About That Sims 4 Update...

Pandering Pixels: The Sims 4 Lovestruck Expansion and the Problem with Forced Inclusivity

That age-old 'fine line' exists between genuine inclusivity and overt pandering, and we're seeing that line be pushed more and more every day... toward the abyss. The latest update from "The Sims 4" demonstrates a perfect case study of how not to do it.

The introduction of the Lovestruck Expansion pack has sparked widespread controversy, not only for its content... but for its approach to a topic as foundational and basic as marriage. By removing traditional terms like "husband" and "wife," the game's development team claims it's purpose is to aim for greater inclusivity. But in reality, the execution exposes a different agenda—one that seems far more focused on corporate gain than genuine representation.

Shocking, I know...

What's even more wild is there are a lot of people pissed off in the Sims community by Zero modding these terms out of the game to return in back to the original verbiage via their Patreon.

Zero continues on the above Patreon post:

I made this while waiting for the EP to come out, because I was bored and got pissed in the meantime. Maxis fully embraced the pronouns idiocy in the last EPs, this mod removes the pronouns they're giving to the premades

Inclusivity or Market Strategy?

With the Lovestruck Expansion, EA is dressing up a sales strategy as progressivism. The change forces players to purchase a $40 expansion pack to restore even a semblance of the previous functionality related to marriage titles. I was informed via email about this update from Devann, a viewer who stated:

The only way to restore a tiny bit of this functionality is to purchase the new expansion pass, which costs $40. A lot of folks are upset about this, even folks on the LGBT side of things because it makes things less inclusive for EVERYONE including gay people who prefer being husband and husband, wife and wife, etc.

~Devann

I wish they had just added the new terms instead of replacing the existing ones. For me, the Sims officially removing and replacing all those terms with neutral ones has a bad vibe. And they’re the official company, so it makes it worse for me.

There’s nothing wrong with “husband” and “wife.” It feels, at best, performative to replace these terms entirely instead of offering new options to be more inclusive while still respecting the traditional language many players value.

Many Sims fans are appreciative of Zero's work, including Terry Beary, who replied:

Thank you for this, Zero, truly. as gender dysphoric gay man rn, I don't want these changes, I fought for inclusion, diversity before, as an activist.. sure.. but not ERASURE of gender, gendered languages, adding gender neutral things shouldn't come at the cost of erasing already established truths.. that's totally not what I.. and I think many of the older generation of LGB and T activists fought for.. I know this is a rambling of a jaded former activist (me), but, thanks.

Community Backlash

The reaction from the community has been wild. On Reddit, folks are getting their panties in a bunch around these changes, leading to moderation actions that many feel suppress valid critiques of the game's direction. Many posts are being deleted by mods as well... Almost like they don't want a conversation about it. Weird...

The Patreon post features the above-mentioned mod that restores the original marriage terms, pointing to a significant disconnect between the developers' vision and the actual community's desires.

The fact that such a mod is necessary—and popular—speaks volumes about the community's reception to these changes... Electronic Arts is listed on Sweet Baby Inc's website as a partner... Did they have something to do with these terminology changes? I'd lean towards yeah... Very likely.

It's not like EA is listening to what the gamers actually want. They'd rather pander to that elusive 'modern audience' and call anyone questioning the changes a bigot.

The ol' corporate win-win...

The Illusion of Progress

This strategy by EA is a clear and obvious attempt to capitalize on the current cultural momentum toward greater 'diversity and inclusivity'. By implementing these changes against the will of many in the community and removing more universally accepted terms without providing a free alternative, they risk alienating not just traditional players but also those they aim to include.

This approach reduces human relationships to mere marketing bullet points, undermining the potential for truly progressive representation.

Charleigh Cooper replied on the Patreon thread stating:

So glad you plastered the bullshit response from so say inclusion activist, except they need to erase to feel included.....If you have to erase someone to feel excepted, you might want to question your identity in the first place!! I don't have to erase men to feel like a women, Same with what the original LGBT stood on. Not what the alphabet soup want these days :(

The Sims franchise has long been celebrated for its broad appeal and ability to mirror real-world diversity. However, in this case especially, the latest move with the Lovestruck Expansion pack reveals a concerning trend towards the commodification of inclusivity. By altering key aspects of the game's social dynamics, EA may have overstepped in its bid to remain relevant and progressive.

True inclusivity in gaming involves thoughtful integration of diverse identities and experiences, not these 'token' gestures that cost extra. As the backlash from the community shows, even those who stand to benefit from more inclusive representation can recognize and reject pandering when they see it.

~Smash

Thx to Devann for the heads up!