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Average Age of PCs Worldwide
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I know there has been some discussion as to why EA made the specs so low for The Sims 4. It seemed to me that many of the view points were coming from North American and Western Europe. But, the Sims is sold world-wide.
Take a look at the forecasted average PC age world-wide ( Statista ):
In Latin America people are expected to still be using 9 year old computers in 2015, so might still have 32-bit systems running XP.
It's a similar situation in Eastern Europe where the average PC is estimated around 7 years old.
Just some food for thought. . .
Take a look at the forecasted average PC age world-wide ( Statista ):
In Latin America people are expected to still be using 9 year old computers in 2015, so might still have 32-bit systems running XP.
It's a similar situation in Eastern Europe where the average PC is estimated around 7 years old.
Just some food for thought. . .
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Edit: I found it. And 5 years is not that old. Sims 2 had a lot more content in it's base game and ran on computers 10 years ago. Sims 3 had even more and ran/runs on computers 5 years old now. So what's the point of harping on this as a selling point? Have you looked at how low the specs are and compared it to other games being put out now? The comparisons make it look pathetic, not good.
Yes, the data is projected through 2015, which hasn't happened yet. I didn't find freely available stats on more recent projections. If you have some feel free to post.
I have an old laptop around here, which is barely a 1.4 ghz Intel processor and even I know The Sims 4 wouldn't play well on that machine...with an old Intel 945 chip. Seriously, people need to upgrade when they can. A video card today cost less sometimes than the amount of this game. And light years in advancement than what is in their or my machines currently.
Even I know when something has fallen down on a list of better cards. Or when a card is No Longer Supported by the manufacturer that makes them and Deemed Obsolete. And not longer even gets driver updates.
And I am old compared to a fifteen year old or a twenty year old.
That info is out there, no need to stay in the dark when there is light for the curious who have time to search for games but no time to search for what the heck is in their machines.
But I think what would be more relevant is not the average age of computers but rather, computers used by gamers. I haven't found anything on that. Mine is new, but from 2012. Our kids computers range from 2-4 years old.
And they all have Sims on them.
It's nice to say that people with low end machines will be able to play. But it just doesn't seem like a good selling point, when you are talking to people who are buying a typically graphics heavy, memory hogging game, to say that it will run on low end machines. It implies you had to downgrade to get it there.
Well said. This was broached in another thread. People who want to play games should make sure they can. Computers are always changing and advancing, and most games do to. This is a rare time when I'm seeing company take a step backwards. If you can't afford an upgrade, perhaps your priorities should be elsewhere. I mean, it's not like Sims 4 is cheap, it's $70.
Sorry, I totally disagree about an eight year old PC.
Unless someone knows what new card comes out next week and gets their hands on it today, then an eight year old card is crap as most games evolve unlike this one.
ATI and Nvidia put out new cards (many of them) every year. Granted sometimes the differences in them from one level to the next don't rate that much difference, but cutting edge processors do matter, and so do the newer cards.
For one simple fact these manufacturers not only produce a new card for better innovative graphics but to address cooling problems with past cards of that type, or better FPS, or to address problems with games they Do Support.
It's not all about the money with video card manufacturers, sometimes it is to improve the past card to become something better and more desirable for a gamer or IT person. They don't just make newer cards for better graphics but everything that gets reported to them by those of us who actually go to their sites and tell them what problems we have with their cards.
Cinebar, I respect what you're saying, but your viewpoint doesn't take into account the reality that people do not do as you think they should or would desire for them to do, and EA is taking advantage of a reality, not an ideal.
It also doesn't take into account that in other parts of the world there are sometimes barriers to acquisition that the US and Western Europe do not have. It's not just lack of knowledge or interest that keeps people from having up-to-date equipment. http://gamemoir.com/2013/08/29/being-a-gamer-in-latin-america/
The reason why consoles are so expensive and their games can be sold for as much as 4 times the normal price is due to very complex economic and legal reasons. Basically, there is no legal commercial framework for the importation of software or electronics that discriminates well enough for things like video games and consoles, so trade tariffs are incredibly high and tax rates too steep. A Nintendo 3DS can have the same tax importation rate as a ******* tractor or food processing machine or whatnot. Obviously each country has variations but the consensus is one: video games have always been too costly to afford.
In some parts of the world they also face additional barriers of climate, war, politics, or famine. It's not just people too lazy to get off the couch or look up some basic information who don't have state-of-the-art systems.
Personally, I still think that EA could have done more to please both ends of the spectrum, like go to 64-bit programming to allow higher end computers to take advantage of their expanded memory capacity.
Anyway, it's food for thought on why EA did what they did in regards to the specs.
Here is an interesting little tidbit on 32 bit vs. 64 bit. http://sims4.crinrict.com/en/2014/06/64-bit-vs-32-bit/
Well, no one is claiming playing a video game is a basic 'human right'. Some are pointing out that EA is trying to tap into a market for whom 7-9 year old computers are a reality. I don't know how large this gaming market is for EA, but from everything I've read, Latin America, Brazil in particular, is emerging and hotspot for the gaming industry to try to tap into.
Others are just pointing out that your personal situation or experience is vastly different from some others'. It's kind of silly to hold everyone to a single standard when circumstances vary so much.
I guess I just don't see $60 as casual. To me, that's saving up for two paychecks at least and then justifying it compared to other things. Sims is referred to as a casual gaming experience because of how it's gameplay is compared to other games, but the price tag is far from casual.
But its all moot really since Sims 4 will run on lower end machines.
I have a Mac anyway, so I don't know why I care. I guess just because I'm so disappointed.
Very misleading and irrelevant to this conversation.
Also, averages can be confusing. It doesn't mean MOST PCs are five years old. Just that all of their ages combined and divided by their number is five.
EA has data that 70% of simplayers are on 64 bit, multicore machines.
Where is this info?
Info on gamers: http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2013.pdf
There's nothing there about who owns what type of computer, but the data is interesting nonetheless. Looking at the data there, I don't think EA paid attention to the average age (or sex) of players this time around when making their decisions.
This laptop can run Skyrim, Dragon Age, Sims 3 and stuff like that, but with The Sims 2 there are graphical problems everywhere O.O
It's only bout 2 years old as well.
Yes, I saw this. There were some interesting stats in there.
Yeah, it's be cause the game hasn't been designed to work with today's high-end computers. Some file tweaking should help. If you're having problems with game resolution or shadow boxes, you can try these suggestions. http://simsvip.com/2014/07/20/the-sims-2-ultimate-collection-remove-black-squares/