Days and months between expansion pack/ game pack/ stuff pack releases. Questions and speculation?

LunaNova · March 2016

EDIT: Here i've made a list of content released via patches and added them inbetween the gp/sp/ep releases!

Sims 4 September 2, 2014
4 months 12 days
Outdoor Retreat January 13, 2015
2 months 18 days
Get to Work March 31, 2015
1 month 18 days
Luxury Party Stuff May 19, 2015
28 days
Perfect Patio Stuff June 16, 2015
28 days
Spa Day July 14, 2015
28 days
Cool Kitchen Stuff August 11, 2015
1 month 18 days
Spooky Stuff September 29, 2015
2 months 9 days
Get Together December 8, 2015
1 month 4 days
Movie Hangout Stuff January 12, 2016
28 days
Romantic Garden Stuff February 9, 2016

5 months 26 days between Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day.

8 months 7 days between get to work and get together.

Looking at this there seems to be an obvious pattern of stuff pack, stuff pack, game pack or expansion pack occurring (most people noticed this anyway). Hopefully this is a sign that we will be hearing about a new game pack soon! As of today its been 8 months 7 days since spa day (same time between get to work and get together!) and i'd REALLY love a big old game play addition to come along. Spa day was such a big hit for me and I still use allot of it in daily game play! (yoga mats are great for making sims focused, the bath soaks are the same etc)

I feel like I read somewhere that they have diffrent teams working on game packs to ep's and patches? can anyone confirm this or have I just pulled that out of thin air? It makes me wonder if the same team makes game packs and stuff packs?

Aussie_Simmer · March 2016

This is called dedication. Thank you for doing this.

I'm hopeful for a game pack soon too!

LunaNova · March 2016

@Aussie_Simmer I'm off work for the next 10 days (they owed me holiday) and I literally have NOTHING to do. I don't know why but i wanted to see if there was a pattern emerging. I did wonder if I could spot a pattern that indicated they had been set deadline for DLC releases but there isn't really any data to suggest they have to release x game packs in x amount of time. I'm going to add in the patches which added new content/ gameplay to the game at some point (probably once i've walked my dog later today)

It is interesting to see that period over the summer where they released paid DLC every month! I rember being really happy at that point because there was so much to do!

catloverplayer · March 2016

LunaNova wrote: »

Sims 4 September 2, 2014
4 months 12 days
Outdoor Retreat January 13, 2015
2 months 18 days
Get to Work March 31, 2015
1 month 18 days
Luxury Party Stuff May 19, 2015
28 days
Perfect Patio Stuff June 16, 2015
28 days
Spa Day July 14, 2015
28 days
Cool Kitchen Stuff August 11, 2015
1 month 18 days
Spooky Stuff September 29, 2015
2 months 9 days
Get Together December 8, 2015
1 month 4 days
Movie Hangout Stuff January 12, 2016
28 days
Romantic Garden Stuff February 9, 2016

5 months 26 days between Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day.

8 months 7 days between get to work and get together.

Looking at this there seems to be an obvious pattern of stuff pack, stuff pack, game pack or expansion pack occurring (most people noticed this anyway). Hopefully this is a sign that we will be hearing about a new game pack soon! As of today its been 8 months 7 days since spa day (same time between get to work and get together!) and i'd REALLY love a big old game play addition to come along. Spa day was such a big hit for me and I still use allot of it in daily game play! (yoga mats are great for making sims focused, the bath soaks are the same etc)

I feel like I read somewhere that they have diffrent teams working on game packs to ep's and patches? can anyone confirm this or have I just pulled that out of thin air? It makes me wonder if the same team makes game packs and stuff packs?

Yes there is a team for stuffpacks, one for Gamepacks and one for expansions.

luthienrising · March 2016

It's a pattern, but at the same time, we were told last year not to expect a pattern. So it might be a pattern that isn't going to "stick".

simgirl1010 · March 2016

I'm glad the release pace has slowed down. I for one was overwhelmed with the release schedule of Sims 3. I felt as if I never had enough time to thoroughly discover and explore an expansion pack before another was released.

shionnya · March 2016

WOW, didn't notice about the time between DLCs

Well, seems like next (someday) is gonna be a GP. But I can't wait to know which is the next EP!!

uzumo · March 2016

I don't see that holiday celebration pack that came out in December 2014 on the list.

LunaNova · March 2016

@uzumo that was part of an update i believe, not paid content? (even though it was an optional download it was a free one and not a full pack so its currently not included) which is what the current list is focusing on! (as i said above i'm going to work in the patch content updates at some point)

@catloverplayer Thanks for confirming that!

