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Why Stuff Packs are the Biggest Rip Off Ever
Rhiannonraven
Posts: 128 Member
First I would just like to state that all of the packs are overpriced, but that's not what this is about.
I did the calculations and it just doesn't add up. You can buy an EP with a huge new game feature and around 300 new CAS and B&B for about $51 (I'm from Canada, so the money amounts might be different from other countries, just bear with me). For about half that price you can get a GP, adds a slightly smaller new game aspect and about 150 new B&B and CAS items. Sounds fair so far. Then, for a little over half the price of a GP, you can get a stuff pack!!!
STUFF PACKS:
Can we have more sales for stuff packs where they ALL go on %50 off?!?!?! That would be so nice, thanks.
I did the calculations and it just doesn't add up. You can buy an EP with a huge new game feature and around 300 new CAS and B&B for about $51 (I'm from Canada, so the money amounts might be different from other countries, just bear with me). For about half that price you can get a GP, adds a slightly smaller new game aspect and about 150 new B&B and CAS items. Sounds fair so far. Then, for a little over half the price of a GP, you can get a stuff pack!!!
STUFF PACKS:
- Only have around 50 new items, that's a third of the amount GPs have, and they cost over half as much.
- Adds a tiny game aspect, sometimes doesn't even add new gameplay.
- NEVER HAVE BIG SALES They go on sale one at a time a few times a year, meaning each SP will only go on sale once every few years.
- There are so many and you have to buy them all separately so can they please all go on sale, please?
Can we have more sales for stuff packs where they ALL go on %50 off?!?!?! That would be so nice, thanks.
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Comments
Expansion Packs are $40 US.
Game Packs include half the stuff of an EP for half the price at $20 US.
Stuff Packs include half the stuff of a GP for half the price at $10 US.
Are you trying to say you don’t feel like we actually get half the amount of stuff of a Game Pack in the Stuff Packs thus making $10 US too expensive or are you upset because we have more SPs compared to the other types of packs or what exactly?
USD are worth more than Canadian. I am just saying Stuff packs cost half the amount of Game Packs, but we really don't get half the amount of stuff for it. You get a third the amount of B&B and CAS items in a stuff pack than in a Game Pack, and often there really isn't much added gamepley with an SP, usually they just add a few new items that enable you to do new leisure activities or a new venue type.
Idk that we actually get 1/3 instead of 1/2 and also where did they say we will even get 1/2 the stuff in a GP? Just because something is listed as half the price doesn’t mean it has to include half the items. That sounds more like an assumption you have made.
Stuff Packs include a couple of new gameplay items. This is a fact. We have had some packs that include something additional or a different type of gameplay item.
Vintage Glamour included a new Service Sim (Butler).
Moschino included a new part-time career (Fashion Photographer).
Tiny Living included a new residential lot type (Tiny).
I personally do not feel like Stuff Packs cost too much money. The only thing I can say about them is I feel they don’t always give us enough items in them that fit the actual theme they are supposed to be. I think devs spend too much time trying to round out a pack by including “something for everyone” vs just sticking to the theme of the pack. For example, a Tiny Living pack (a pack about living in a Tiny Home) did not need to include outfits and hairs. In my opinion, it just doesn’t. But they offer those items for those of us who ONLY or MAINLY like to spend time in CAS and not play the game. Now those players are enticed by the new clothing and hairs. I think it’s a cheap way to get more sales, but apparently it works and that’s why they keep doing it.
Also, some items take longer to make than others so it is illogical to just count the number of items in a pack without considering whether they are just re-meshed items or new items with new gameplay. Even then, not all re-meshed items take the same time to make.
Furthermore, a percentage of the price is to pay for costs not associated with making the items. Someone needs to pay for EA's accountants, lawyers, marketing staff, web developers, IT staff, rent, insurance, etc.
The older ones don't always have a lot of new gameplay (especially the first one with only a buffet table) but the later ones offer enough gameplay for the size of the pack. I prefer to buy them on sale (I wish they were on sale more frequently). Tiny living is one of the few exceptions where I decided to pay full price.
