The way games are going right now it seems like big thing is the free to play trend/mobile app gaming
and I feel like sims will start to put their focus on that as it’s a game that works well with that concept. Sadly for us traditional PC players I don’t think we’re going to be the main target audience anymore. They’ll probably keep adding stuff to sims 4 for a while (as long as we keep buying it) but I doubt they’ll put any resources into a sims 5.
The way games are going right now it seems like big thing is the free to play trend/mobile app gaming
and I feel like sims will start to put their focus on that as it’s a game that works well with that concept. Sadly for us traditional PC players I don’t think we’re going to be the main target audience anymore. They’ll probably keep adding stuff to sims 4 for a while (as long as we keep buying it) but I doubt they’ll put any resources into a sims 5.
The 3 gaming platforms are mobile devices, consoles and PCs. But they are suitable for different kinds of games:
1. Mobile devices are most suitable for fremium games that can be played in short intervals everywhere when you have just a few minutes.
2. Consoles are most suitable for action games which need a special controller.
3. PCs are most suitable for games which are played for a longer time at home when you have the time and for game types which don’t need a special controller.
The mobile market for games is now the biggest and also bigger than the two other markets combined. The reason of course is that everybody now have a smartphone and bring it everywhere. But this doesn’t mean that the two other gaming platforms will disappear.
For the Sims games EA doesn’t need to choose only one platform and I don’t think that there is any chance that EA will. Consoles is the least important platform for Sims games because they don’t need or benefit from a special controller. So the only reason for EA to make Sims games available for consoles too must be to also target gamers who own a good console but not a real gaming PC.
But both PCs and mobile devices are important platforms for Sims games. Just not the same types of Sims games because while mobile devices need fremium Sims games the gaming PCs instead need big Sims games with a huge number of packs.
The change in the packs from mainly EPs to now mainly the cheaper SPs and GPs is instead caused by the change from physical discs to digital downloads. Small packs are not very suitable to be sold in physical stores. But they sell better than more expensive packs as digital downloads. So to me it is very understandably why EA made this change.
@davina1221 I just don’t think that EA sees it in that way. But let us try to compare.
TS3 got:
2009: basegame and 1 EP
2019: 2 SPs and 2 EPs
2011: 2 SPs and 2 EPs
2012: 3 SPs and 3 EPs
2013: 2 SPs and 3 EPs
Until now TS4 has got:
2014: basegame
2015: 4 SPs, 2 GPs and 2 EPs
2016: 5 SPs, 1 GP and 1 EP
2017: 3 SPs, 1 GP and 1 EP
2018: 2 SPs, 1 GP
If we assume that TS4 still will get maybe one more GP, a couple of SPs and an EP in 2018 then TS4 will have packs for about the same total price as TS3 got. Maybe TS4 will even get one or two more packs too in the first months of 2019 before TS5 (IMO) likely will be released in the middle or in the second half of 2019. So TS4 will then have at least packs for as much money as TS3 got and maybe even more.
Therefore I still don’t see any reason why EA shouldn’t release TS5 in the second half of 2019. But we are moving in circles in this discussion. So let us just wait and see if EA doesn’t announce TS5 to be released next year within the next few months
That takes out the store though and we got content all the time there. That is why I feel we aren't getting the content we use to. Plus they have less people(teams) making it now. Also, if you look at the end of S3, we were getting 3 EPs, the other packs, and all the store stuff. One only has to look at S4 Cats & Dogs to see that content has dropped in EPs as opposed to small animals, fish, cats, dogs, horses, and pet rocks of S3. Or, World Adventures with 3 whole fleshed out worlds compare to one with no store. Don't get me wrong, I do love JA and I think it added to S4, but it is but a third of WA without the collecting of insects and birds. Also, we had toddlers, cemeteries, and a host of other things just in the basegame alone that wasn't/isn't present in the S4.
