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Rant from a Fan - Should we reconsider buying Eco Lifestyle?
SimmerGeorge
Posts: 2,724 Member
Hey guys,
Huge fan of the Sims series here, playing since 2008. I wanted to start this discussion so I can get a few things off my chest. I am not trying to badmouth or sabotage the game in anyway. I simply want to discuss this issue with the community.
My experience with The Sims 4 has not been the best and I've always wanted to voice my opinion in the past, so with the announcement of this pack, I am finally here. After watching the trailer for this pack I was dissapointed. Unlike previous packs that were lacking, the trailers were still great. This trailer though throws a bad light on the pack because of the similarities in features from previous packs (ex. Get to Work, University, Tiny Living, Laundry Day you name it), but also because of the weak new features coming with this.
Aside from the trailer Eco Lifestyle seems to be following the same pattern previous packs have:
- First, it features the same Sims 4 utopian concept we've been getting over and over. It focuses around putting effort into creating a perfect world, cleaning up, using renewable energy sources, recycling and everything else sugar and rainbows. And to everyone out there saying it includes the polluted air, I'll say one thing. The point of the pack is to get rid of pollution so there won't be a lot of focus on the smoke.
- Second, the main features have again no depth. Candlemaking, renewable energies, recycling are all skills or things to do once or twice. In the past we got stuff like these as minor features, now they are marketed as the main features. How many candles are you gonna make, how much trash are you gonna pick up? We need more tools that give us freedom to create our own unique stories (ex. Create a holiday, Create a Club, Run a business). All of these give us a freedom to tell our own stories rather than play in predetermined paths.
- Also focusing more on visuals than gameplay. Needless to say the clothes and worlds always look great in packs but what's the point when you can't interact with your suroundings? As for the clothes, Sims need clothes that match their personalities not the other way around...
Sims can't even drive cars, yet there's pollution?
- Finally, a very high price tag. There are whole games out there that cost 40 dollars, complete games! How do you justify paying 40 dollars just for an expansion pack? The amount of features is nowhere near the amount we used to get in previous installments and even if we get less content, its quality and depth is also lacking.
This is why I think we as consumers should take a moment and rethink buying some of these packs. Like everyone out there I always want to have the latest pack for The Sims 4 but at the same time I realize that by paying more and more money I am hurting the franchise and the game I love. There is no point in complaining about a pack and a game after you have already bought it 'cause at the end of the day if it brings the company money they are not going to change it.
It's okay to be dissatisfied, it's okay to demand more, it's your hard earned money.
Huge fan of the Sims series here, playing since 2008. I wanted to start this discussion so I can get a few things off my chest. I am not trying to badmouth or sabotage the game in anyway. I simply want to discuss this issue with the community.
My experience with The Sims 4 has not been the best and I've always wanted to voice my opinion in the past, so with the announcement of this pack, I am finally here. After watching the trailer for this pack I was dissapointed. Unlike previous packs that were lacking, the trailers were still great. This trailer though throws a bad light on the pack because of the similarities in features from previous packs (ex. Get to Work, University, Tiny Living, Laundry Day you name it), but also because of the weak new features coming with this.
Aside from the trailer Eco Lifestyle seems to be following the same pattern previous packs have:
- First, it features the same Sims 4 utopian concept we've been getting over and over. It focuses around putting effort into creating a perfect world, cleaning up, using renewable energy sources, recycling and everything else sugar and rainbows. And to everyone out there saying it includes the polluted air, I'll say one thing. The point of the pack is to get rid of pollution so there won't be a lot of focus on the smoke.
- Second, the main features have again no depth. Candlemaking, renewable energies, recycling are all skills or things to do once or twice. In the past we got stuff like these as minor features, now they are marketed as the main features. How many candles are you gonna make, how much trash are you gonna pick up? We need more tools that give us freedom to create our own unique stories (ex. Create a holiday, Create a Club, Run a business). All of these give us a freedom to tell our own stories rather than play in predetermined paths.
- Also focusing more on visuals than gameplay. Needless to say the clothes and worlds always look great in packs but what's the point when you can't interact with your suroundings? As for the clothes, Sims need clothes that match their personalities not the other way around...
Sims can't even drive cars, yet there's pollution?
- Finally, a very high price tag. There are whole games out there that cost 40 dollars, complete games! How do you justify paying 40 dollars just for an expansion pack? The amount of features is nowhere near the amount we used to get in previous installments and even if we get less content, its quality and depth is also lacking.
