I just want to say before I start that I do not agree with this stuff pack and I will not be paying money for it.
That said, I do feel like EA think they can get away with this, simply because they did it 10x worse before, and it seems no one kicked up a stink about it,
at all.
Just after Pets was released in 2011,
EA released a compilation of the store sets in November. It came with a new self-feeding Pet bowl, and a new Aquarian, as well as some other items. The self-feeding Pet Bowl was the main attraction of the set.
EA asked $30 (yes, that's $10 more than a Sims 4 Game Pack) for this set if you wanted all 54 items.
There was a cheaper option for just
21 items and that was $14 (yes, $4 more expensive than a Sims 4 stuff pack, with one-third of the items).
On top of that, they charged
$3.50 for 3 items. That's more than a $1 each for 3 Pet items.
Now, I'm not saying I agree with The Sims 4 MFP stuff, or that I'm saying "it's okay, because TS3 did it worse".
The point I'm making is, where was the outrage? All TS3 threads have people all excited and not complaining about how expensive it all is. No one was complaining that you needed TS3 Pets for this.
People should have spoken up. People shouldn't have accepted this.
Because, no wonder EA think it's okay to add DLC for DLC, because they did it before and no one cared.
And now they're doing the same thing, but offering 4x the content (SimGuruGraham even said the Pet outfits are
in addition to the normal amount of CAS items we usually get) and no wonder EA think they can get away with it, because they've done so much worse.
The point of this thread is, if you don't agree with this practice, DON'T BUY IT ANYWAY. Because history will repeat itself, and EA will keep doing this
over and over.
It's so frustrating to see people say "I don't agree with it but I'll buy it anyway". At least wait for a sale if you're keen. But please, don't get angry the next time EA do this, if you're one of the people who buy as soon as they can.
Let EA know you don't agree. Buying this at full price tells EA you agree. So don't.
(If you are happy, that's fine, buy as you wish. Obviously, LOL).
Comments
This is just showing that EA will keep thinking this is okay, if people keep buying.
(eg. The Sims 5 Pets comes around and EA do the exact same thing because people bought My First Pet regardless).
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Very true (it was very blatant), but I only included instances where you can't actually use content without the Expansion pack (Sims 3 Pets).
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They fooled me once ( sims 3) but they won't fool me again. Besides, this content is only good for family players and simkids. Not one of my YA sims would have a doggy desk, or anything from this pack. It does not appeal to me in the least so the last 2 stuff packs are a no-go for me.
I know how I play this game now and I know I can pick and choose what suits me.
Today I built a house for the hamster and used all the things from Laundry Stuff - and I must say it's the most beautiful clutter that has ever been in the game. So even if you are not into family play you should give it a chance.
I agree with both of these points.
Also, so far, all of the Sims 4 content (minus the digital deluxe DLC) has been worth it to me. But i waited until the Digital Deluxe content was free before I got it, and I will do this with Pet Stuff too. Even if that means waiting for The Sims 4 to end.
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When I brought it up, people said I was "reaching" lmao.
It doesn't help the point being made if people are angry at this Stuff Pack, but then not angry at The Sims 3 sets.
People seem to think that Stuff Packs aren't optional, as they always say the store was "optional".
A lot of the time, as @alanmichael1 pointed out, the EPs for The Sims 3 would cover the ground work for a lot of different content, but the store would offer the complete experience.
The Sims 3 & 4 EPs work very differently in a lot of ways, but that's another topic.
Case in point; You can't pick and choose when you get angry about it, because that sends mixed messages back to EA.
You either are happy with the idea, or you're not.
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That being said, I am in full support of the outrage. When I played TS3, I only bought 1 thing from that store and that was a pack that included the basketball goal. Dassit
Aw I liked ST even though it had a lot of hate. The careers were fun and it had pool tables and karaoke!
One thing I do remember is the outrage over the Sims 3 store when they sold store items that seemed to be yanked from an EP. The store didn't bother me so much, because, as I said earlier, it was difficult to pay full price for anything with sim points unless you tried. I do own the pet stuff, but I probably got it as part of that compilation which I probably got for very little $$ due to ads, buying large bundles of Simpoints (twice -- that's it), and buying stuff during the daily deal to make CYS (Complete your set) give even better deals.
Sims 3 Store was almost like a game in and of itself. How to get the most stuff for the least amount of money. But it did take time to do that. Now I have almost none in my game because, really, aside from premium content, the EPs have enough stuff that combined with CASt, there really isn't a need.
idk about that, Twitter has recently been doing worse than it has before. And the amount of teens on Facebook is also at an all time low. So there is that.