Game packs are great, that is for sure, but the S3 store added almost as much as the games for S3 did.(not that I'm saying I want a store again). It would just be nice to add another team to add more in the year. Hands down, S3 and S4 have been out the same number of years almost and just go back and look at the worlds the store added and the huge amount of content the EPs added and S4 is nowhere near S3 at all in terms of content. Almost being equal timewise, there is no Seasons, University, IP, Future, the 10+ or- the worlds the store added, and lots of cultural stuff of WA. We have only one supernatural as opposed to several that I can go in S3 CAS and make any bin sim I want a supernatural as opposed to not being able to do that in S4. Girl/boy friend & fiancée haven't been added to CAS relationships and that was what a base feature in S3? The store also added cows, chickens, a farm house with track and a tractor. There is Showtime and all that it added. S3 you could swim, swim under the water in a water like world, live on the water, and build out into the water. There were cars, open world, CASt, being able to micro manage 8 sims fully anywhere in the world, the ability to customize your world, and for people to make their own worlds. There are many other things I'm leaving out such as cemeteries.
When you look at it, S3 has almost half or more content than S4 in the same number of years. I'm happy with some of the adjustments in S4, but the sparse things compared to S3 is very obvious. There is no way to say we have the same amount of content and CATS & DOGS EP and World Adventures are very good examples of why not when compared to their S4 counterparts. That is why many simmers comment on the EPs not having as much as in the past and not getting content or news often enough. With a loaded S3 basegame, a customizable world, and WA so close to the beginning of S3, I think that is why for many S4 has been hard to get into. Def. there are things in S4 that I love over S3 and improvements.
I'm very able to listen to the opinions of others, but clearly S4 has nowhere near the content S3 had. That is why I would feel cheated if they moved on anytime soon. Comments made by Graham ect. make it clear that they are going to explore many more things in S4 before moving on and the way it was answered, I don't see S5 coming anytime soon and it shouldn't. Also, they have said things like content mentioned in surveys and in the pack we voted on will probably make their way into future packs, which I don't see in 2018, but in the future. Not to mention, they have said that S4 timelines will not be like any sim game before it, which throws comparing out. Also, there are the surveys, which personally I find very encouraging and exciting. S4 isn't what I wanted when I heard S3 was coming to an end, but it is here, so why not flesh it out as S3 was by the store , EPs, and SPs. Personally, I hope S4 is around for another 5 to 7 years, because at the rate they are going, that is how long it would take to get significant content in S4. I'm not saying S4 is my dream game(no open world), but with Seasons, Farming, University, cemeteries, and many things not seen before as well as some things seen in S3, that would make S4 a must play game again and bring choice back into the game.
I don’t think Sims 3 was ever patched on a next disk? What if you didn’t buy that disk? Patches for Sims 3 happened online as well, through Origin (and before that... something else, don’t remember but we had to install Origin at one point).
I think the Origin install was for the beginning of S4. I only played S3 and never had the Origin page before I bought S4. I logged into Sims 3 via the little panel it brought up after clicking the icon and logged into the Sims3 site by password never seeing Origin page at all. I wasn't even aware of an Origin page existing until I downloaded S4. The password is the same as logging into the S3 page site, so it only required getting the Origin page on my computer.
As far as S3, they had both, I think. The patches ran through the Sims 3 site, which is still there. They had a page you could go to and install the patch you wanted(this page has all the patches listed on it together and is located somewhere to the top right of the S3 page, I think) versus S4 Origin pretty much making you patch before you play. That is why when people had problems with cc or other issues, they were asked if they were updated, because some simmers chose not to update certain updates for their own personal reasons.
The discs also patched and if you skipped content, it was still on future discs, which updated those that chose not to participate in going to the Sims 3 site, but to play quietly at home away from online. That is how people who had no internet service still had updates. I wasn't on the S3 site for a while when I bought S3, WA, and the high end sp and disc is how my game was updated, because I was unaware that there was a Sims 3 site for a long time. Since discs in S4 are basically for looks and just take you online to download the game, our updates always come online now and not on the S4 discs or site. l only know this based on what happened in my game and what others commented on as well as visiting the S3 updates page and not having Origin until after purchasing S4.
@davina1221 I personally never used the Sims 3 Store anyway and if it had been successful then EA would also have had a Sims 4 Store. But the Sims 3 Store was only about stuff and so was the Sims 3 SPs while the Sims 4 SPs also have new gameplay and not just stuff.
Personally I am only interested in gameplay and not stuff. But I am in a small minority group here. EA needed to change things because the expensive EPs don’t sell very well as digital downloads while the old SPs didn’t sell as well in the physical stores as EPs. The reason most likely was that cheap SPs don’t seem as much when they are sold in physical stores besides all the much more expensive games both from EA and from other companies. Beside that just to take a trip to a physical store just to buy a cheap EP likely didn’t motivate many simmers anyway.