Orchid13 · March 2016

I wish we could get worlds like in ts3

Orchid13 · March 2016

LunaNova wrote: »

Sims 4 September 2, 2014
4 months 12 days
Outdoor Retreat January 13, 2015
2 months 18 days
Get to Work March 31, 2015
1 month 18 days
Luxury Party Stuff May 19, 2015
28 days
Perfect Patio Stuff June 16, 2015
28 days
Spa Day July 14, 2015
28 days
Cool Kitchen Stuff August 11, 2015
1 month 18 days
Spooky Stuff September 29, 2015
2 months 9 days
Get Together December 8, 2015
1 month 4 days
Movie Hangout Stuff January 12, 2016
28 days
Romantic Garden Stuff February 9, 2016

5 months 26 days between Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day.

8 months 7 days between get to work and get together.

Looking at this there seems to be an obvious pattern of stuff pack, stuff pack, game pack or expansion pack occurring (most people noticed this anyway). Hopefully this is a sign that we will be hearing about a new game pack soon! As of today its been 8 months 7 days since spa day (same time between get to work and get together!) and i'd REALLY love a big old game play addition to come along. Spa day was such a big hit for me and I still use allot of it in daily game play! (yoga mats are great for making sims focused, the bath soaks are the same etc)

I feel like I read somewhere that they have diffrent teams working on game packs to ep's and patches? can anyone confirm this or have I just pulled that out of thin air? It makes me wonder if the same team makes game packs and stuff packs?

There is no pattern though. I mean at least not with GPs. Its gonna be like 7-8 months without a GP. Its truly ridiculous

Schantal · March 2016

I just watched a trailer compilation for Sims 3 (they had the best trailers by the way) and we were getting EXPANSIONS waaayyy quicker than Sims 4. Most packs were 5 months apart, but the last few were 3 months apart. For example University was in March and then Island Paradise was in June, just 3 months later then into the future was 3 months after that in October. Us getting an Expansion every 8 months is ridiculous when you look at the schedule of Sims 3.......remember that isn't including stuff packs or store releases. For sims 3 we were getting content constantly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_3

LunaNova · March 2016

@Schantal I've just started adding in patches that add content to the list (will post soon) so far we have had new content every month (which is something i think they promised?) But its true. Expansions came allot quicker than they have with 4. I rarely bought anything from the store apart from worlds because there was just so much coming out all the time! I sometimes feel like sims 3 was to much content in the ned (if thats even possible?) My laptop stopped being able to handle it after a while and i ended up having to use my gaming pc because my sims 3 file was such a bulky monster XD which was a shame because i used to like playing 3 when i traveled since it didn't require an internet connections

Anemone7 · March 2016

I really wish, they would bring out more gameplay packs (EPs or GPs). I rarely buy SPs (actually, the one and only I've ever bought for any sims game is Cool Kitchen, but I'm currently thinking about getting Romantic Garden), so I don't count those to stuff I'm looking forward to. Sims 4 is starving us so far.

I enjoy TS4 atm, but I already know I need more substantial content to keep that fun going which is actually kind of sad.

jackjack_k · March 2016

@Orchid13 wrote: »

LunaNova wrote: »

Sims 4 September 2, 2014
4 months 12 days
Outdoor Retreat January 13, 2015
2 months 18 days
Get to Work March 31, 2015
1 month 18 days
Luxury Party Stuff May 19, 2015
28 days
Perfect Patio Stuff June 16, 2015
28 days
Spa Day July 14, 2015
28 days
Cool Kitchen Stuff August 11, 2015
1 month 18 days
Spooky Stuff September 29, 2015
2 months 9 days
Get Together December 8, 2015
1 month 4 days
Movie Hangout Stuff January 12, 2016
28 days
Romantic Garden Stuff February 9, 2016

5 months 26 days between Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day.

8 months 7 days between get to work and get together.

Looking at this there seems to be an obvious pattern of stuff pack, stuff pack, game pack or expansion pack occurring (most people noticed this anyway). Hopefully this is a sign that we will be hearing about a new game pack soon! As of today its been 8 months 7 days since spa day (same time between get to work and get together!) and i'd REALLY love a big old game play addition to come along. Spa day was such a big hit for me and I still use allot of it in daily game play! (yoga mats are great for making sims focused, the bath soaks are the same etc)

I feel like I read somewhere that they have diffrent teams working on game packs to ep's and patches? can anyone confirm this or have I just pulled that out of thin air? It makes me wonder if the same team makes game packs and stuff packs?

There is no pattern though. I mean at least not with GPs. Its gonna be like 7-8 months without a GP. Its truly ridiculous

I don't know what people want though.

Everyone got angry when EA shoved content out as quick as possible. Now they have decided to take their time and people are still unhappy.
They either take their time like with Get Together and deliver something great, or rush it and deliver something like GTW.

I'd rather wait. The Sims 2 got a new pack every 6 months and was hailed the best for quality. We literally got an Expansion 3 months ago. It's not like we haven't had anything since Spa Day.

@Schantal wrote: »

I just watched a trailer compilation for Sims 3 (they had the best trailers by the way) and we were getting EXPANSIONS waaayyy quicker than Sims 4. Most packs were 5 months apart, but the last few were 3 months apart. For example University was in March and then Island Paradise was in June, just 3 months later then into the future was 3 months after that in October. Us getting an Expansion every 8 months is ridiculous when you look at the schedule of Sims 3.......remember that isn't including stuff packs or store releases. For sims 3 we were getting content constantly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_3

There was 9 months between Late Night and Generations though.

