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The 20th Anniversary Was Underwhelming

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    Mariefoxprice83Mariefoxprice83 Posts: 8,109 Member
    edited February 2020
    It may have been underwhelming but they don't owe us anything at all. I was pleased to get something, and I don't have the pack that came with hot tubs this time round so it was a bonus for me. I'm taking a break from the game at the moment so I haven't done anything except make a few sims in CAS for a couple of weeks but I'll certainly be using the hot tub when I'm ready to go back. Having said that, the wooden hot tub from the original game would have been even better.
    Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.
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    CamkatCamkat Posts: 2,329 Member
    The idea of them not owing the people who have funded and supported their game for 20 years seems like a technicality to me. You have to think of it on both ends of the spectrum. If no one started playing and buying the game in the first place then where would they be? Now dont get me wrong I understand what you're saying. And I'm not saying they didn't work hard these last 20 years and earned that income and support from those of us who have been here from the start, however, I personally believe with any game it's a team effort. From them and us. The creators and consumers. They create something they're passionate about in hopes we also enjoy it and buy it thus making them money and making the product successful. Personally I wasn't expecting anything, however it's a slap to the face for people, like myself, who did spend the money on the pack for the hot tubs and it be given for free yrs later. This isn't the first time they've done this and quite frankly I dont think it will be the last time.

    This is exactly what bugs me about "they don't owe us argument". Sure, they don't. However, we don't owe them either. They made the game, we paid for the game, transaction is done at that point and no one owes anyone anything. How would they feel then if we all suddenly just didn't buy anything anymore though. (Too many fans, it would never happen). Even so, Sims is their cash cow, so to speak, and I'm sure they filter money out of it and into their other games. Some good PR in this anniversary week could have gone a long way, but now it looks like they just lost a mass of people. Hopefully those "hundreds" of giveaways can eventually replace those sales.
    Origin ID: Peapod79
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    ChampandGirlieChampandGirlie Posts: 2,482 Member
    I hope that they will continue to celebrate the anniversary in different ways throughout the year. It is a big deal.

    I was generally fine with the hot tub though I wouldn't mind seeing other forms of celebrations.
    Champ and Girlie are dogs.
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    CynnaCynna Posts: 2,369 Member
    Scobre wrote: »
    I mean if they were going to do a hot tub, at least it could have been an off-the-grid hot tub like the one from the Sims Vacation to pay homage to the Sims history. I loved this thing and it would have used a new mesh too.

    25209-the-sims-vacation-windows-screenshot-relaxing-in-the-hot-tub.jpg

    That's the tub that I would have loved to see make a return.
    I3Ml5Om.jpg
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    CinebarCinebar Posts: 33,618 Member
    edited February 2020
    The 20th shouldn't have been about the TS4, it's not just some yearly anniversary. Some have hit the nail on the head, it was so underwhelming as if the other three were never created and all those hundreds of thousands of people never stuck with them to get them to this point in time. Like 'Thanks for celebrating with us' As if they were the ones who gave EA all that money.....yes they can be proud they built games people loved but it wasn't their thousands (think how much each person who has been here 20 years has spent per person.) I wasn't expecting free content, but maybe a little of respect. And oh, yes, we are passionate but you really want to know what that means when they say it? It's a sugar coated phrase to mean we are demanding, with high expectations, and contrary/difficult, hard to please. Just ask Peter Moore.
    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
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    Jordan061102Jordan061102 Posts: 3,918 Member
    I am defenitely DONE with this game. For sure. I haven't played it since IL.
    Lu4ERme.gif
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    OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 5,000 Member
    At this point I'm just tired and done. I love this franchise. I - like so many - have been here since the start. I started playing the Sims in Feb. of 2000 with a new born stuck to my lap because I didn't want to get up to put her in her crib. lol My husband has grumbled and jokingly complained over the years but still supporting my love of the game. My kids grew up watching me play, and once old enough they started to play. I've gotten a few of my friends to play over the years.