But it is very different when you are at home and look into Origin. Here SPs are very tempting because they are so cheap while EPs are so expensive that many simmers can’t really afford to buy them just now. So they have to wait until later for EPs.
Also EP decided to add gameplay to the Sims 4 SPs which make them much more attractive even for a simmer like me who don’t buy pure stuff packs with no new gameplay. And the GPs are also much easier for many simmers to afford than the expensive EPs. So EA has reduced the number of EPs to only one EP each year but is trying to put the gameplay from the missing EPs into both SPs and GPs instead.
The fact that even the one remaining yearly EP is smaller than earlier confirms for me that EPs don't sell very well as digital downloads. We saw that with Cats&Dogs which didn’t have small pets too and also less other things than earlier Pets EPs. So it seems to me that EA doesn’t care much about EPs anymore and now instead just concentrates on the gameplay in SPs and GPs instead because the new SPs and GPs just sell better than EPs.
I understand of course that simmers who like me just want more gameplay and don’t care much about stuff feel that TS4 still is empty compared to TS2 and TS3. But almost all simmers buy all the SPs too anyway. So they have voted with their wallets for stuff instead of gameplay - and this kind of voting is of course the only one that EA cares about. So I don’t think that it will change. EPs are not the future for Sims games. SPs and GPs are - no matter if we like it or not.
The way games are going right now it seems like big thing is the free to play trend/mobile app gaming
and I feel like sims will start to put their focus on that as it’s a game that works well with that concept. Sadly for us traditional PC players I don’t think we’re going to be the main target audience anymore. They’ll probably keep adding stuff to sims 4 for a while (as long as we keep buying it) but I doubt they’ll put any resources into a sims 5.
The 3 gaming platforms are mobile devices, consoles and PCs. But they are suitable for different kinds of games:
1. Mobile devices are most suitable for fremium games that can be played in short intervals everywhere when you have just a few minutes.
2. Consoles are most suitable for action games which need a special controller.
3. PCs are most suitable for games which are played for a longer time at home when you have the time and for game types which don’t need a special controller.
The mobile market for games is now the biggest and also bigger than the two other markets combined. The reason of course is that everybody now have a smartphone and bring it everywhere. But this doesn’t mean that the two other gaming platforms will disappear.
For the Sims games EA doesn’t need to choose only one platform and I don’t think that there is any chance that EA will. Consoles is the least important platform for Sims games because they don’t need or benefit from a special controller. So the only reason for EA to make Sims games available for consoles too must be to also target gamers who own a good console but not a real gaming PC.
But both PCs and mobile devices are important platforms for Sims games. Just not the same types of Sims games because while mobile devices need fremium Sims games the gaming PCs instead need big Sims games with a huge number of packs.
The change in the packs from mainly EPs to now mainly the cheaper SPs and GPs is instead caused by the change from physical discs to digital downloads. Small packs are not very suitable to be sold in physical stores. But they sell better than more expensive packs as digital downloads. So to me it is very understandably why EA made this change.
The way games are going right now it seems like big thing is the free to play trend/mobile app gaming
and I feel like sims will start to put their focus on that as it’s a game that works well with that concept. Sadly for us traditional PC players I don’t think we’re going to be the main target audience anymore. They’ll probably keep adding stuff to sims 4 for a while (as long as we keep buying it) but I doubt they’ll put any resources into a sims 5.
The 3 gaming platforms are mobile devices, consoles and PCs. But they are suitable for different kinds of games:
1. Mobile devices are most suitable for fremium games that can be played in short intervals everywhere when you have just a few minutes.
2. Consoles are most suitable for action games which need a special controller.
3. PCs are most suitable for games which are played for a longer time at home when you have the time and for game types which don’t need a special controller.
The mobile market for games is now the biggest and also bigger than the two other markets combined. The reason of course is that everybody now have a smartphone and bring it everywhere. But this doesn’t mean that the two other gaming platforms will disappear.
For the Sims games EA doesn’t need to choose only one platform and I don’t think that there is any chance that EA will. Consoles is the least important platform for Sims games because they don’t need or benefit from a special controller. So the only reason for EA to make Sims games available for consoles too must be to also target gamers who own a good console but not a real gaming PC.