This is why I think we as consumers should take a moment and rethink buying some of these packs. Like everyone out there I always want to have the latest pack for The Sims 4 but at the same time I realize that by paying more and more money I am hurting the franchise and the game I love. There is no point in complaining about a pack and a game after you have already bought it 'cause at the end of the day if it brings the company money they are not going to change it.
It's okay to be dissatisfied, it's okay to demand more, it's your hard earned money.
Where's my Sims 5 squad at?
28
Comments
I think i have payed 40 euros for one ep only and it was the first one... there are several legit sites selling them for way less and there's always the bundle option, where you can get an ep+gp+sp for 47 euros. And i think that that's a good price tag. Even more having the ability to pick which packs you want
So i do agree with you that, for me, 40 for an ep is a bit heavy but there are work arounds. But, most of all, if someone thinks that it is too expensive and not worth it, i honestly think that they shouldn't buy it...
I hope they went full on utopia vs dystopia but the features seem focused on the "positive" side so I'll guess they won't do much with the smoke.
Also it's still not very much you get. I don't wanna be the "remember when" guy but 🐸🐸🐸🐸 for 35€ we got a whole city, celebrity systems, vampires, clubs, bars, lounges, mansions, bands, actors and so on just with Sims 3 late night. One pack.
Same can be said for most packs before Sims 4.
Also the bundle thing I do as well but it's kind of a marketing trick, cause you end up buying gams packs and stuff packs you wouldn't have bought and they make a bunch of money out of that.
The thing is some Sims fans will pay for anything and it's getting really intense. Other gaming communities are laughing at our willingness to pay so much for so little.
I agree with you on the smoke, dystopian theme. I wish they go full out with it. Fingers crossed
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People need to be smart enough to use that marketing move in their favor. Just not buy what they don't want. Wait and make a bundle with packs really wanted.
And that is a healthy mindset because you will start to see things from a different perspective.
I think there are people that will buy this pack because they can do things that they like, and that is fine.
But I hope that the people who wants to buy it just because it is something new or was hoping for more will reconsider. And judging from the comments from the trailer, that could be a lot of people this time.
The reason I am bringing all of this up is that maybe not buying everything they throw at us (just because we like 1-2 features out of a 40€ pack) would actually push them to do better instead.
that's what I am thinking every time a new EP comes out...I can buy one full game for that money instead, or even two depending...and I did so multiple times
The EP prices are way too high for what you actually get, for every EP not just Eco.
But as long as enough people keep buying them for 40, that won't change.
honestly the candles don't interest me much, it's nice to have another hobby thing but that's all and I guess the fact that they actually burn down provides a reason to keep making new ones...but it's not the most exciting thing.
I am interested in the techy part of the EP, collecting trash to make usefull things and building machines and stuff.
Also the new additions to gardening...
I got both techy sims and gardening sims in my game so I welcome new stuff for them to do...but I just need more info.
The utopia thing....don't get me started, I am so over all those pretty, pictureperfect worlds...we need more dark worlds and BIGGER ones than Forgotten Hollow and also more interactions, like you said, the world can be beautiful but it doesn't help much if there is nothing to do, I could just as well look at a nice painting then.
Same with the size, so the world is big but it doesn't offer anything more to do, then what is the point?
clothes matching a sims personality? I don't get what you are on about there, I always chose the clothes to match the Sims personality, there are enough styles to go around...
Oh sorry what I meant with that was that the Sims lack personality because of the lack of traits, aspirations, wants, memories and so on that the only way you can tell the personality of your sim is by what they are wearing.
ah okay, in that case I totally agree with you.
My confidence is based on what has already been demonstrated, and I simply have no confidence that they are charging a price commensurate with the value they are giving. My confidence in the quality is (based also on previous experience of this company) even less.
I don't realistically consider that they have magically changed overnight, and that this one will somehow be the different one.
The fact EA has made a point of being inclusive of different genders, ethnicities and lifestyles in Sims4, I see Eco Lifestyle as a way to include a very important message for all of us. And may very well mean we will see less of the sunshine and rainbows style of the past, and Sims4 will evolve into a more realistic, and relevant interpretation of the world today as we know it. The emphasis that has been placed on social media in this iteration, is a realistic interpretation of real life today. I get that now. I did not like it at first until I realized it is a huge part of our lives today, and there is no escaping that fact. But we have the option of how much we want to use it in our game. The same goes for Eco Lifestyle. We will have a choice in how much or how little we want to participate in the new features being introduced in that pack.
