My Wedding Stories

EA banned My Wedding Stories in Russia for the wrong reasons

weddingban

Hello all. I just want to let you know that I won’t be covering Early Access content. You can read my full statement in the twitter thread below:

Why the decision to ban Wedding Stories in Russia is not about the defense of LGBTQ+ rights

Written by @SimplyHao – lawyer in Russia

The only Russian law that somehow limits the distribution of LGBTQ+-related content is art. 6.21 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses. This article speaks about the propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships to underage.

The age of the legal majority in Russia is 18. Thus, all content that contains the depiction of LGBT+ neutrally or positively must be labeled as 18+ according to Russian law. Please note that this is an administrative offense and not a crime. The worst consequence of this offense is an administrative fine of 1 mln RUB (approx. 13 000 USD) and the suspension of activity for 90 days. But the latest is rarely used because it is easier to hand out a fine.

There are some additional restrictions for the distribution of such content. Any printed product with the age restriction must not contain the prohibited for children imagery in the places generally allowed for children. There are no additional demands for the content published on the Internet – just label it properly.

Now let’s speak about the probable legal risks for EA.

The Sims games were labeled as 18+ in Russia from the base game. So, every part of the game, every pack and kit is labeled as 18+. Wedding stories are no exception. Trailers on the Internet – just put an 18+ label in the start as they do in cinemas, then proceed. All Russian trailers of the Sims have an age restriction label in the corner of the video that appears at the start. The same would be applied to the Wedding stories.

The trailer of the Dream home decorator has included the kid’s room with the trans pride flag – and no one cared. The trailer of the Cats and dogs has included the gay wedding – and no one cared. Why it would be different for Wedding stories? Just. Put. The label. That’s all.

Pictures on the Internet – just put an 18+ label on the picture and the web page.

The Russian version of the news about the Carnaval Streetwear Kit includes the imagery that, in terms of Russian law, must be 18+. No one cared. The Russian version of the news about the Modern Menswear Kit contains pictures of guys in skirts. No one cared. Every year the Russian version of the news talks about Pride month and praises all the LGBTQ+ simmers and sims with the fitting pictures. No one cared!

Everything about the Sims on the Russian version of the EA website is labeled as 18+. Why it would be different for Wedding stories? Just. Put. The label. That’s all.

So, we are left with the distribution of the material copies of the game on the disks. As far as I know, the Sims game in Russia is distributed mainly in digital. I googled briefly, and haven’t found any latest addons on disks at all. But even if they are – the Sims don’t need to change the whole image. They could make, for example, an additional wrapper just with Wedding Stories written on it and the disk case without any changes inside. It would be okay.

I have seen some tweets about the “Russian Constitution declares that marriage can be only between man and woman”. It is true. But! This is not about the media content and never has been. It is about, like. Literal marriages. Between real people in Russia. Not about some game that allows same-sex marriages in a fictional world mainly based on the US reality. So, according to all of the above, there are no legal risks for EA to drop the Wedding Stories for us. It is not illegal. It is not prohibited.

I also want you to consider that the English version of the EA announcement contains information that the ban is because of the Russian federal laws. The Russian version DOES NOT HAVE THIS INFORMATION.

For those of you who condone what EA did because “it is wrong that the game is labeled as 18+ because of the LGBT content”. Yes, it is. But I want you to consider that the demand to label the content is the most harmless impact of this law.

The law is used mainly for the oppression and erasure of LGBTQ+ rights organizations and initiatives. Films, books, and games at the moment are not persecuted for the LGBTQ+ content until it is labeled. The law does not demand to censor or cut out anything if it is labeled.

All the recent cases of censorship and cuts were about self-censorship in fear of backlash – not about some demand of the Russian government. And this is what EA does – just self-censors itself.

For all these years since 2014, The Sims games were labeled as 18+. No content ever have been cut out or altered. Every LGBTQ+ sims remained that way. All same-sex in-game families remained that way. How are Wedding Stories any different?

For those of you who think that if we still have this government and this law we approve all of this – no, we are not. A lot of people protested about the law from the beginning. But, unfortunately, we live under an authoritarian regime that gets harsher every day. The protests are fiercely repressed. The further explanations will require a whole new huge thread because there are a lot of factors that led to the situation we are in. Just, please, don’t think that you know our political situation better than we do. Listen to those who are oppressed. We know better.

The defense of human rights never should be for the sake of some abstract conceptions. The Sims team in their letter says, that this decision is for the protection of LGBTQ+ rights. But whom do they protect? Human rights don’t just hang out there in the air. They belong to people and this decision does nothing for the protection of the LGBTQ+ rights of the western people except virtue-signaling. Moreover, this decision does nothing for the protection of the LGBTQ+ rights of Russian people. The Sims games help a lot of us to escape from the reality.

To live in a world where everyone is equal, where there is no hate or prejudice towards different social groups. A lot of people have explored and understood their sexuality through the game. A lot of people stopped being homophobic because of the game – they subsequently just grew used to the conception of the world that the Sims games suggest.