. Usually you get a deal for a more expensive purchase.
For example... I rarely would pay double the price for 24 rolls of toilet paper over a 12 pack. It's about 12$ here for the 12 pack but only 18$ for the 24 pack, not 24$
Its the same situation
The bigger the pack the bigger the discount.
Also stuff packs go on sale quite a bit in Canada. Not as much as other packs but I bought almost all of them at 50% off last year
You only play Sims, I take it?
Anyway, it is pretty standard that you don't get directly proportional prices. If you buy a bigpack of pasta, you pay less per kg / pound than if you buy a small pack. I don't feel the fact that you don't get some calculated price for ("Cent x number of items minus a world") precisely calculated. Would you prefer micro-transactions or loot boxes?
I personally love the game packs best. They have just enough content and tend to stick with their "themes" a little better than others and they're often on sale making them really worth the money.
At the end of the day, it's your choice to buy it or not. If you think it's a rip off don't buy it. However, I also would like to see SP go on sale a little more often. Most don't interest me but there's still 1 or 2 out there that I want and they never get included in the sales. (Probably because they're popular packs and they don't need a sale to drum up numbers). I'm too unimpressed with TS4 main game as a whole to support them in buying any pack at full price. I like the game enough, don't get me wrong, but to me, it pales in comparison to past versions so I'm not willing to pay more than past version prices for a sub par product.
There are some that I really only got in bundles, a way of getting various content on sale. The next step down would be micro-transactions or a store like in TS3. On some level, I could see them doing that at the point where people just want such different things. That's the point where I'd be a lot pickier. Usually SPs have some things that I'll want and use.
I understand the point that they don't really stick to a theme. They tend to have random styles. That said, sometimes I end up using those different styles. None of the content actually expires, you buy it once and have it as long as you want. If anything, I'm likely to keep playing with that stuff rather than bailing for a new game anytime soon if ever.
I've said this before but if anything, I think EPs need to be stronger to justify their prices.
Anyway, what I'm not going to do is start all over in a new version soon and buy new packs that don't work with my current game.
The worst thing would be micro-transactions for content that expires. I avoid games like that and I had to actually look up what a lootbox is. I've never bought one. All of that stuff is discretionary spending, so are other forms of entertainment. I've made individual decisions on any SPs.
For example, I'm not all that interested in the knitting theme but they might have me if cats can play with yarn. That might be worth an SP's price even if I want nothing else. Lol. Eh, I'd rather watch that than a film. If that's the only thing I want, it's going into a bundle to make an EP and GP cheaper, assuming I want those. If I like at least some of the objects and use them then it's worth it. Hey, it's not boring.
That just might be a way for them to address the wildly different tastes of players of the game.
"Cats can play with yarn." = Take my money, EA. What other stuff is in this pack? Lol.
Ok, but I'll make my cats in game play with yarn FOR YEARS.
I can understand what you're saying if it's a price thing since with a lot of different currencies at play, I can see how some of them look like they don't add up properly. I suppose the pricing is mostly done for US dollars, so it can seem a bit disproportionate in other currencies.
I just wish we could pick and choose what we want and don't want like we could with some of the sims 3 store.
got so much stuff pack content with the sims 4 i hate, especially some of the hair styles, clothing and BB
at least you could get free simpoints to with the ads
I like what @Chazzzy said about maybe sacrificing hair and clothes to add more items and round out the theme of the stuff pack. People definitely shop hair though and I’ve bought a few for my niece because she really only wanted the hair, so yes I think they know that market exists. The laundry stuff pack hair was on point though, especially that big hair clip in the back, that’s literally my Saturday morning cleaning / laundry hairdo. That stuff pack is great. You can even hang your laundry outside on a clothesline. 😍 Overall, I really like the stuff packs. The climbing wall for the gym, the popcorn maker, the ice cream maker, the pumpkin carver, the washer/dryer machines and the tiny living micro homes are my favourite objects from stuff packs off the top of my head.
I do, however, agree with the sales. I think that stuff pack should be on sale whenever the rest of the packs are as well.