Who the Game is Marketed To

"simmerorigin;c-18196572" wrote:

"CordeliaBeaufort;c-18195696" wrote:
Back to old Sims 1 game and packs, there were many adult jokes and features (do you remember the cake dancer? vibrating bed?) I was only 7 years old when I play these but I was out of target group, there was even a parental advisory that I should be above 13 years old but I think we all ignored that lmao.

Today, sims 4 have none of these, or any inappropriate feature for below 7 years olds. I think Sims 4's target group is broader than Sims 1 as it include children too.

So many major Sims content creators and influencers have made video essays and analysis videos reiterating these points. The "charm is gone" or "where's the drama" or "it's very family friendly."

I think the Sims Team must be aware of these observations and criticism. But they might not mean anything for the Project Rene if there is some top-down directive from executives who don't understand the audience but want to target certain demographics for business reasons.

I fear Sims 4 and Rene are competing with Roblox for Gen Alpha.

Ironically, I feel that the YouTubers, at least the major ones, are part of the problem. I feel that most of their channels are marketed towards children and younger teens. The way they talk to their audience it's often hard to believe some of these people graduated high school let alone nearing 30. It's like they are presenting a kids show.

They often have an immature view on on what "drama" actually is, probably what they've seen on scripted reality TV shows. They seem to focus on more superficial things, and everything is bright and perky. They squeel over features that a month later they never touch again.

Their livelihoods depend on chasing the YouTube, Twitch, or other social media algorithms, and since Gen Z/Alpha are using these platforms much more than any other generation, it is who they market to (not to mention the whole issue of what content advertisers on YouTube are willing to monetise).

Honestly, many of these major Sims YouTubers feel like the perfect representation of The Sim's current target audience.

I have no idea what the smaller YouTubers are like, and if they are any different. I hope they are much more varied, but evidently YouTube, the Sims Team, and a large section playerbase that engages with such content, have different priorities.

Sorry for rambling on, I just wanted to share my frustrations and personal opinion.