    And even if friend and family never played or don't even understand the game, they know The Sims because of me. And just like many of us, I have countless memories from The Sims even up to my sims in Sims 4, which has made me laugh out loud, rage quit, exit without saving, and just go "awww". The Sims has always been there for my good days and my bad. Something that I could always count on. And the friends I've made through the community. The support I've gotten via on YT and Twitch channels. And just the great environment that has been fostered over the years on the forums (for the most part).

    With all of this I'm grateful that I found this little old game displayed on a cardboard cutout. I gave it a chance 'cause I thought it would be similar to virtual Barbies.😂 Never in all of my years would I have guessed it would make it to 20 years. Would mean so much to me. And become a small money funneling habit. But to see that we, as long time players, mean so little to a company kinda plum. We helped to get them where they are today. And other games that have hit a milestone, have done much more to say Thank You to their players. This really does feel like a slap in the face.

    I don't think they don't know what we as players want. They just don't care. They want "new" and "hip" players coming in. Those who will lose interest soon as the new shiny thing comes along. When they first brought in the whole Game Changer thing, I knew things were changing. We never needed a select group of Simmers to be our voice. Our mouth piece. Yet this is what they are trying to portray. But I'm going off course. As much love I have for this game. I honestly think the well is starting to dry up. I have my old games. I'll continue to play them, but if we get a Sims 5 I'm not sure I have that kind of dedication anymore.

    So Happy 20th Sims. It was great while it lasted.🍰

    I just tried to play today and usually I can last at least a week with any game I have a lot of fun in. I couldn't play TS4 for more than a few days up until yesterday when I just got so bored... but I think I concur. Enough is enough. I'll probably keep playing every once in a while just because I've modded the game to my liking, but at this point, I'll turn my attention to Paralives instead of TS5 since I've no hopes for the latter and hopes for the former. If IF that game will be good.

    Like you, I have my game modded to how I like, which makes it actually playable and enjoyable for me. Without mods Sims 4 just falls flat for me. But like you, I'm really looking forward to Paralives. I hope they really bring it! It's like after being burned by the Sims 4 I'm approaching Paralives with caution, but also excitement. I have a feeling though, that they will knock out socks off in the best way possible, and finally some real competition put towards the Sims.

    I also feel that once Paralives drops, and starts to being in players (I'm not sure but are they simmers as well?) EA will actually start to sweat, seeing their "sure thing" leaving and spending their money on a game and supporting a developer who actually cares. By then though, it will be to little to late. They've had more than enough time to get their act together with this game, and to fix it and make it what it once was.

    They have refused. They don't care. And they figure that they can squeeze this lemon until there is no juice left.
    JoAnne65 wrote: »
    I’m at the point where I think EA really doesn’t care about the legacy of this franchise. They’re only interested in hyping and selling their latest product. Which is fine by me, but I don’t really get why they feel they need to keep up appearances. They live in the future, not in the present, let alone the past. That sounds ok but I think it isn’t. Its past should matter to a company, especially when it’s a rich one.

    They don't, seems like it's burden to that their bored with. But keep around cause They know they can get away with the bare minimum and still get cash flowing in. I wouldn't be surprised if they are using the sims revenue for other games they consider more important. Otherwise the sims would have been way more advanced than it currently is. The budgets wouldn't be so unnecessarily low, and we would see major improvements.

