Source: https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1029364/-The-Sims-Process-and Stats for those that find them interesting. I would say nothing in this really surprises me except for only 1 in 5 Sims pla...
I wonder why the target audience seemed to change with ts4. Not really a big deal but I do think they would draw in more male players if they shifted the focus a bit.
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It’s not a big deal to me either - I’m already in so it’s easy for me to disregard the marketing focus and just play the game as I see fit.
I will say though - it took them a suspiciously long time to add more “masculine” features to the game. The Modern Menswear kit felt like a real slap in the man-face at the time, not because I believe plaid miniskirts look absolutely ridiculous on adult male bodied individuals (I do think that, no offence) but because of its title “Modern Menswear”, a kit that was released before we even had a full bodyhair menu and nicely fitting, basic masculine clothes. I get the whole Ken thing, but this was getting a bit out of hand. They really made up for it when they introduced body hair, shaving and more masculine / gender neutral clothes in general. Calmed down, I have.
And I agree - I can’t see them drawing in too many new male players unless they shifted the focus. Then again, I’ve seen females scold males for wanting more masculine assets in the game: “All Triple A games are male focused, let us girls have ONE thing that has nothing to do with you.” Perhaps this is exactly the reason why Sims 4 marketing is the way it is. I don’t know what their motives are.
It is a shame that in general males are made to feel uncomfortable for liking toys / games that are typically aimed at females and so their social behavior will reflect this, whereas deep inside…they may just want to play house and dress up Dollies as well as build tree shacks and design massive killing machines with Lego Technic. Can’t we like both? If people are telling a kid: “you’re a boy and that’s for girls, stay away from that!” or worse: “if a boy likes girly things, he must be a girl”….well, that’s going to affect a young male’s view of the world and how he acts around his peers. Same goes for girls. I find this regressive and very dangerous.
I wish “gender” wasn’t such a big deal to be honest. We could do without all the gender stereotypes and gender labels in my opinion and instead just focus on self acceptance and being the best and healthiest person one can be. Then again, life shapes everyone differently so who am I to say what’s right and what’s wrong?