After twenty years of playing the Sims, I am ready for more content that is new and innovative. The tried and true content we enjoyed in the past was great, and I am happy with the past themes, such as pets and seasons, that are included in Sims4. But I'm ready for new challenges and ideas we have never even thought about before. If there are gameplay features I feel need more depth, I look for gameplay mods to make that happen. Early on in Sims4 it became apparent this would become a thing. And I fought the idea I would need to use mods in order to get the features I wanted in my game. But once I gave in to the idea of using mods, my game has grown into a very enjoyable one, one that is relevant to my gaming style.
I won't pay full price for Eco Lifestyle. Not because I dislike the concepts in the new pack, but because I took a stand after paying full price for Island Living and being disappointed because I basically paid forty dollars for what I considered should have been a game pack. The mod creators are benefitting from this because I have been donating more to that community than I have spent on new packs. And if EA is okay with this, I guess we can look forward to nothing changing as far as what we feel is missing from new dlc.
Like these Bachelor party dances:
The thunder thighs:
Weirder stories that are so not weird:
When did we ever know a lot about a pack before a livestream? Often I find Simmers are always finding ways to get more hints right before a pack releases and in between pack releases. Honestly I take this trailer over a four hour bore feast review trailer just going over "how cute" every outfit looks with the same reaction each time. Why I like LGR's reviews, they are short and precise and opinions stay the same even after the pack releases. I don't need preview videos fluffed up with squeals every two seconds.
Another relevant question I want to ask is: "Don't you feel like the Sims team could do even more with the packs?"
Listen I don't have anything against Eco Lifestyle as a concept, but think about how many cool things they could do with that.
Same for Island living and other packs. Imagine mermaids with actual powers, or Sims going underwater, or resorts and holiday properties. Imagine City living with an actual urban looking area, being able to do grafitti on the apartments, malls. Or if the things they do were actually executed well, like apartments being more than just normal lots but on a higher level? A flea market with more than chairs? A functioning politics career?
This is why I am reconsidering if I'm going to buy Eco lifestyle. I'm sure I will like one or two things but I want them to do better and since they are not listening maybe low sales are the only way they will listen.
However, I do disagree with you on the utopian concept. From what I understand, it will be the player's choice wether or not the worlds will become a squeaky clean paradise or a garbage filled cesspit. If anything this is the first pack that allows a chance for a dystopian world to form. I understand that it is very focussed on the eco lifestyle and all items are created for the sake of making a world a better place, but the option for dystopia is still there. From what I have read some players are excited by the idea of a trash filled world. It gives us an adversary.
Personally, I think there is so much more to learn about this pack. I think we need to see more gameplay or watch a Guru walk us through the features. There could be something really awesome in there we don't yet know about, something that gives a little depth? Here's hoping. I can understand why much of the community is cynical about it's content though.
I think Eco Lifestyle is a very good and interesting concept. It's the execution that will either make or break this pack. I really hope the gameplay does it justice but we will see.
I completely agree. I am really hoping the execution will save this pack, but they have not been able to deliver this in any previous packs (exept Seasons, 'cause that was awesome). This new pack was a reason for me to finally talk about this issue and ask everyone what they will do if this pack doesn't deliver. Will we keep blindly buying everything Sims or is it time to finally start being aware, self-reflecting consumers?
Thanks for mentioning that! I live in Germany and 40€ is a lot of money here. You can do so much with it! Also the American dollar is not worth as much as the Euro, that means everyone in Europe is paying slightly more for the packs.
True they the packs are not jam packed how they use to be. They are selling less for more BUT, that was 6 years ago and this is the reality of the times we live in. Have to looked at a bag of chips lately? The outside of them are getting smaller and the insides are getting less, but the price is going up. I can sit here and name hundreds of things that are like that. And there is nothing we can do to change it. Some things I choose to no longer buy and some things I do.
I believe the teams gives us as much as they can according to their current budget set by the company. It's out of their hands. A lot of people call EA greedy and money hungry but what company is not these days? The job my sister works for budget cut everyone, yet the workload has increased. She and her coworkers have to do the job of multiple people now but the company has plenty of money.
It's definitely up to the individual of rather they want to spend their hard earned cash on it or not. But from my POV it's worth the money and I never think they are over priced because I have spent literally almost 100 dollars for a night out. The movies, the mall, restaurants etc. Less than 24hr.
Heck I have even spent 50 dollars for pizza🤭🤭 and how long did that last?
On the other hand, even the packs I didn't like that much has added something to my game, which has given me probably thousands of hours of fun. I never regretted a purchase.
All in all I totally get where you are coming from 🙂
Ugh this post did not format the way I intended. I was trying to put my individual answer under each individual paragraph of yours but I'm using my phone. Oh well I think you get the idea 😆
While pollution obviously has a visual impact I can't help but feel like there will be much more than that to it.