    I agree with you there. Not sure if it's true, but it really does feel like it. Because for a game that sales so man copies where's the advancement in game play? And the gurus have been seen time and time again, talking about the cost of this, and the cost of that, or that it's too expensive to do. Don't get me wrong. I know companies have budgets for projects. But the Sims has been racking in profit for 20 years! I believe they are putting the majority of the money into titles like Fifa, and Star Was, etc. [/quote]

    Revenue, regardless of source, is put into a single account. The funds are then allocated to projects and overhead according to a pre-determined budget. As has been mentioned before, war and sports (socially acceptable warfare) are the 'biggies' for EA, so they get the bulk of development funding. Sims is simply a sideshow, if a lucrative one, and is treated accordingly by all concerned. EA is a public company so has one concern, maximize profit which in turn maximizes return for the stakeholders.
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    JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    The idea of them not owing the people who have funded and supported their game for 20 years seems like a technicality to me. You have to think of it on both ends of the spectrum. If no one started playing and buying the game in the first place then where would they be? Now dont get me wrong I understand what you're saying. And I'm not saying they didn't work hard these last 20 years and earned that income and support from those of us who have been here from the start, however, I personally believe with any game it's a team effort. From them and us. The creators and consumers. They create something they're passionate about in hopes we also enjoy it and buy it thus making them money and making the product successful. Personally I wasn't expecting anything, however it's a slap to the face for people, like myself, who did spend the money on the pack for the hot tubs and it be given for free yrs later. This isn't the first time they've done this and quite frankly I dont think it will be the last time.
    You had me at ‘The’.
    5JZ57S6.png
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    KaeChan2089KaeChan2089 Posts: 4,944 Member
    Camkat wrote: »
    The idea of them not owing the people who have funded and supported their game for 20 years seems like a technicality to me. You have to think of it on both ends of the spectrum. If no one started playing and buying the game in the first place then where would they be? Now dont get me wrong I understand what you're saying. And I'm not saying they didn't work hard these last 20 years and earned that income and support from those of us who have been here from the start, however, I personally believe with any game it's a team effort. From them and us. The creators and consumers. They create something they're passionate about in hopes we also enjoy it and buy it thus making them money and making the product successful. Personally I wasn't expecting anything, however it's a slap to the face for people, like myself, who did spend the money on the pack for the hot tubs and it be given for free yrs later. This isn't the first time they've done this and quite frankly I dont think it will be the last time.

    This is exactly what bugs me about "they don't owe us argument". Sure, they don't. However, we don't owe them either. They made the game, we paid for the game, transaction is done at that point and no one owes anyone anything. How would they feel then if we all suddenly just didn't buy anything anymore though. (Too many fans, it would never happen). Even so, Sims is their cash cow, so to speak, and I'm sure they filter money out of it and into their other games. Some good PR in this anniversary week could have gone a long way, but now it looks like they just lost a mass of people. Hopefully those "hundreds" of giveaways can eventually replace those sales.

    Yeeeesssssss!
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    JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited February 2020
    Cinebar wrote: »
    The 20th shouldn't have been about the TS4, it's not just some yearly anniversary. Some have hit the nail on the head, it was so underwhelming as if the other three were never created and all those hundreds of thousands of people never stuck with them to get them to this point in time. Like 'Thanks for celebrating with us' As if they were the ones who gave EA all that money.....yes they can be proud they built games people loved but it wasn't their thousands (think how much each person who has been here 20 years has spent per person.) I wasn't expecting free content, but maybe a little of respect. And oh, yes, we are passionate but you really want to know what that means when they say it? It's a sugar coated phrase to mean we are demanding, with high expectations, and contrary/difficult, hard to please. Just ask Peter Moore.
    Exactly. Why for instance not making the TS2 UC available for literally everybody (a useful fixed version, with optimized graphics and fixed shadows). And a huge Store discount for Sims 3 players. What do I care about a hot tub in a game I don’t play.
    5JZ57S6.png
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    KaeChan2089KaeChan2089 Posts: 4,944 Member
    We need t-shirts that say "I've spent hundreds of dollars on Sims games in the past 20 years, and all I got was a lousy hot tub recolor..."

    lol I agree
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    SimTrippySimTrippy Posts: 7,651 Member
    edited February 2020
    Honestly, they drove me to play another game last night. I'd planned on having a Sims Deathfest in all my games last night, killing off Sims in a night of celebratory mayhem, as I've been playing and killing Sims since Sims 1. I tried, I tried really hard, but the entire mess with the regifted and edited hot tub left such a bad taste in my mouth that my heart just wasn't in it. I couldn't shake the feeling of being unappreciated for my loyalty all this time. I ended up quitting after about 15 minutes, no Sims killed, and went to play Stardew Valley instead.

