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Quality wise only, is the Sims Franchise dead?
SlayeurTown
Posts: 211 Member
Hello fellow simmers,
First of all, I’d like to clarify that this poll focuses on objectivity regarding the quality of the franchise in comparison to what it used to be.
It is not about “I like the game so it’s good”.
You can like and enjoy something and still be critical of it.
It’s not about trashing the game for the fun of trashing it either.
There has been a lot of (well deserved) criticism of the Sims 4 lately and the becoming of the Sims franchise in general. Simmers and game changers have spoken up about the flaws in the game management and marketing and it’s beginning to get pretty heavy (emergency patch to “fix” issues reported by James in a very recent video and simmers for example).
We all love the game and most of us have been there since the very beginning.
And as a Simmer who got acquainted with the franchise as a child, I’m really saddened to see what this long loved game has become and is slowly but surely becoming.
The Sims 3 had issues. Undoubtedly. The routine and lag were terrible. Graphics weren’t so good and characters were terrible without CC. The Sims 2 was the last cherished installment by the makers of the game, mostly because Will Wright was still working on it. But the Sims 3 still had something. Open world, creativity, endless possibilities…
Five years into the Sims 4, the general consensus is that the game hasn’t delivered. It’s only trying to catch up with its far superior predecessors with great difficulty...
Among the points reported:
- The huge stepback regarding the better older versions (Sims 2 for gameplay and quality and Sims 3 for innovations)
- A crazy number of DLCs that lead to additional DLCs
- Empty expansion packs (Island Paradise, I’m looking at you)
- Bugs that never get fixed
- Half-baked content (the retail system, tiny worlds, no underwater lots, MERMAIDS, off the grid…)
- Complete lack of innovation, creativity and passion
EA is milking the game, killing it slowly for many.
They probably think we don’t see it but we do.
It's sad because we know they can still do it when they want. Vampires and toddlers are a great examples and the best of all 3 games from the Sims 2. So they can do it. Problem is, they don't do it enough. Just sometimes when we least expect it.
So, in your opinion, can the Sims return to its past grandeur or is it too late and are we watching the franchise we all love live its last years?
First of all, I’d like to clarify that this poll focuses on objectivity regarding the quality of the franchise in comparison to what it used to be.
It is not about “I like the game so it’s good”.
You can like and enjoy something and still be critical of it.
It’s not about trashing the game for the fun of trashing it either.
There has been a lot of (well deserved) criticism of the Sims 4 lately and the becoming of the Sims franchise in general. Simmers and game changers have spoken up about the flaws in the game management and marketing and it’s beginning to get pretty heavy (emergency patch to “fix” issues reported by James in a very recent video and simmers for example).
We all love the game and most of us have been there since the very beginning.
And as a Simmer who got acquainted with the franchise as a child, I’m really saddened to see what this long loved game has become and is slowly but surely becoming.
The Sims 3 had issues. Undoubtedly. The routine and lag were terrible. Graphics weren’t so good and characters were terrible without CC. The Sims 2 was the last cherished installment by the makers of the game, mostly because Will Wright was still working on it. But the Sims 3 still had something. Open world, creativity, endless possibilities…
Five years into the Sims 4, the general consensus is that the game hasn’t delivered. It’s only trying to catch up with its far superior predecessors with great difficulty...
Among the points reported:
- The huge stepback regarding the better older versions (Sims 2 for gameplay and quality and Sims 3 for innovations)
- A crazy number of DLCs that lead to additional DLCs
- Empty expansion packs (Island Paradise, I’m looking at you)
- Bugs that never get fixed
- Half-baked content (the retail system, tiny worlds, no underwater lots, MERMAIDS, off the grid…)
- Complete lack of innovation, creativity and passion
EA is milking the game, killing it slowly for many.
They probably think we don’t see it but we do.
It's sad because we know they can still do it when they want. Vampires and toddlers are a great examples and the best of all 3 games from the Sims 2. So they can do it. Problem is, they don't do it enough. Just sometimes when we least expect it.
So, in your opinion, can the Sims return to its past grandeur or is it too late and are we watching the franchise we all love live its last years?
Post edited by SlayeurTown on
Quality wise only, is the Sims Franchise dead? 248 votes
Yes, it's over
27%
69 votes
I no longer have hope for Sims 4 but Sims 5 is (probably) coming and can change everything
27%
68 votes
They can still save the Sims 4 and the franchise
24%
60 votes
Other
14%
36 votes
No opinion
6%
15 votes
5
Comments
The base game itself was a solid foundation to support years and years of content ahead. DLC wasn’t an overwhelming mess; we just had expansions and stuff packs, both of which were worth actually purchasing. Expansions were full of quality life simulation gameplay, and the game as a whole remains so much fun, even today, more than 10 years later.
The Sims 4 is just too problematic. The base game is not a foundation to create the longest Sims game out of. All base games have bugs, but TS3’s performance issues aside, TS4 is the most buggiest and limited one. Simulation lag is something I’ve never had to deal with in a Sims game, for instance. If you can’t get the basic function of time flowing normally, why bother creating the game?
Then you look at the DLC, and it’s all over the place not only in gameplay, but in concept, design, branding, and quality. It felt like TS2 laid out a good roadmap for its DLC to expand over many areas of life, and went all out on it from there. TS4’s packs are often a bit similar to one another, game packs feel like they belonged in an expansion, and most of them leave you wanting more.
