Who the Game is Marketed To

"Reallysoawkward23;d-1004132" wrote:
Based on being on these forums, Reddit, YouTube, etc., it seems like the community often is annoyed by how childish some of the game is, or at least the lack of some of the more 'mature' forms of humor from previous games. I'm curious, who does EA think the demographic of this game is? Who are they marketing to? Do you feel like you as a player are in the demographic that they are marketing to?

I do feel I am in the demographic because it seems to me they try to include "all" players. They have even brought back classic icons like bonehilda and mrs crumplebottom. I was too young to have remembered them so obviously this was for the nostalgic older players. And a fun bonus for younger players.
I understand they do tend to lean towards younger and newer players but that's just business. That's how business works and you always want to keep a flow of young and new customers to grow your business.
It is also a bit more childish because whoever was in charge at the time when it first came out wanted it to be a "safe space" for "young girls" However, I feel like the sims have made changes since then. And they do try and include all types of players for the most part. Now days it's not childish because the team wants it to be, it's childish because simmers hold it back since they are outraged over every little thing, triggered and cry for nerfs. Everything they add could potentially be seen as offensive.
People think they want something deep, mature and humerous but can't handle it.
The team was even forced to change the name of the insane trait. So now the team has no choice but to keep it in the "safe space" zone. And that makes it seem childish.
It is what it is at this point ?‍♀️ and I just enjoy it for what it is rather than to mope and cry about what it is "not".

I don't think I agree that the community is annoyed at how childish some of the game is, least I haven't seen that to be true. As part of the over 50 crowd around here (and there are a ton of us!), I don't find it childish (because this game is whatever you make of it).

I find it idyllic (because I play it that way) and that's refreshing. I don't play the game for mature content, there are tons of games out there that are mature. For me, the game is an escape from my very mature life. My sims are beautiful (to me) and live perfect little happy lives. It's a fantasy world and I love it. I have heart issues and the game calms me down, it helps me with my high stress level. I consider it every bit as important as my heart medication.

I don't want realism in this game. I would hate it. It's why I get so worked up over all the bugs and glitches and the lack of QA. This game has become part of my relaxation technique and I need it to behave.

Anyways, I think the game is currently geared towards a very young demographic and that's a massive mistake on EA's part. That demographic is notorious about chasing the next shiny, new object. I don't mean Gen X,Y,Z or whatever, I mean that age group in general. They have short attention spans and are easily distracted. I was at that age, everybody is. EA needs to be catering to us, the old crowd, those who have been playing Sims for years. We are the backbone. I get that it's business to attract new players, however to toss aside your loyal base in the process? Ridiculous and a mistake.

Yes, Sims is important to me BUT I can replace it. I can start painting, coloring, walking more. I can find a word app or something else to relax me. I prefer sims but if EA continues to ignore "ME" and continues to push out buggy crap? I WILL move on. I've done it before, gone over a year without playing and I'll do it again.

So please, stop ignoring us and stop chasing after the finnicky demographic that isn't loyal to anything. Remember those who got you to this point while still courting the new players.

I'm waxing philosophical because I'm rather annoyed that I don't recognize a single person their hyping for this "summit" thing. Not one. They're all my son's age and he hates sims. Again, big mistake going after his generation like this.

Seems to be American females aged 16-25. I can't remember the last time there was a trailer starring a male Sim as the lead and the whole game has an American feel.

"CarpeNocheSims;c-18192745" wrote:
I

Anyways, I think the game is currently geared towards a very young demographic and that's a massive mistake on EA's part. That demographic is notorious about chasing the next shiny, new object. I don't mean Gen X,Y,Z or whatever, I mean that age group in general. They have short attention spans and are easily distracted. I was at that age, everybody is. EA needs to be catering to us, the old crowd, those who have been playing Sims for years. We are the backbone. I get that it's business to attract new players, however to toss aside your loyal base in the process? Ridiculous and a mistake.
.

This is more what I meant than to say it is childish really...I just feel like I (as someone in my 30s) am definitely not the target demographic. This is okay, but like you said I have also been playing the game forever.

No but I love it anyway!

"Simplyobsessed;c-18192746" wrote:
Seems to be American females aged 16-25. I can't remember the last time there was a trailer starring a male Sim as the lead and the whole game has an American feel.

This is definitely how it feels to me. Sims 4 feels like it puts more emphasis on being American than the previous versions. We even had a trailer with a sim speaking English! (the strangerville trailer, also the last trailer I can remember with a male protagonist)

On top of that maxis clearly want to attract simmer of ethnic origin, just look at the many hairstyles taken from packs and put into base game and they obviously want to attract more LGBTQ+ simmers (this year we got pronouns, gender preferences, rainbow wedding dresses, the wedding GP trailer celebrating same sex relationships and kit promoted by a drag queen) This is just an observation, but these are clearly important target groups to EA/maxis.

"simgirl1010;c-18192782" wrote:
No but I love it anyway!

Same, I am obviously not their target group but can still enjoy the game.

I may not be in the target audience, but I do enjoy this game. I’m not here for extreme content. I want to relax with my game, and that type of content doesn’t do it for me. I’m okay with the game, as sold, being less edgy, dark or realistic, since those elements can be added in with mods easier than they could be taken out if they were integrated into the actual game.

I think their target audience is teenaged and 20-something-year-old females who are interested in disposable fashion and have disposable income, who are easily influenced by advertising and peer pressure, and who don't really play the game for long but like to post pictures of the game on social media sites.

I remember reading from a former CM their target market is teenage girls.

They market to wish fulfillment and Heile Welt (english something like "wholesome/idyllic world") craving players, regardless of age. As someone who wants to explore a broader range of situations in a true sandbox game I do not feel included in the demographic anymore.