A Presentation Of 'The Sims 4' Is Given At The Electronic Arts (EA) World Premiere: E3 2014 Preview Press Conference At The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
A presentation of 'The Sims 4' at the Electronic Arts (EA) World Premiere: E3 2014 Preview press conference at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, June 9, 2014. Reuters/David McNew

Players of "The Sims 4" were revealed that EA Games has decided to have gay filters put in place for its online system. Compared to previous versions of the simulation game, they are unable to upload characters with gay, lesbian or bisexual name connotations or descriptions to the online gallery. Developers were contacted for comments and they have promised a fix to address the complaints.

Since it was launched last week, Kotaku reports some players noticed "The Sims 4" is prohibiting the upload of words with homosexual or "queer" implications to the online community. YouTube user Anna Eichenauer uploaded a video gameplay on her "Why Stuff Is Great" channel to prove this.

As seen on the video below, Anna tries several attempts to name her Sims character with any of the gay slurs mentioned above. However, EA is apparently "not particularly comfortable with all that queer stuff" as evident on the gay filters. The word "forbidden" was used against Anna's description for her "queer gangster rapper" when she tried to upload it to "The Sims 4" online gallery. The word "homosexual" and even the use of "lesbo" as surname were also filtered. However, "heterosexual" and "straight" reportedly made a pass both in the character creation and in the uploading.

The gay filters appear to be a technical issue according to an EA Australia representative.

"We can confirm that we are aware and that we are working on a fix which will update the automatic filtering system to permit the use of the words 'Gay,' 'Lesbian' and 'Homosexual," the representative told IGN.

However, fans are said to be questioning why the gay filters were there in the first place. Previous versions of "The Sims" according to Gamespot managed to incorporate LGBT-related scenarios into its gameplay.

A "joining ceremonies" for gay couples were featured in "The Sims 2." Likewise, "The Sims 3" allowed full marriage to every character regardless of sexual orientation. Ironically, "The Sims 4" was reportedly launched with representations of both heterosexual and same-gender relationships. It was even given an R18+ rating in Russia for its depiction of gay relations.

However, Gamespot quotes the EA representative who claimed the company has always been supportive of any LGBT-focused stories in "The Sims."

"The Sims has a long history of supporting stories that players want to tell, irrespective of gender preference," the spokesperson said.

In the meantime, "The Sims 4" players may have to wait for the gay filters to be removed as EA Games reportedly has not provided a specific timeline for its fix.

Source:YouTube/WhyStuffIsGreat