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Side Tangent: EA killing The Sims
2 weeks ago
General
I was writing a comment under this YouTube video and... I realized that it was quite long and people would probably laugh at me.
People might still laugh at me.
So, I decided to post it here instead.
This journal is a vent about EA introducing paid custom content to The Sims 4. If you aren't familiar with EA, The Sims (4), or me, then uhhh idk keep reading for the fun of it.
The Sims is a life-simulation video game that was first published for the PC in 2000. While I personally did not play the OG version, it was extremely popular and ended up starting a large, strong community of devoted fans and content creators. The Sims was so successful that it went on to become the most prolific game of its era (prior to Minecraft). It also spawned several paid DLC, which was normal at the time. What was NOT normal was how much DLC the sequel, The Sims 2, would get. This is around the time I started getting into the series, watching shitty Sims 2 AMVs about werewolves and teen pregnancy or something. Once again, the best part of The Sims 2 was the community and the associated community content, offering a wonderful space to meet people who also enjoyed The Sims and adding features and objects that made gameplay much more rewarding. The Sims 3 was more-or-less the same, but the DLC situation was getting insane. This is where I really focused on a YouTuber named LGR Lazy Game Reviews, a wonderful and passionate computer geek who spearheaded my love for retro PC and video game culture. This is where I mentioned that the custom content that was produced for these games was created by the community, for the community, and 99% of the time FREE.
When The Sims 4 was released in 2014, I immediately bought it. Despite having a decent 2010 mid-tier gaming PC at the time, it ran horribly and looked horribly too. Most of the features that I loved about previous games were missing, such as cars, toddlers, pools, and most importantly... having an open world environment to explore. It felt like they published an alpha build of The Sims 4. Despite being 13YO at the time, it irked me that there were so few options for furniture and clothing ... and I knew that they would probably try to sell me on it through additional DLC. I didn't really care about the wilderness "GAME PACK", but I remember buying the "Get to Work!" DLC because at the time, I wanted to be a doctor and I LOVED the opportunity to have my player actively work inside of a hospital. However, the DLC sadly sucked, looking back on it. The superficial DLC was very foreshadowing for the future of the franchise, offering not much to the gameplay loop except for a buggy, broken mechanic that you end up getting tired of after a few hours. After this, I actually got tired of the game. I played probably 200 hours and I got tired of it. I would occasionally give it some time on-and-off for the next few years, but the lackluster patches, updates, and excessive creation and promotion of DLC left a horrid taste in my mouth. My favorite feature was probably the building aspect and uploading my builds to the community ... but even that because useless when DLCs and game packs came out with content I couldn't use in my builds. I got priced out, so I left.
(Here's where the actual YouTube comment starts)
Contrary to popular belief, scotch tape and elmer's glue can't hold an international super corporation together forever (shout out to the ex-EA employee who mentioned this).
The current market model of pumping out small, fleeting bits of joy reminiscing the days when the Sims was actually a game franchise are gone. It's not a product, it's a scam.
Nostalgia alone can't sell your "game" because PEOPLE DON'T HAVE MONEY. Not embedding your decisions in the community culture you've created MAKES YOU OUT-OF-TOUCH.
I've spent thousands of hours in the Sims 2, and an equivalent amount of time in the Sims 3. The Sims 4 came out at 1/4th the scale of the previous game and it was always a trap to force you to buy the expansion packs.
The Sims 4 has been on life support for a decade now because the burnt-out, abandoned creators continue to find joy embracing their community.
As someone who spent hundreds of hours browsing community forums and websites for custom content, it is EXTREMELY TONE DEAF TO TRY AND MILK MONEY FROM THE CREATORS, THE LAST FEW PEOPLE KEEPING YOUR GAME ALIVE.
EA isn't a game studio, it's a corporation based on profits selling a product. The IV-drip of profits that EA got from the Sims 4 was because the community was still alive. With the decision to monetize the community, they have effectively killed the community.
This Zynga-ass Facebook game is the exact slop that is killing the gaming industry and actually harming the lives of genuinely talent programmers and designers.
Games are supposed to be art, and The Sims 4 is the antithesis of art. Therefore, it's not a game, and The Sims is indeed dead.
Thank you for reading this, and I pay my respects to Will Wright and the teams that worked on the franchise.
May their work rest in peace.
Update: Go support Paralives. Please.
People might still laugh at me.
So, I decided to post it here instead.
This journal is a vent about EA introducing paid custom content to The Sims 4. If you aren't familiar with EA, The Sims (4), or me, then uhhh idk keep reading for the fun of it.
