Video Game Company to Fix Anti-Gay 'Glitch' in 'Sims 4'

Officials from video game company Electronic Arts announced this week that it would fix an anti-gay "glitch" in its newly released computer game "The Sims 4," Gawker's video game news site Kotaku reports.

"The Sims 4" was launched just last week but some players have already discovered that users cannot share Sims via its online "Gallery" system if they use words like "gay," "homosexual," or "queer" in the character's name or description.

An EA official told the website Monday the company was aware of the issue and plans to fix it.

"The Sims has a long history of supporting stories that players want to tell, irrespective of gender preference," the EA representative said. "The Gallery uses an automated filtering program that filters out certain words, including some of the ones you mentioned below. We are aware and have been working on a fix, which will be out soon."

Kotaku reports it was first tipped off about the game's LGBT-word exclusion by a YouTube clip by German gamer Anna Eichenauer. In her video, called "What's up with the 'Gay Filter,'" she tries to use LGBT terms like in her Sims' name and description.

Kotaku writer Yannick LeJacq also attempted to name a Sim character "Bob Gay" or "Gay Bob." Though the name was allowed, a messaged popped up that explained the user "would not be able to share either of them online in the public gallery. As promised, once I took Gay Bob to the Gallery and tried to upload him in all his Gay Bob glory, I wasn't allowed to. If I changed his name to 'Straight Bob' but insisted on using the word 'gay' in his description, I'd get the same error message telling me that I was trying to upload a character whose description 'contained a forbidden word.'"

The same thing happened with words like "Lesbian," "Homosexual" and "Queer." But words like "Straight" and "Heterosexual" didn't trigger the filter.

In a similar story, Nintendo came under fire earlier this year and ended up apologizing for not recognizing same-sex relationships in the English editions of the life-simulation game "Tomodachi Life."

LGBT organizations called out the video game company after it refused to add same-sex relationships to the game. Nintendo officials apologized, however saying it would be more inclusive in the future.

"We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in 'Tomodachi Life,'" Nintendo said in a statement. "Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game's design, and such a significant development change can't be accomplished with a post-ship patch."

Watch Eichenauer's video below (the text is in German, but it's pretty clear of what is going on):