Electronic Arts Will no Longer Pay Gun Manufacturers For The Privilege of Depicting Weapons in Games

Electronic Arts this week said it will no longer pay gun manufacturers for the right to use branded weapons in video games, following a controversial decision to promote assault weapons dealers in one of its flagship products. EA confirmed the decision to Reuters Tuesday, while claiming that it retains the right to depict guns without a license.

The game company came under fire last year, after it included links to certain gun sellers on the website for Medal of Honor: Warfighter. At the time, EA said the promotion was part of an effort to raise money for military veterans, though it soon removed the links due to sharp public outcry.

"We won't do that again," EA spokesperson Jeff Brown told Reuters. "The action games we will release this year will not include licensed images of weapons."

The gaming industry has come under increased scrutiny following the December 2012 shootings in Newtown, Connecticut — a tragedy that has reignited the debate surrounding gun control and violent media. Vice President Joe Biden discussed the issue with game industry leaders earlier this year, while the National Rifle Association has taken a more pointed approach, singling out video games as a driver of violent culture. After the Newtown shooting, NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre described the gaming industry as "a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people."

Brown says EA's decision had little to do with politics, noting that LaPierre's comments have had little resonance among its clientele. "The response from our audience was pretty clear: they feel the comments from the NRA were a simple attempt to change the subject," the spokesperson said.

The game company claims it has the legal right to depict branded weapons in its products, likening its games to novels and other narrative-based media. "We're telling a story and we have a point of view," Frank Gibeau, EA president of labels, said in an interview with Reuters. "A book doesn't pay for saying the word 'Colt,' for example."

Thus far, gun makers haven't sued game companies for using branded weapons without a license, though EA's free speech philosophy has come under fire from Bell Helicopter, which challenged the company's unlicensed depiction of one of its helicopters in the game Battlefield. EA preemptively sued the aircraft manufacturer last year, with the trial scheduled to begin in June. [Source]

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The Sims 4 is Due to Make an Appearance in 2014 For PC and Mac

Electronic Arts today announced that The Sims 4 will debut next year.

The game will be available for PC and Mac in 2014 from EA subsidiary Maxis.

"The Sims franchise is fueled by the passion and creativity of its millions of fans around the world," Maxis said in a blog post. "Their continued devotion to the franchise ignites the fire of creativity of the team at The Sims Studio, driving them to continually improve and innovate on one of the world's most successful simulation game that has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide."

EA promised more details about the game later today. In the meantime, it encouraged fans to share their excitement on Twitter via the hashtag #TheSims4.

The Sims 3 made its debut in 2009, and PCMag found that the series had finally grown up. "With The Sims 3, the series has evolved from a virtual sandbox into a well-thought-out world with three-dimensional characters," we concluded in our review.

The Sims 3 included interface improvements, finer controls for placing objects within a house, and more character depth. One irritation, however, was that items from the previous expansion packs were not included in The Sims 3.

Since then, there has been the World Adventures expansion pack, The Sims Medieval, The Sims 3: Pets, and more.

Hopefully, EA will learn from the mistakes that it made earlier this year with the launch of SimCity. The always-on requirement quickly overloaded servers, meaning many eager gamers could not log on and play the game. EA apologized and offered up free games, but the damage was done. Since then, the company's CEO has stepped down and the company has endured several rounds of layoffs.

According to GamesBeat, The Sims 4 will work offline.

UPDATE: In a follow-up blog post Monday afternoon, Maxis said The Sims 4 "celebrates the heart and soul of the Sims themselves, giving players a deeper connection with the most expressive, surprising and charming Sims ever in this single-player offline experience."

Yes, The Sims 4 will indeed be an offline experience for those concerned about the SimCity disaster.

"The Sims 4 encourages players to personalize their world with new and intuitive tools while offering them the ability to effortlessly share their creativity with friends and fans," Maxis continued, before thanking fans for their continued support. [Source]

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