But both PCs and mobile devices are important platforms for Sims games. Just not the same types of Sims games because while mobile devices need fremium Sims games the gaming PCs instead need big Sims games with a huge number of packs.
The change in the packs from mainly EPs to now mainly the cheaper SPs and GPs is instead caused by the change from physical discs to digital downloads. Small packs are not very suitable to be sold in physical stores. But they sell better than more expensive packs as digital downloads. So to me it is very understandably why EA made this change.
You can get different controllers for pc though and they work the same, so why can't pc games need a different controller?
They can. But such games are usually better on consoles anyway. A lot of console gamers have two controllers and use them to play the same game against eachother. They usually don’t think that such games can be as good to play on a PC instead.
I don’t know how well the console version of TS4 is selling. But I don’t see why anybody would prefer to play TS4 on a console instead of playing it on a PC unless they don’t have a good gaming PC?
You can get different controllers for pc though and they work the same, so why can't pc games need a different controller?
I currently play Farming Simulator 17 on my PC. Although I could use the keyboard and mouse for control I find it easier to play with a controller. Especially when driving vehicles. I use a Microsoft controller that's compatible with Windows. The general consensus in the FS community is that the game is better on PC if you prefer to play single player. Better graphics and rendering. Also mod support for the PC is not as limited as the console version. So yes there are PC games you can play with a controller.
I feel sorry for EA right now. They catch a lot of flack for doing something that EVERY TRIPLE A PUBLISHER DOES BECAUSE WE DIDN'T TRY TO STOP THEM UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. They're ALL ripping us off. Every one of them.
Prepping a list of mods to add after Infants are placed into the game. Because real life isn't 'nice'.
Davina - don't forget our Sims team only made 6 of those eps. The Salt Lake City team where the Store content was made - did 4 of the eps - Showtime, Supernatural, University, and ITF. When I tested Showtime - I reported to the team at the Salt Lake City Studio - so I know this was fact.
But as to the OPs question - yes I do think the Sims 4 may have a longer shelf life seeing the CEO's aim was for all their games to have longer shelf lives instead of following past development. I mean he talks about it all the time at almost every Earnings call meeting.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I do think that The Sims 4 will run longer than usual, until about the 20th anniversary of The Sims. Even though I'd like to see what EA could do with The Sims 5, at the same time, I'm kind of nervous about it. Being on twitter has made me realise that I don't play or want the same things out of The Sims as a lot of others do, which is fine - don't get me wrong - but there's meant to be a multiplayer mod released in May and PEOPLE.ARE.LOSING.THEIR.MINDS.OVER.IT. I'm afraid that if that's successful (not taking away from the hard work that a modder has put in), EA may run with something like that for the next iteration, which will most likely kill the franchise for me (though, I will still have the older games).
@davina1221 I personally never used the Sims 3 Store anyway and if it had been successful then EA would also have had a Sims 4 Store. But the Sims 3 Store was only about stuff and so was the Sims 3 SPs while the Sims 4 SPs also have new gameplay and not just stuff.
@Erpe: Since you never used the store, I thought I should tell you that it was not just about stuff. There was plenty of gameplay released within it; new worlds, new interactive objects, new venues, etc. So I would say that The Sims 4 SPs were meant to replace the store.
I do think that The Sims 4 will run longer than usual, until about the 20th anniversary of The Sims. Even though I'd like to see what EA could do with The Sims 5, at the same time, I'm kind of nervous about it. Being on twitter has made me realise that I don't play or want the same things out of The Sims as a lot of others do, which is fine - don't get me wrong - but there's meant to be a multiplayer mod released in May and PEOPLE.ARE.LOSING.THEIR.MINDS.OVER.IT. I'm afraid that if that's successful (not taking away from the hard work that a modder has put in), EA may run with something like that for the next iteration, which will most likely kill the franchise for me (though, I will still have the older games).
The game is mainly targeted at young new simmers because EA believes that they are the way biggest group of simmers and they like to play with their friends. So multiplayer is probably something that we can’t avoid completely. But I think that EA also know that a lot of simmers want to be able to play offline. Therefore I would guess that EA most likely also will give TS5 an offline mode even if it also should get an online mode.
@davina1221 I personally never used the Sims 3 Store anyway and if it had been successful then EA would also have had a Sims 4 Store. But the Sims 3 Store was only about stuff and so was the Sims 3 SPs while the Sims 4 SPs also have new gameplay and not just stuff.