    I so feel you on this one. I didn't have work on Friday and was planning a sims binge weekend - well instead I played around with my DSLR, watched television, and played around in photoshop (didn't even update my game until just now, 5 seconds before turning off my computer) :joy:

    I will never ever understand how they can under-deliver the most basic, simple things. A 20th anniversary coming up, probably a couple of hundred amazing celebratory ideas across the entire community, shared online for years. And they ... reskin an object. Again. As if to spite us.
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    BabykittyjadeBabykittyjade Posts: 4,975 Member
    It may have been underwhelming but they don't owe us anything at all. I was pleased to get something, and I don't have the pack that came with hot tubs this time round so it was a bonus for me. I'm taking a break from the game at the moment so I haven't done anything except make a few sims in CAS for a couple of weeks but I'll certainly be using the hot tub when I'm ready to go back. Having said that, the wooden hot tub from the original game would have been even better.

    I actually quite like the hottub. The one with the plumbob has this sort of glow in the dark effect. I put my hottub outside and I make my sims sit in it every rain storm. 🤣🤣🤣
    Zombies, oh please oh please give us zombies!! :'(
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    Horrorgirl6Horrorgirl6 Posts: 3,198 Member
    Y
    Cinebar wrote: »
    The 20th shouldn't have been about the TS4, it's not just some yearly anniversary. Some have hit the nail on the head, it was so underwhelming as if the other three were never created and all those hundreds of thousands of people never stuck with them to get them to this point in time. Like 'Thanks for celebrating with us' As if they were the ones who gave EA all that money.....yes they can be proud they built games people loved but it wasn't their thousands (think how much each person who has been here 20 years has spent per person.) I wasn't expecting free content, but maybe a little of respect. And oh, yes, we are passionate but you really want to know what that means when they say it? It's a sugar coated phrase to mean we are demanding, with high expectations, and contrary/difficult, hard to please. Just ask Peter Moore.
    Yah that’s what bugged me as well.This was supposed to be a celebration of the franchise as a whole. The sale of sims 4 was okay.But they could also had a sale of the sims 3 sims points.Add content that is nostilgs of the first two games.Have a livestream that show all sims games
    Maybe even made a release of sims 1 and 2 with updated graphics ? There was a lot they could do.




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    lisamwittlisamwitt Posts: 5,097 Member
    I've been bummed enough that I have't touched the game. I keep thinking I'll play, then I just don't feel like it.
    I've been warring with myself about possibly uninstalling it (but I spent the money...) and installing bootcamp or a windows partition and setting up Sims 2 again.
    I've been missing Sims 2 something fierce the past few weeks for some reason.
    Gallery ID: LadyGray01
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    OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 5,000 Member
    Well said!
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    Noree_DoreeNoree_Doree Posts: 1,470 Member
    @LiELF that was powerful and you hit all key things! I applaud you! As always extremely well written!
    "Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
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    GoldmoldarGoldmoldar Posts: 11,966 Member
    edited February 2020
    Cynna wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    I mean if they were going to do a hot tub, at least it could have been an off-the-grid hot tub like the one from the Sims Vacation to pay homage to the Sims history. I loved this thing and it would have used a new mesh too.

    25209-the-sims-vacation-windows-screenshot-relaxing-in-the-hot-tub.jpg

    That's the tub that I would have loved to see make a return.

    I like that tub as I called it the poor man hot tub back when I played Sims 1 :D
    Post edited by Goldmoldar on
    Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
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    CamkatCamkat Posts: 2,329 Member
    @LiELF Thanks for finding all the right words. That was perfect.
    Origin ID: Peapod79
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