New Cover Art

[Little.Miss.Sunshine]

I agree... but to me, it doesn't really make a difference.. I'm 17 and I buy whatever I want... I've been playing Sims since I was 10, and my dad knows that there are no "dirty" stuff in the game. {rolleyes}
And you're probably thinking.. "how about the little children?" They shouldn't be playing the game anyway unless they're 12+ at least that's what the recommendation is. Sounds kinda harsh but oh well...

[yummybunny]

I wasn't thinking about those below the age limits (ages 8-11).  It wouldn't hurt them, but it would expose them to stuff...like it is good for them to keep their innocence...like some don't know where babies come from, the game of love and flirting, and other things.  Also, it is for ages 12+..and I wouldn't recommend games to kids below that out of respect to their parents.

But I am talking about kids that are old enough to get the game.  Who have parents that really care about what they play, especially if they are way mature enough, like fourteen or fifteen years old. 

I think that 90% of the forum is ages 12+ anyways, besides a few people. 

And I was never saying the cover was too provocative that it should be changed because it isn't for the eyes of kids.  I meant that the cover wouldn't appeal to parents of their lower spectrum of the age group--ages 12-13...also it isn't a good advertisement, like you said...their customers would most likely be older, like ages 14,15+.

I really don't think that this is the real cover...and I was saying "What if...".  I believe that they would end up showing more diversity, and put their actual game graphics in the game, instead of these people that don't look nothing like their graphics.  And it doesn't bother a lot of people, because of what is shown in the media today.  It is nothing wrong with the boy holding the girl, but when that comes with two women with chests sticking out, one woman in a flirty position, bending down to expose her breasts, and other things, it gets provocative for the theme of the game.

And the box advertisement most of the time gives a bigger impression than "sexual themes" on the back.  Every game and movie has sexual themes today, but the box art stands out more.  For example, GTA always had a man holding guns and stuff on it's cover...but it has harsh language and sexual themes on the back.  What I have wittnessed shoppers saying when they buy it for kids is, "It looks like a violent game...You can't play this."  A good majority of the shoppers don't even look at the back...that's why at Gamestop, they have to ask how old someone is, because it has been too many cases where parents complained to them, saying a game was too nasty or violent, because they failed to read the rating and description at the back of the game.

I also agree...don't worry about it, because I doubt this is the one.  But I was putting it in terms "what if" to the age group that is old enough, especially those who are 14+, with overprotective parents.

[Little.Miss.Sunshine]

I don't think this is the official cover either... They even took it away from Amazon..
I also rather would see a cover with more diversity... 

[Scene23]

Yummybunny I completely understand where you are coming from and I wasn't applying that you were discussing about how old certain people have to be to play the game. Like you say in other words, there are players out there between the ages of 8-10 if not younger playing these games, and technically that being about the age of a beginner player anyway. I mean kids those ages if not younger that are starting to get a grasp at how addictive games could be, are playing much more violent games like GTA for example or Resident Evil, or shooter games and what not - and The Sims has always been out of the catgeory. To me this game, has always been like watching a dark comedy unfold into sequels, I mean it adds a lot of humor to it - and that is why I've always been addicted to it since I've played the game back in 2000 when the first one came out.

As a matter of fact, I got my young cousins who were I would say ages of 7 at the time playing this game and not because of the kissing or woohooing lol, or something like that - its because that game just drew u in, at least for me it did; and realistically sexual themes are all over the world, kids can go to a library that has a woman on Teen Magazine, with her breasts hanging out somepart of her shirt and sexy poses, so if most kids dont get a big impression about them type of things then I'm sure seeing a cover like that would be no sweat.

The cover itself, when you first look at it, its more like a wow factor, not because of the holding the girl, or the other girl posing, which I kinda like that pose, it looked as though she was modeling, they all did in fact. But you look at it, and it is so colorful - that itself is the attention I believe.

You are right about some parents not wanting their kids to play the games like these because of advertisements like that; and I knew a person before who got the Sims 2 and his parents were tripping. But overall its going to be a goog game - and I think all of us here could agree we dont care about the cover, we be too worried about how the game is going to play on the computer or too busy playing it, the game case will be tossed over the bed somewhere.  {lol} {lol} {lol} {lol}

[Emmuffins]

It might even depend on what is on the back cover, right?  No one picks up a game and doesn't flip to the back to see what's on there, do they?  Hopefully the back cover will show some good screenshots from the game.  That'll help convince parents that it isn't all about s3x and stuff.

[Ollie]

duh!? weve played the sims so oboiusly they know its not all about sexisem

[sims3luva22]

Not exactly, Oliver.

"We" could be wide range.

"We" could be young adults (like me, I'm in my early 20's) 8-10 year olds, tweens, teens, pre-teens who are new to the sim franchise and their parents have never heared of, or seen gameplay, older adults, elder adults. The list goes on.

The point is, games and books shouldn't be judged by their covers (origional huh? Lol) but- when a game we play isn't portrayed as sexual but then is on a cover, its hard to explain to someone unfamiliar that its not what it looks like.

We may know its not as suggestive as it shows on the cover, but most parents won't believe you, or may think you are saying that just to get it.

Then again- we haven't really addressed "whoo-hoo" or sexual themes in Ts3 yet.

I haven't seen a post about the wonders of whoo-hoo in this game.

Since we haven't played it yet, and newer game creators are working on this, maybe whoo-hoo is more suggestive, and I do remember them saying that they can do it just about anywhere. Including rabbit holes where they could possibly get booted out running with their clothes in their hands.

What if what's on the cover, projects everything in the game?