rating in Russia as they have predated the 2010 law with The Sims 3 being released in 2009. The Sims 4 is currently scheduled for a late 2014 release and will be shown off more at this year’s E3 conference.
Last week, Nintendo came under fire for excluding same sex relationships from its own life-sim, Tomodachi Life. The company did however apologise for the omission and pledged to include the feature if they work on another instalment to the series, arguing that it was a simple oversight rather than a specific agenda held by the company.
RELATED ARTICLES
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review
October 14 2021 | 15:04
Want to comment? Please log in.