After a few days of teasing The Sims 4 has announced their newest expansion pack Sims 4: Snowy Escape. On the surface, this pack has got fans excited. Skiing, trains and a new building style vastly different from the American suburb that is usually seen in the game.
Snowy Escape has a large focus on Asian culture and style. However, this hasn’t gone down well with some fans. In particular, South Korean simmers have pointed out that some of the new imagery is insensitive towards the history between Japan and South Korea.
The visuals in question are the image of what looks like a rising sun flag and the inclusion of shrines in the game. Whilst it is not clear what you can do with the shrine, it appears as though Sims can worship at shrines.
South Korean simmers took to the comments to explain the issue of these images. They explained that “the shrine worship and the rising sun flag are representations of Japanese colonialism and some of the terrible things that happened to people as a result of the Japanese during this time.”
Here are some other comments:
I’m really disappointed that with all the work EA claimed to be doing to be culturally conscious of what they were doing with this pack they ignored so much of their Asian audience beyond Japan. I was so excited for this pack before that. For those who don’t know why it’s so upsetting (specifically for the Korean people in comments, I lived there and studied the history extensively) the shrine worship and the rising sun flag are representations of Japanese colonialism and some of the terrible things that happened to people as a result of the Japanese during this time. I could make several comparisons to some negative imagery that we westerners might make but I really don’t know if this is the place for that. If you are interested or want to understand I would suggest looking up Japanese colonialism in other countries (again I specifically know about Korea personally, and am speaking in support of the Korean people I know and love and the country that has become my second home).
심즈1에서 부터 심즈4까지 당신의 게임을 재밋게 플레이해오던 유저입니다. 정말 실망감을 감출수가 없네요. 겨울이야기가 아닌 일본이야기를 그럴듯하게 포장만 해서 판매하려 하다니… 그 심볼이 아시아권에서는 하켄크로이츠와 동일하다는걸 진정 모르시나요? 심즈가 그 정도 사전조사도 없이 그냥 막 만들던 게임인가요? 이번일을 계기로 정말 많은 유저가 ea에게서 심즈에 대해 다시 생각하게 될겁니다.유저가 등돌린 게임의 말로가 어떨지에 대해서 잘생각하세요,ea.
I’m a user who has been playing your game from Sims 1 to Sims 4. I can’t hide my disappointment. I can’t believe you’re just going to sell the Japanese story, not the winter one. You really don’t know that symbol is the same as Hakenkreuz in Asia? Is it a game that Sims just made without doing that much research? I think many fans will think twice about Sims with this pack. Think again about the end of the game with user.Plz be thinking again,ea
The Sims 4: Snowy Escape will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC from November 13.
Words by Orla McAndrew
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