Looks like people living in several countries in the world are now incapable of playing The Sims.
On June 20, a representative from EA Games told fans on an online forum that The Sims mobile game The Sims: Freeplay would no longer be available in seven different countries.
The spokesperson said that this banning was “in light of regional standards.”
As the spokesperson continued:
“We’ve always been proud that our in-game experiences embrace values as broad and diverse as our incredible Sims community. This has been important to us, as we know it is to you.”
This ban is now in action for the countries of China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt.
Despite this announcement coming from EA and not one of the governments, the information provided was fairly minimal.
For instance, its not clear if the main The Sims games apply to the ban as well. As an example, Chinese players are incapable of downloaded the game online. Will this become the casue in all seven countries?
That said, if any users in those countries had downloaded the mobile game before this announcement, they can continue to play. But, the game will stop being updated and will eventually stop functioning as technology leaves it behind.
In addition, EA never shared the exact reason why the game is in conflict with “regional standards.” Many speculated that it might be the LGBTQ content, but no confirmation has been made.
The Sims video game series has always had LGBTQ representation. Ever since the first game back in 2000, there have been same-sex romance options.
That LGBTQ representation has increased with each passing game as gay marriages and adoptions became possible in later installments.
Then in 2016, Sims 3 announced a revolution to the gender system and settings.
At first, the announcement appeared to only make clothing non-limited by gender such as making dresses available to male sims.
But soon people realized the new update was much grander. Male characters could get pregnant, players could pick whether their sims had masculine or feminine frames no matter their binary sex, players could pick if their sim used the toilet standing or sitting, and more.
Despite many Sims fans being put off by EA's ever increasing greed in terms of DLC, many have celebrated the company and game franchise on its LGBTQ representation.
Unfortunately, these seven governments may not agree.
