Consumerist Environmentalism in “The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle”

Abstract

In 2021, the United States was the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally (after China, whose population was then over four times larger). The scale and urgency of the problem has been broadcasted for years, but the necessity and methods of dealing with it on a national and individual level seem to be quite obscure. Recycling is not the norm, oil and meat consumption is high, and excess spending is common. Consumption is still seen and presented as the means of satisfying most of one’s needs as well as a necessary condition for achieving a high social status. Dealing with climate change, as much as materially possible, involves dealing with the specificity of American geopolitics and culture: among other factors, its post-Protestant views on money and poverty, imperial position, and extreme individualism.

The expansion pack The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle, produced by California-based Electronic Arts, fits into the consumerist approach to climate change popular in the United States. Eco Lifestyle introduces air pollution, recycling, living off -grid, and local politics, as well as the styles and activities related to pro-environmental attitudes. However, these activities are stripped of their material sense, as the actions depicted in the game are not what limits emissions and carbon footprint in the real world. This seems to be more a strategy than an error; and yet, it is hard not to regret a missed opportunity of creating a playable and ecologically sound Sims expansion for the lovers of the gameworld—and the world.