I think people just seem to excuse the store for some reason, because EA used words like "premium content" or "Gold Set" which in marketing terms, seems to make people okay with paying more.
Like "Premium editions" or "Deluxe Editions" etc. even though the extra content is never worth the extra price *looks at Sims 4 Deluxe Edition*
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I think the store content is good, but considering how expensive it is, they should have implemented it better.
I remember getting Aurora Skies (which is still stunning to this day, ugh, beauty) but my game being much slower.
I love how EA have warnings for having too many packs installed may cause slowness, but then have no warnings for store content, which in my opinion, makes it much worse.
The whole store concept was so out of wack, but packs like My First Pet Stuff aren't the answer either.
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I think if people can at least wait for a sale (wait for the ones that take like 25% off the entire store, not just 10% or something), that will show EA that we won't pay full price, which if you see how often Stuff packs are on sale (basically never) is what EA want us to do.
a $2.50 difference to us isn't a lot, but to EA, those losses add up and will at least make them against doing this in the future.
If they can make that extra $2.50 a pack, they will. It's EA
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As for the outrage on the forums, what I don't understand is where was the outrage when Toddler Stuff came out? There was so much of it here when they weren't in the game in the first place. Then, we got toddlers. After that, we got the Parenthood GP. But what happened when Toddler Stuff came out? Crickets.
That's why I'm NOT in support of this current outrage.
See, Toddler Stuff is tricky to me. Because Toddler Stuff is for Toddlers to play outside on playgrounds etc. Parenthood only had activities for Toddlers/Kids that adults could "parent" as such. So bad behavior or good behavior.
Toddler Stuff is just straight up fun. I do think it's borderline, but had Parenthood been a Generations EP/GP, I would have reacted differently.
I think Parenthood didn't really focus on toys or playtime, it focused on parents being able to "parent" their children.
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However, I will say that most (if not all) of the store content was 100% optional and not required to actually enjoy the game itself. The Sims 3 (yes, even the base game) was filled with content and features. There was never a time when it felt lacking. Meanwhile, in Sims 4, the base game alone was a huge problem when it was first released (no pools, no toddlers, no ghosts, no create a style, no open world, etc). You honestly can't really compare the two games when it comes to DLC.
The only major issue Sims 3 has is the fact that it's very laggy and often very glitchy. Otherwise, it's almost a near perfect game (with some minor exceptions). Even your "Top 5 Sims Games" note says that Sims 3 would be higher on your list if it worked properly, so I'm not entirely wrong, am I?
The point is, The Sims 3 store was indeed a terrible idea. I won't disagree with you on that. However, it was also a 100% optional feature for a game that was already filled with a lot of content. You didn't need anything from the store to make the game itself enjoyable. The Sims 4 simply isn't the same. It gets boring and repetitive way too quickly. The new content is what makes the game re-playable for most people. Packs are basically a must have for this specific game. Otherwise, it wouldn't have any replay value. Especially when it's possible to do almost everything in one generation of a family. That's how lacking the game is (even after almost 4 years of being released).
Sims 1: Hot Date
Sims 2: Seasons
Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
Sims 3: Seasons
Sims 3: 70's, 80's, & 90's Stuff
Sims 4: Seasons
Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff
Sims 4: Strangerville Game Pack
Actually, I was upset with their decision to create the Toddlers Stuff Pack. My sister and I both agreed that the content in that stuff pack should've been included with Parenthood. So, there were disagreements.
However, like OP said, the Parenthood pack was about parenting. The theme itself wasn't necessarily about adding content for toddlers. That's the difference.
Sims 1: Hot Date
Sims 2: Seasons
Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
Sims 3: Seasons
Sims 3: 70's, 80's, & 90's Stuff
Sims 4: Seasons
Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff
Sims 4: Strangerville Game Pack
On that token though, if The Sims 4 didn't have Stuff Packs, do you feel like it would be a huge loss?
I feel like people say that Stuff Packs add meaningful game play, but I always feel they add these extra pieces where the fun wears off a few days of playing.
Don't get me wrong, there's stuff that I do use, but it's mostly house filler. I don't feel like anything a SP has added has been a huge gain. The only thing is probably the Butler.
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This new SP has content that is explicitly for C&D (which requires an EP), content that is designed in the same style as furniture from the C&D EP, and has a new gameplay object that previously came with the ‘Pets’ EP.
Except the crystal ball was created before supernaturel