@Erpe: Since you never used the store, I thought I should tell you that it was not just about stuff. There was plenty of gameplay released within it; new worlds, new interactive objects, new venues, etc. So I would say that The Sims 4 SPs were meant to replace the store.
I can see what you mean on https://www.thesims3.com/home.html But it still wasn’t GPs and EPs that people bought in the store. Just some stuff which may have had a little gameplay too just like the Sims 4 SPs. I think that EA has realized that stuff sell better if the stuff also has just a little gameplay added.
My expectations for TS5 aren’t great either. But my problem is more that stuff sell way too well and that too many simmers seem to prefer to mainly only build, make sims and decorate and don’t use live mode very much while live mode is the only thing I really care about. For EA it is way cheaper to just make stuff instead of making very deep gameplay. So when so many simmers use stuff more than they use live mode then I alas don’t expect TS5 to really have more gameplay than TS4 has.
Of course not, they will end the sims 4 pc version, and focus on mobile, because i think they really want to kill the sims franshise, so what better way to do that? In mobiles the sims will become a boring game and will be forgotten. I'm so upset, you have no idea, put in charge people who really understand about games please.
Of course not, they will end the sims 4 pc version, and focus on mobile, because i think they really want to kill the sims franshise, so what better way to do that? In mobiles the sims will become a boring game and will be forgotten. I'm so upset, you have no idea, put in charge people who really understand about games please.
They've had a sims mobile around for a long time - as they have Sims mobile - Sims mobile 3, Sims Freeplay and we're still here (so far anyway). Sims 3 mobile did not kill sims 3 and none of the other sims mobiles have bothered us yet - why on earth would Sims 4 mobile affect us I wonder seeing they get their sims mobile ideas off of the pc players? Although - the mobiles make a lot of money for EA.
Maybe we get too loud in our criticism though - they do call simmers the "Most passionate" gamers - maybe people going angry over the Small pet pack was just too much? But I wonder - with out the series - mobile ideas will run dry sooner or later....
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I am playing the mobile version and god is it boring!
100% agree!
I agree as well, EA has no idea what there doing. Mobile games are good on the first few months of release then die down, its good as a side project but the point of the sims is to build your own house and tell stories not click away at daily task.
Comments
and I feel like sims will start to put their focus on that as it’s a game that works well with that concept. Sadly for us traditional PC players I don’t think we’re going to be the main target audience anymore. They’ll probably keep adding stuff to sims 4 for a while (as long as we keep buying it) but I doubt they’ll put any resources into a sims 5.
1. Mobile devices are most suitable for fremium games that can be played in short intervals everywhere when you have just a few minutes.
2. Consoles are most suitable for action games which need a special controller.
3. PCs are most suitable for games which are played for a longer time at home when you have the time and for game types which don’t need a special controller.
The mobile market for games is now the biggest and also bigger than the two other markets combined. The reason of course is that everybody now have a smartphone and bring it everywhere. But this doesn’t mean that the two other gaming platforms will disappear.
For the Sims games EA doesn’t need to choose only one platform and I don’t think that there is any chance that EA will. Consoles is the least important platform for Sims games because they don’t need or benefit from a special controller. So the only reason for EA to make Sims games available for consoles too must be to also target gamers who own a good console but not a real gaming PC.
But both PCs and mobile devices are important platforms for Sims games. Just not the same types of Sims games because while mobile devices need fremium Sims games the gaming PCs instead need big Sims games with a huge number of packs.
The change in the packs from mainly EPs to now mainly the cheaper SPs and GPs is instead caused by the change from physical discs to digital downloads. Small packs are not very suitable to be sold in physical stores. But they sell better than more expensive packs as digital downloads. So to me it is very understandably why EA made this change.
Edit: Also read Mike Prinke’s explanation on https://www.quora.com/Are-mobile-games-killing-demand-for-PC-games if you fear for the future of PC games! He knows what he is talking about.