We, the LGBTQs and allies in Russia, are constantly fighting for our rights and freedom to be ourselves. And the games like The Sims have been always showing to us – you are not alone. You are great as you are.

And when the Sims team decides to ban the Wedding Stories from Russia it hurts. Not only the decision itself but how it was made. All the letter is about the importance of the story shown in the addon. Nothing about us, the players. Nothing that stated – hey, we know you are out there. We are deeply sorry. Keep fighting. We will try and see what we can do for you. Just…nothing. It still would be a strange decision but at least it would show that they care.

If the Sims were really trying to protect us, to help us, there could be so many ways. They could have decided to transfer some of the gains of the Wedding Stories to the Russian LGBTQ+ rights organizations, for example. They could have reached out to the Russian LGBTQ+ simmers and make some content with them. Make some news materials, podcasts, in-game content. But they did literally nothing.

That’s why from our perspective the whole move is about looking good in the eyes of the western simmers. Who cares about Russia, right, it is a small and poor market. Who cares, that this decision will affect not only Russia but the other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent Countries) too.

And what about Ukraine? Will they get the pack? No one knows. And this is very unjust. Russia does not deserve this, but other countries don’t deserve this even more. And it appears, no one cares about them.

Please, The Sims, reconsider your decision. We deserve better.

About the author

Jovan

Reticulating splines as a webmaster for Sims Community over the last 11 years. You can find me here writing articles and doing reports on your favorite life sim games, among other things!

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Lucas Hearsay
Lucas Hearsay
2 years ago

I feel very sorry for all the players who can’ t play the new pack because of whatever reason!

Angie Shade
Angie Shade
2 years ago

wooooow. Okay, that’s considerably less understandable. :/ :/ Ugh.

Jayce Logan
Jayce Logan
2 years ago

I’m honestly wondering if EA is wanting to punish players in these regions because of hackers on their other games.

Theory aside, I do hope if we can’t gift people in the affected areas the pack that people who do normally buy packs and do care, show so with their wallets

anadius
anadius
2 years ago
Reply to  Jayce Logan

Gifting might be problematic. But there are stores that sell keys you can activate – and those should activate just fine. And I’m not talking about shady keyshops, I’m talking about official stores. Just check out gg.deals, it lists both official stores and keyshops (and all risks for each of them).

Jayce Logan
Jayce Logan
2 years ago
Reply to  anadius

honestly, when I say gift, I also mean via 3rd party stuff. Like I feel like Steam won’t work either for this case

estelle
estelle
2 years ago
Reply to  Jayce Logan

I suppose, its otherwise. Russian and CIS players can take gifts from Europe or US players, but European/US players cant take gifts from Russians because of low regional prices.

Fuyuno
Fuyuno
2 years ago
Reply to  Jayce Logan

vpn is always a thing i guess

estelle
estelle
2 years ago
Reply to  Jayce Logan

People, who wanted and were able to buy the pack, will just pirate it now. So EA just kinda supports piracy.

estelle
estelle
2 years ago
Reply to  Jayce Logan

People, who wanted and were able to buy the pack, will just pirate it now. So EA just kinda supports piracy.

SallyC
SallyC
2 years ago

Thank you for publishing this letter.

It confirms my impression that EA is doing a PR stunt here – for whatever reason. They might have hoped to increase their share sales shortly before the end of the financial year, who knows. In the end the Russian government doesn’t care – and if they did, they’d see that their law, like, “overarchieved” its target. Well done.

It helps no-one – except for EA who have once again polished their public image a little bit. And it seems to work, as I have seen people praising EA for taking such a “brave step” – without reflecting EA’s business behaviour when nobody’s looking. Looking at women’s earnings and career chances there, looking at other countries where they sell their games – and what those countries do to their minorities.

And the ones suffering are the players: those who are directly affected by that law (and social atmosphere) anyway and in their daily lives, because they don’t fit the “ideal” forced onto society by government – and those who just “play the wrong game at the wrong time”. Nothing changes, except things get a little bit worse and miserable for some people. Once again: Well done. Not.

frooot vids
frooot vids
2 years ago

Thank you for posting that letter that came from your heart. It’s very hard to do that in our meta ethic reality.
That case only shows once again the true face of EA.

I’m as the Russian simmer, who plays The Sims for 15+ years, and the part of our surviving LGBTQ+ community so deeply disappointed in that multi billion dollar corporation that uses that weird and odious actions to make more money and more political hype.

Shame on you Electronic Arts and every person who has supported that idea in your company.

Great respect to the author and simscommunity for the truth. #WeddingsForRussia

Rocket Raccoon
Rocket Raccoon
2 years ago

To be fair, everything about the ban is just wrong.

Fuyuno
Fuyuno
2 years ago

"the wrong reason"? is there ever a "right reason" to ban this?
not that any manner of banishment will deter players anyway. there is always a way around things.

