As reported by Polygon , EA’s next installment to The Sims series, The Sims 4 , has been given the Russian equivalent to America’s “Adults Only” ESRB rating in accordance to Russia’s law 436-FZ.
Needless to say, the game has been given a 18+ rating because the game allows for players to engage in same-sex relationships. For those who don’t know, Russia’s 346-FZ is said to be the country’s notorious law against “gay propaganda”.
The announcement was made via The Sims’ Russian Twitter account last week on Monday, May 8, with a notification in brackets stating that the game is “ not for children. ”
In response as to why The Sims 3 wasn’t given the same rating, the same Twitter account explained that The Sims 4 received an 18+ rating in accordance with law 346-FZ , which is under the title ” on protecting children from information harmful to their health and development, ” which is said to defend Russian children from “ propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships. ”
According to Polygon, 346-FZ was brought into effect back in 2010, which is why the law didn’t affect the release of The Sims 3 , which launched back in 2009 (and so avoided having its rating altered from the much wider rating that it has now).
A spokesperson for The Sims later confirmed that there are no plans to alter The Sims 4 in light of Russia’s law, asserting that the one of the key things about The Sims series is that the player can decide how to play the game by using their own creativity and choice in a sandbox provided by the title.
” We have no plans to alter The Sims 4,” said Deborah Coster, a spokesperson for The Sims . ” 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. ”
Nintendo also received scrutiny for not allowing same-sex relationships in the English release of Tomodachi Life , an upcoming 3DS life simulator.
Nintendo’s response to last month’s Twitter campaign , that wanted to promote virtual equality in the game, was that the company didn’t want to to make any sort social commentary with its title, and that the game itself is just meant to be a “ playful alternative world ” rather than a simulation of the real one.
The company later apologized for not including same-sex relationships in the game, and has pledged that both it and its subsidiary will be more inclusive in future installments of the Tomodachi series.
“ We apologise for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life . Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game’s design, ” Nintendo explained . “ We pledge that if we create a next installment in the Tomodachi series, we will strive to design a game-play experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players. ”
Electronic Arts announced The Sims 4 back in 2013 . The game is slated to release worldwide Q3 / Q4 of this year on PC and Mac.
[ Polygon ]