That takes out the store though and we got content all the time there. That is why I feel we aren't getting the content we use to. Plus they have less people(teams) making it now. Also, if you look at the end of S3, we were getting 3 EPs, the other packs, and all the store stuff. One only has to look at S4 Cats & Dogs to see that content has dropped in EPs as opposed to small animals, fish, cats, dogs, horses, and pet rocks of S3. Or, World Adventures with 3 whole fleshed out worlds compare to one with no store. Don't get me wrong, I do love JA and I think it added to S4, but it is but a third of WA without the collecting of insects and birds. Also, we had toddlers, cemeteries, and a host of other things just in the basegame alone that wasn't/isn't present in the S4.
Game packs are great, that is for sure, but the S3 store added almost as much as the games for S3 did.(not that I'm saying I want a store again). It would just be nice to add another team to add more in the year. Hands down, S3 and S4 have been out the same number of years almost and just go back and look at the worlds the store added and the huge amount of content the EPs added and S4 is nowhere near S3 at all in terms of content. Almost being equal timewise, there is no Seasons, University, IP, Future, the 10+ or- the worlds the store added, and lots of cultural stuff of WA. We have only one supernatural as opposed to several that I can go in S3 CAS and make any bin sim I want a supernatural as opposed to not being able to do that in S4. Girl/boy friend & fiancée haven't been added to CAS relationships and that was what a base feature in S3? The store also added cows, chickens, a farm house with track and a tractor. There is Showtime and all that it added. S3 you could swim, swim under the water in a water like world, live on the water, and build out into the water. There were cars, open world, CASt, being able to micro manage 8 sims fully anywhere in the world, the ability to customize your world, and for people to make their own worlds. There are many other things I'm leaving out such as cemeteries.
When you look at it, S3 has almost half or more content than S4 in the same number of years. I'm happy with some of the adjustments in S4, but the sparse things compared to S3 is very obvious. There is no way to say we have the same amount of content and CATS & DOGS EP and World Adventures are very good examples of why not when compared to their S4 counterparts. That is why many simmers comment on the EPs not having as much as in the past and not getting content or news often enough. With a loaded S3 basegame, a customizable world, and WA so close to the beginning of S3, I think that is why for many S4 has been hard to get into. Def. there are things in S4 that I love over S3 and improvements.
I'm very able to listen to the opinions of others, but clearly S4 has nowhere near the content S3 had. That is why I would feel cheated if they moved on anytime soon. Comments made by Graham ect. make it clear that they are going to explore many more things in S4 before moving on and the way it was answered, I don't see S5 coming anytime soon and it shouldn't. Also, they have said things like content mentioned in surveys and in the pack we voted on will probably make their way into future packs, which I don't see in 2018, but in the future. Not to mention, they have said that S4 timelines will not be like any sim game before it, which throws comparing out. Also, there are the surveys, which personally I find very encouraging and exciting. S4 isn't what I wanted when I heard S3 was coming to an end, but it is here, so why not flesh it out as S3 was by the store , EPs, and SPs.
I think the Origin install was for the beginning of S4. I only played S3 and never had the Origin page before I bought S4. I logged into Sims 3 via the little panel it brought up after clicking the icon and logged into the Sims3 site by password never seeing Origin page at all. I wasn't even aware of an Origin page existing until I downloaded S4. The password is the same as logging into the S3 page site, so it only required getting the Origin page on my computer.
As far as S3, they had both, I think. The patches ran through the Sims 3 site, which is still there. They had a page you could go to and install the patch you wanted(this page has all the patches listed on it together and is located somewhere to the top right of the S3 page, I think) versus S4 Origin pretty much making you patch before you play. That is why when people had problems with cc or other issues, they were asked if they were updated, because some simmers chose not to update certain updates for their own personal reasons.
The discs also patched and if you skipped content, it was still on future discs, which updated those that chose not to participate in going to the Sims 3 site, but to play quietly at home away from online. That is how people who had no internet service still had updates. I wasn't on the S3 site for a while when I bought S3, WA, and the high end sp and disc is how my game was updated, because I was unaware that there was a Sims 3 site for a long time. Since discs in S4 are basically for looks and just take you online to download the game, our updates always come online now and not on the S4 discs or site. l only know this based on what happened in my game and what others commented on as well as visiting the S3 updates page and not having Origin until after purchasing S4.
Personally I am only interested in gameplay and not stuff. But I am in a small minority group here. EA needed to change things because the expensive EPs don’t sell very well as digital downloads while the old SPs didn’t sell as well in the physical stores as EPs. The reason most likely was that cheap SPs don’t seem as much when they are sold in physical stores besides all the much more expensive games both from EA and from other companies. Beside that just to take a trip to a physical store just to buy a cheap EP likely didn’t motivate many simmers anyway.