Rada Scherwey
Rada Scherwey
2 years ago

In the eyes of russian government, Roskomnadzor and whatever other bullshit organisations they now have, the situation with this pack is different because it features the word “Wedding” along with the depictions of gay couples which makes the context as clear as it can possibly be and, as such, triggers their watchdogs to the maximum. EA obviously chose the lesser evil – to sacrifice this one single small add-on for the sake of keeping the rest of their assets available for the audiences in Russia. If you still happen to believe that nobody in that country could have legally forced them to withdraw from the local market, then you really don’t know much about how Russia functions as a state, because the way it does is summarized in an old Soviet-era joke: “Even the things that are allowed are actually illegal”. Furthermore, the whole situation with Nikita Uvarov (you might have heard of what happened to him) could’ve also discouraged EA / their russian office, etc. As for your idea for EA to donate % of the gains to the russian LGBTQ+ organizations: this would be the worst thing possible, because at this very moment, according to Russia’s idiotic “foreign agent’ law, these organisations would be immediately deemed “undesirable”, fined and shut down, much like it already happened to the “Committee against Torture” and “Memorial”.

Brittany Dixon
Brittany Dixon
2 years ago
Reply to  Rada Scherwey

Finally a comment that objectively assess the situation

Maxi
Maxi
2 years ago
Reply to  Rada Scherwey

THIS. A company like EA would never withdraw a product just to make a statement. They may not disclose what went down behind the scenes but we can be sure that there was some serious pressure from Russian authorities.

doto
doto
2 years ago
Reply to  Rada Scherwey

I can’t agree with that. In Russia, a dlc for Borderlands 3 with a gay couple and the word “marriage” on the cover is freely sold even physically in stores. Many LGBTQ+ organizations are already recognized as “foreign agents” in Russia (Russian LGBT Network, for example), why not help them?
The main problem is that EA is silent. If they had problems with the Russian authorities, why not say so? Their whole statement looks very strange from the begging.

nick
nick
2 years ago

…its not banned in russia. there would be 0 legal issues with releasing the game there. its been made very clear that theyre not releasing content about happy weddings in russia to protest the fact that real people cant get married/express themselves etc. sure some lgbt fans are missing out on a tiny crumb of content but thats definitely worth lgbt rights being brought to the attention of non-lgbt fans.

The Sims Serbia
The Sims Serbia
2 years ago

This is only American propaganda – deliberately raises tensions among the citizens of Russia in all fields, wherever possible. He is trying in every way to bring that country to war!

Yuck!
Yuck!
2 years ago

yes censorship is really bad and should not be happening just for gay marriage but the solution is not ‘ok no gamepack for you then’ what about the community in Russia that still wants to play this game. this is not fair.

Gollygod
Gollygod
2 years ago

It’s literally so sad for them to just flat out block it in Russia. As an LGBTQ+ person from the US i don’t feel like it would take away from my representation for the pack to have a altered cover, i somewhat get them not wanting to switch one of the girls on the pack for a man but, with a completely different heterosexual couple so the pack can be bought by people in Russia. Like they could just switch the lesbian couple for a straight couple (2 totally different sims) and no one would really care. It’s messed up that they seem to care more about the fiction lesbian couple being ever so slightly “erased” then to just completely block a whole pack from being sold to people in a country, when every other pack with LGBTQ+ sims in it was sold just the same and not altered or completely blocked :/ My heart goes out to Russian simmers and i feel really sorry that you can’t have the pack because EA is more invested in fictional lesbians then real lesbians (and the rest of the LGBTQ+ community)

Sims4Lover
Sims4Lover
2 years ago

I don’t really understand all these posts against EA. They explained in a separate letter why they made this desision and I can fully understand it. Yes it’s sad for those people, but boycotting the pack by nun effected people wont make them change their mind. It’s a Homophobic laws issue and not EA’s fault! https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/our-commitment-to-you

SallyC
SallyC
2 years ago

Just saw the update with your Twitter statement and let me say: Bravo, Jovan!
I’m completely on your side.

To be honest, I don’t know much about the situation for homosexuals in Eastern Europe but I’ve got the impression that there is still a lot to do in general. (Sorry if I’m wrong.) I’m sorry about what happened to you and totally understand your decision. Though I don’t think that it will impress EA in any way (which says a lot about them), I do also feel empathy for the need of “just doing something”. (I’m thinking about skipping the pack myself now. To me it doesn’t feel right to buy it at the moment.)

I was just thinking, if this stuff has anything to do with what is going on between Russia and Ukrania? To me it seems rather like a conflict between Russia and NATO, ergo East against West. But I might be wrong (I hope so).

Keep your head and spirit high. Don’t let others get you down. I wish you all the best!

remysa
remysa
2 years ago

EA: we fighting with russinas homophoby. so we dont saling them game

russians homophoby: 0->100

WasabiPoke
WasabiPoke
2 years ago

To protect the principles of inclusion and individual freedoms, EA decided to ban Russia’s release, not considering the unfairness of that business decision, and in turn exclude their people from access to their content… The world, including Russia, has a multitude of problems to resolve but banning video game content, for the love of PC, should never be one of them.

EA – we don’t give a crap about your PC crusade; we just want better games
– this coming from a bisexual, colored gamer identified as “she”.