This I've been wondering about since I saw, it was this sims 3 video. It had the rating on it and it said it was rated T, for mild violence i think it was, crude humour, animated blood, and use of tobacco? Does this mean there will be smoking in the sims 3? Other videos says rating pending. But I'm not sure. I'll try to find it.

I doubt there would be smoking or blood in the game.

I hope it doesn't.
Why would EA promote a deadly habit??

EA wouldnt be allowed to have smoking in the game there is all kinds of legal restrictions! Just wouldnt be possible.

I think it's the crude humour- I bet they still have farting in TS3!

And if your Sim can fart in front of a lighter and cause a huge blow of fire, that can be looked at as arson since you never know where the fire will reach. Isn't arson worse than smoking?

No but seriously here, I'm not a smoker but it still wouldn't bother me to have smoking in the game. Smoking is so common that it would be unrealistic not to have it in the game. And I wish drinking was back! It existed in Sims 1 from the bar. But in Sims 2 they never mentioned it being alcohol because your Sims never made hiccups and acted dizzy like they did when they drank from the bar in Sims 1. So why did they ever eliminated that in Sims 2? It was obvious that in Sims 1 the bar had alcohol but not in Sims 2. And then the keg of juice in the University EP? That was so corny, lol. So, yeah, I'm all for smoking and drinking but just make it for young adults and older because as much as I could care less about teens doing these things, I know it won't be available for teens for obvious reasons.

Besides, if in Sims 2 witches can cause fire which technically symbolizes arson, then why not have smoking and drinking? Causing a fire is worse because it's more of a crime. Smoking and drinking at least are legal.

I hope they do. It adds to the realism of the game. I think they should have alcohol and tobacco in the game just as an option.

Maybe they mean use of tobacco as in Native American prayer?

Or, you know, not.

Jokes aside, I'm not bothered by smoking in video games, though I am very strongly against smoking. And though I would support it in the Sims 3, if they wanted to, I think they'll want to appeal to a broader base by avoiding things such as blood and smoking. I personally don't care, but I know several people that wouldn't ever think of buying a game for their preteen if it even hinted at something as "serious" as smoking.

Yeah, that would be the reason why EA would never go for it and why they probably eliminated drinking in Sims 2 and just made it so that you can "pretend" it's alcohol. "Hey college buddies let's have a party and drink some juice!" LOL I'm sorry I can't get over how corny the idea of a keg of juice was.

I actually find all of the morals in the Sims 2 a bit twisted. I mean, a burglar can get away with it if he can win a fight, and we're not allowed to see nudity but your sims can be raped by aliens! I found Life Stories to be particularly dodgy- every story was ended in a fight, which I thought completely ruined an otherwise good concept. So we probably won't see any condom adverts or tobacco products in The Sims 3, but I'll bet stealing and violence will be viewed as okay!

Not to mention the lifetime goal to do 20 people which can be gained as soon as a sim turns into a teen, which would be the equivalent of a 13 year old. :P

I know right? Necromancy is cool but God forbid we have beer. ("Juice" keg anyone?) And alcohol is legal last I checked. Personally I think the rating is based on whatever their lawyers say they can get away with at the time and that's why it's so bassackwards.

I think, keeping their audience in mind, they keep everything so confusing so younger players don't understand, but at the same time so it frustrates older players. I don't know if they'll want to promote smoking in a game like the sims, it's always been such a kid friendly game in my eyes. Because they have 'woohoo' and it.. isn't quite like the real thing. And they even took out drinking, like you guys were saying, in the sims 2.
I don't know what they'll do, personally I wouldn't mind smoking in the game but I am against it. I play a lot of gta and games like that :P
But they should keep in mind it's JUST A GAME, and if they really wanted it for younger kids they could have a child safety patch adults could download into their kids' game. Mostly, they have players that are around 12 and older.
Personally I wouldn't give the sims to a six year old if it had smoking in it, but for a 12 year old it might be more exceptional. It's just the wide range of age that makes it debatable about what they should do.
I swear I saw 'use of tobacco' in there, if someone goes to a sims 3 fan event, they should definitely ask about that and see if they'll give the answer or make you wait for the game.

Yes but the thing is, it's not for ages 6. It's for 12-13 and older (maybe younger in some countries). It was never meant to be a kid's game.

Yeah, I know that. I'm just saying, they should put in what's appropriate for ages 12-13 and older.

They should just make an optional M-rated version, period. That would solve the issue. But I know that won't happen.

It'd be an entirely different game if they made it like that.

Plus, if they wanted it to be adult oriented, they originally would've made it M rated.

Yeah I know. Oh well, it won't kill me not to have these things in the game, just was a nice idea, that's all. Maybe so that it won't be as influential, have smoking and drinking shorten your Sim's life the more they do it or they can have cancer. That way we can have them in the game yet EA can't get sued because they are showing us the harm in doing these things.

Possibly. But hey, you know who we're dealing with here. Eaxis.
But I guess, if smoking wasn't a large part of the game and just a hobby that's 'added in', it isn't necessarily bad.
They just can't promote use of tobacco and pass it as 'okay' for younger teenagers. But, with society the way it is and the world we live in today, 12 year olds are smoking. So I dunno.

Which is why if smoking and drinking WERE included in the game, it can only be for young adults and older and not teens, just to be safe.

That was the ESRB for Valkyria, TS3 hasn't been rated yet. The video had a commercial for Valkyria at the beginning, with it's rating, and then TS3 followed after, with it's non rating.
Kind of confusing but yeah, TS3 isn't rated yet.

Every EP always says RP (Rating Pending) at first. I'm sure TS3 will end up being rated T as always. It's too risky for EA to make it an M rating when it used to always be T. They sell more by making it T than M because M would limit the amount players there would be.

Probably, but I thought it was because there is no reason for a game like the sims to be rated M, because it'd have to have strong sexual contents, drugs and smoking, and blood. things that sims games don't have. I think maybe just as many people would buy it if it were rated M, but parents would be a lot more cautious about letting young teenagers play. Then again, a lot of kids under 18 play grand theft auto and things like that.

I think they should leave out the tobacco use and drinking, and save it for another EP...

That way the parents have the option to buy the new EP called "Adult stuff" or something like that. That way, all adult related situations like intercourse, smoking, drinking, etc will be optional to buy and kids won't be introduced to brand new element in The Sims unless they buy this EP.

EA is known for milking, so I really think that they would do this. My opinion anyway.

Even if they do include it in the base game, i wouldn't mind because I am over 18. But I do know parents that would mind, for their young-ins.

Maybe they could add it so that when your putting the game onto your computer for the first time, you can decide weather to have drink/smoking in it... 'Cos i think that a lot of 12-13 year olds are probably gonna ask their parents to help them load it in.

Imp: If they make an EP, It would be a great way for kids to keep the game 'clean' But i think they should keep 'Intercourse' or Woohoo in the base game because its kinda an essential of the sims...