The Sims is a life-simulation video game that was first published for the PC in 2000. While I personally did not play the OG version, it was extremely popular and ended up starting a large, strong community of devoted fans and content creators. The Sims was so successful that it went on to become the most prolific game of its era (prior to Minecraft). It also spawned several paid DLC, which was normal at the time. What was NOT normal was how much DLC the sequel, The Sims 2, would get. This is around the time I started getting into the series, watching shitty Sims 2 AMVs about werewolves and teen pregnancy or something. Once again, the best part of The Sims 2 was the community and the associated community content, offering a wonderful space to meet people who also enjoyed The Sims and adding features and objects that made gameplay much more rewarding. The Sims 3 was more-or-less the same, but the DLC situation was getting insane. This is where I really focused on a YouTuber named LGR Lazy Game Reviews, a wonderful and passionate computer geek who spearheaded my love for retro PC and video game culture. This is where I mentioned that the custom content that was produced for these games was created by the community, for the community, and 99% of the time FREE.
When The Sims 4 was released in 2014, I immediately bought it. Despite having a decent 2010 mid-tier gaming PC at the time, it ran horribly and looked horribly too. Most of the features that I loved about previous games were missing, such as cars, toddlers, pools, and most importantly... having an open world environment to explore. It felt like they published an alpha build of The Sims 4. Despite being 13YO at the time, it irked me that there were so few options for furniture and clothing ... and I knew that they would probably try to sell me on it through additional DLC. I didn't really care about the wilderness "GAME PACK", but I remember buying the "Get to Work!" DLC because at the time, I wanted to be a doctor and I LOVED the opportunity to have my player actively work inside of a hospital. However, the DLC sadly sucked, looking back on it. The superficial DLC was very foreshadowing for the future of the franchise, offering not much to the gameplay loop except for a buggy, broken mechanic that you end up getting tired of after a few hours. After this, I actually got tired of the game. I played probably 200 hours and I got tired of it. I would occasionally give it some time on-and-off for the next few years, but the lackluster patches, updates, and excessive creation and promotion of DLC left a horrid taste in my mouth. My favorite feature was probably the building aspect and uploading my builds to the community ... but even that because useless when DLCs and game packs came out with content I couldn't use in my builds. I got priced out, so I left.
(Here's where the actual YouTube comment starts)
Contrary to popular belief, scotch tape and elmer's glue can't hold an international super corporation together forever (shout out to the ex-EA employee who mentioned this).
The current market model of pumping out small, fleeting bits of joy reminiscing the days when the Sims was actually a game franchise are gone. It's not a product, it's a scam.
Nostalgia alone can't sell your "game" because PEOPLE DON'T HAVE MONEY. Not embedding your decisions in the community culture you've created MAKES YOU OUT-OF-TOUCH.
I've spent thousands of hours in the Sims 2, and an equivalent amount of time in the Sims 3. The Sims 4 came out at 1/4th the scale of the previous game and it was always a trap to force you to buy the expansion packs.
The Sims 4 has been on life support for a decade now because the burnt-out, abandoned creators continue to find joy embracing their community.
As someone who spent hundreds of hours browsing community forums and websites for custom content, it is EXTREMELY TONE DEAF TO TRY AND MILK MONEY FROM THE CREATORS, THE LAST FEW PEOPLE KEEPING YOUR GAME ALIVE.
EA isn't a game studio, it's a corporation based on profits selling a product. The IV-drip of profits that EA got from the Sims 4 was because the community was still alive. With the decision to monetize the community, they have effectively killed the community.
This Zynga-ass Facebook game is the exact slop that is killing the gaming industry and actually harming the lives of genuinely talent programmers and designers.
Games are supposed to be art, and The Sims 4 is the antithesis of art. Therefore, it's not a game, and The Sims is indeed dead.
Thank you for reading this, and I pay my respects to Will Wright and the teams that worked on the franchise.
May their work rest in peace.
Update: Go support Paralives. Please.
Action
~throsar
I remember trying to use the sims 4 launcher and pick and choose specific DLC I wanted to get and it gave me so much grief that I ended up trying to google an easier way and finding a website that did exactly what I wanted, just for pirating it instead. Even the community there are more capable than these developers now it seems.
SoftBee
~softbee
OP
YEAH that sounds about right. Such a fuckin' shame, honestly. As is usually the case, the community was the backbone of The Sims. You know there's a massive problem when the community is telling you to just pirate the game (which is what I've experienced).
slimymonz
~slimymonz
I've had Paralives on my wishlist basically forever now! We really need it more than ever.
SoftBee
~softbee
OP
This year baby!!!
CherenkovGremlin
~cherenkovgremlin
I agree with you so much. I stopped updating the game because every update made the game struggle more and more on my old computer, and Anadius stopped updating the dlc unlocker tool so I have no idea if EA will release an update that completely breaks it. It's just sad what they've done to this game, I still love The Sims 4 and play it a lot, I just keep it locked in time by playing it offline so it can't update
SoftBee
~softbee
OP
It's a very sad reality that shouldn't have to happen... Though, it just makes me want to play the old Sims 2 game. Paralives can't come out soon enough.