There are experimental themes like Strangerville, which don’t belong in a main series Sims game; this series has always focused on open-ended content over do-once-and-done linear gameplay. And glorified world packs like Island Living, which focuses on the world visuals over actual gameplay in this closed world game, whereas Maxis promised we would finally get a Sims game focused back on the Sims themselves. In contrary, we ended up with the series’ dumbest and most boring Sims.
And that’s really why I picked this option. There is no more trust between I and Maxis when it comes to this game. I cannot really say I expect The Sims 5 to just magically appear and everything back to the way it should be. As it is, as much as I love this franchise, I went from only purchasing DLC if it were on sale, to now, not purchasing a single thing anymore.
I'm also looking forward to Paralives to see how good it will be and if it will give EA some strong competition.
Sims 3 had alot of varieties in the game that Sims 4 still doesn't have. However, Sims 4 doesn't freeze up like Sims 3.
I would be beyond frustrated!
I honestly don’t know how console players do it. I bought TS4 on Xbox One for like $8 a few months back and it’s just not an enjoyable experience without mods to fix things that are broken or functioning as-is but still super annoying.
I don’t like that we can’t disable occult Sims. I don’t like that Sims wanna do the same actions over and over again and use the same objects over and over again.
I think the CAS and clothing options are the best in the series all around. I also love the graphics in the game. But I don’t think that far ahead with the whole “is the franchise quality over” question.
I continue to play the game because mods have curved my frustration. And when mods stop working or aren’t updated, I don’t play the game.
I do think there's hope, but I think it's going to take a major industry upheaval. Nintendo and Sony seem to be not following the trend most major PC games are going through, and I think, once again, Nintendo is going to save the video game industry because of it. See, Nintendo and Sony are more focused on selling their consoles which means the games they put on them have to be good.
Wanting to make the best game has petered out into making games good enough to sell -- it's a cost/benefit thing. At what point does further improvement slow the ROI?
Anyway, to answer the question, no, I don't think Sims 4 is going to undergo any major changes to its foundational flaws. There's no reason why it should. I don't think a Sims 5, if there is a Sims 5, will come enough down the road where publishers will allow devs to put love and care into their products and leave cheap money-making mechanics in.
(the emergency fix was for a bug that was game-crashing. the fix of the counters and columns? yeah, added quickly because they were pointed out by James and others, but unlikely the reason for the emergency push.)
So the sims is dead, then.
Well, dead, had its organs sold on the black market, then had the rest of its body carved up and fed into a meat processing plant... Everyone's pets will be getting a new flavour next week assuming they can pay a premium price.
I've played the game since the first one ... since the beginning of the first of even. I played as an adult also. I very much enjoy my game play and would rather have it the way they are delivering it now so that I can have more complete game play revolving around nearly every theme as it is released. Yes I do have had to wait longer, but for me it is proven better for how I play with it when it arrives. As usual I'll make my disclaimer that I didn't play Sims 3 for long because I couldn't tolerate it, the way it looked or the direction they took it in... so I can't really speak to the game play of it because I didn't like it enough to keep trying.
I can't even play the older games I once enjoyed at this point, other than to load them up to remake things in this game. They just can't hold my interest anymore.
I have still fun in this game but now only mostly building and creating sims.
I was hoping that they would make better packs but i'm not waiting that anymore and don't want to be exited about packs before i see what is in there since it's always just dissappointment and just see the things they cut off.
I would love to say that i still love the sims 4 and i'm happy whit it but i just can't, it's just over for me </3
No. The original question was: is the franchise dead? As Sims 1, 2, and 3 are still out there, beloved by many, and are still actively being played, I can't agree that it is.
The current installment is a different story. Yet, I still can't say that TS4 is dead because quality is in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately for those of us who want and expect better (after twenty long years!), there are still a lot of people out there who are perfectly fine with the direction that the series is going. Prettier, simpler, happier, easier... They're quite content with the quality of the game. Long after the rest of us have given up and gone home, those folks will still be spending their money and, in the end, that's all that matters.
Since there are no other options, only stiff competition will be able to kill The Sims.
EA has their own gaming agenda which is to have all game have an online option and this agenda has got in the way of making great content and that applies to all of their games not just Sims. I have zero hope for 5 because this agenda is still in place. Multiple platforms will probably make the release a nightmare and a barebones base game. I do however think it may not be as barebones as the Sims 4 base game release. Let’s hope they learned some lessons.
Edit: I think I need to give an example. Fallout New Vegas had gay companions. However, there was nothing in the promos or when you first met them (Arcade and Veronica) that indicated that they were gay. You learned it about them as you got to know them, along with many other things about their lives. It would have been beyond obnoxious if that's what they made the characters about rather than just having it be a part of them, and not that important in the grand scheme of things.
That sounds a lot like "I don't mind gay people, so long as they keep it to themselves".
Maxis has made, what 3 same sex premade couples in 20 years, and two trans/nonbinary premades? And as far as I know, none of those were announced or specifically made a big deal of. Players discovered them. It wasn't "Cats, Dogs, and A Gay Male Couple". Players had to speculate about Morgyn Ember in advance of RoM, because Maxis just put him in the trailers without comment. They are doing it the way you think they should, but you don't give them credit for it.