But it is very different when you are at home and look into Origin. Here SPs are very tempting because they are so cheap while EPs are so expensive that many simmers can’t really afford to buy them just now. So they have to wait until later for EPs.
Also EP decided to add gameplay to the Sims 4 SPs which make them much more attractive even for a simmer like me who don’t buy pure stuff packs with no new gameplay. And the GPs are also much easier for many simmers to afford than the expensive EPs. So EA has reduced the number of EPs to only one EP each year but is trying to put the gameplay from the missing EPs into both SPs and GPs instead.
The fact that even the one remaining yearly EP is smaller than earlier confirms for me that EPs don't sell very well as digital downloads. We saw that with Cats&Dogs which didn’t have small pets too and also less other things than earlier Pets EPs. So it seems to me that EA doesn’t care much about EPs anymore and now instead just concentrates on the gameplay in SPs and GPs instead because the new SPs and GPs just sell better than EPs.
I understand of course that simmers who like me just want more gameplay and don’t care much about stuff feel that TS4 still is empty compared to TS2 and TS3. But almost all simmers buy all the SPs too anyway. So they have voted with their wallets for stuff instead of gameplay - and this kind of voting is of course the only one that EA cares about. So I don’t think that it will change. EPs are not the future for Sims games. SPs and GPs are - no matter if we like it or not.
You can get different controllers for pc though and they work the same, so why can't pc games need a different controller?
I don’t know how well the console version of TS4 is selling. But I don’t see why anybody would prefer to play TS4 on a console instead of playing it on a PC unless they don’t have a good gaming PC?
I currently play Farming Simulator 17 on my PC. Although I could use the keyboard and mouse for control I find it easier to play with a controller. Especially when driving vehicles. I use a Microsoft controller that's compatible with Windows. The general consensus in the FS community is that the game is better on PC if you prefer to play single player. Better graphics and rendering. Also mod support for the PC is not as limited as the console version. So yes there are PC games you can play with a controller.
Where did you here this?
But as to the OPs question - yes I do think the Sims 4 may have a longer shelf life seeing the CEO's aim was for all their games to have longer shelf lives instead of following past development. I mean he talks about it all the time at almost every Earnings call meeting.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/924539/features-that-needs-depth-and-ways-to-improve
@Erpe: Since you never used the store, I thought I should tell you that it was not just about stuff. There was plenty of gameplay released within it; new worlds, new interactive objects, new venues, etc. So I would say that The Sims 4 SPs were meant to replace the store.
I can see what you mean on https://www.thesims3.com/home.html But it still wasn’t GPs and EPs that people bought in the store. Just some stuff which may have had a little gameplay too just like the Sims 4 SPs. I think that EA has realized that stuff sell better if the stuff also has just a little gameplay added.
My expectations for TS5 aren’t great either. But my problem is more that stuff sell way too well and that too many simmers seem to prefer to mainly only build, make sims and decorate and don’t use live mode very much while live mode is the only thing I really care about. For EA it is way cheaper to just make stuff instead of making very deep gameplay. So when so many simmers use stuff more than they use live mode then I alas don’t expect TS5 to really have more gameplay than TS4 has.
https://simsvip.com/2018/04/19/maxis-update-multiple-sims-4-simgurus-fired-others-moved-to-mobile-teams/
100% agree!
They've had a sims mobile around for a long time - as they have Sims mobile - Sims mobile 3, Sims Freeplay and we're still here (so far anyway). Sims 3 mobile did not kill sims 3 and none of the other sims mobiles have bothered us yet - why on earth would Sims 4 mobile affect us I wonder seeing they get their sims mobile ideas off of the pc players? Although - the mobiles make a lot of money for EA.
Maybe we get too loud in our criticism though - they do call simmers the "Most passionate" gamers - maybe people going angry over the Small pet pack was just too much? But I wonder - with out the series - mobile ideas will run dry sooner or later....
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Or a Sims 4 for much longer.
I agree as well, EA has no idea what there doing. Mobile games are good on the first few months of release then die down, its good as a side project but the point of the sims is to build your own house and tell stories not click away at daily task.
I only hope they at least give us a few more packs or finish sims 4.