And you know what happened when we got those Expansion Packs way quicker? The games were broken at launch and we had to wait for months for EA to fix every pack they shoved out every 3 months.

Have a look at how many bugs Island Paradise ALONE added to the game:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/686687.page

I can literally count the bugs Get Together had on one hand. That's why it pays to wait for packs, rather than beg EA to push out a new pack every 3 months. 3 months is not enough time for an EP to be worked on.

jackjack_k · March 2016

For me, as long as we get on par with what we got during the Sims 2 days, I am happy. I don't need lifeless buggy DLC thrown at me constantly.

Orchid13 · March 2016

jackjack_k wrote: »

@Orchid13 wrote: »

LunaNova wrote: »

Sims 4 September 2, 2014
4 months 12 days
Outdoor Retreat January 13, 2015
2 months 18 days
Get to Work March 31, 2015
1 month 18 days
Luxury Party Stuff May 19, 2015
28 days
Perfect Patio Stuff June 16, 2015
28 days
Spa Day July 14, 2015
28 days
Cool Kitchen Stuff August 11, 2015
1 month 18 days
Spooky Stuff September 29, 2015
2 months 9 days
Get Together December 8, 2015
1 month 4 days
Movie Hangout Stuff January 12, 2016
28 days
Romantic Garden Stuff February 9, 2016

5 months 26 days between Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day.

8 months 7 days between get to work and get together.

Looking at this there seems to be an obvious pattern of stuff pack, stuff pack, game pack or expansion pack occurring (most people noticed this anyway). Hopefully this is a sign that we will be hearing about a new game pack soon! As of today its been 8 months 7 days since spa day (same time between get to work and get together!) and i'd REALLY love a big old game play addition to come along. Spa day was such a big hit for me and I still use allot of it in daily game play! (yoga mats are great for making sims focused, the bath soaks are the same etc)

I feel like I read somewhere that they have diffrent teams working on game packs to ep's and patches? can anyone confirm this or have I just pulled that out of thin air? It makes me wonder if the same team makes game packs and stuff packs?

There is no pattern though. I mean at least not with GPs. Its gonna be like 7-8 months without a GP. Its truly ridiculous

I don't know what people want though.

Everyone got angry when EA shoved content out as quick as possible. Now they have decided to take their time and people are still unhappy.
They either take their time like with Get Together and deliver something great, or rush it and deliver something like GTW.

I'd rather wait. The Sims 2 got a new pack every 6 months and was hailed the best for quality. We literally got an Expansion 3 months ago. It's not like we haven't had anything since Spa Day.

@Schantal wrote: »

I just watched a trailer compilation for Sims 3 (they had the best trailers by the way) and we were getting EXPANSIONS waaayyy quicker than Sims 4. Most packs were 5 months apart, but the last few were 3 months apart. For example University was in March and then Island Paradise was in June, just 3 months later then into the future was 3 months after that in October. Us getting an Expansion every 8 months is ridiculous when you look at the schedule of Sims 3.......remember that isn't including stuff packs or store releases. For sims 3 we were getting content constantly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_3

There was 9 months between Late Night and Generations though.

And you know what happened when we got those Expansion Packs way quicker? The games were broken at launch and we had to wait for months for EA to fix every pack they shoved out every 3 months.

Have a look at how many bugs Island Paradise ALONE added to the game:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/686687.page

I can literally count the bugs Get Together had on one hand. That's why it pays to wait for packs, rather than beg EA to push out a new pack every 3 months. 3 months is not enough time for an EP to be worked on.

Maybe some people. I like to get content as soon as possible. Anyway SPs are ridiculous cause they hardly include any suff, but actual new gameplay is taking forever

thesimsisepic · March 2016

Though I miss having a pattern so I knew when to expect a new pack

I honestly prefer no pattern so the devs don't feel the pressure of HAVING to make something before a certain date and it be done halfway plummed out.

Fun Fact: It took 2/half to 3 years for The Sims 3's first 5 expansion packs to be released and only 1/half for the last SIX. (Remember when Supernatural and Seasons were released only 2 months apart

)

shionnya · March 2016

Let's see month between TS2 and TS3...

The Sims 2: sept 2004
- university: march 2005 (EP)
- nightlife: sept 2005 (EP)
- holyday party pack: nov 2005
- open for business: march 2006 (EP)
- family fun stuff: april 2006
- glamour life stuff: aug 2006
- pets: october 2006 (EP)
- happy holiday stuff: nov 2006
- seasons: march 2007 (EP)
- celebration! stuff: april 2007
- H&M fashion stuff: june 2007
- bon voyage: sept 2007 (EP)
- teen style stuff: nov 2007
- free time: feb 2008 (EP)
- kitchen & bath interior design stuff: april 2008
- ikea home stuff: june 2008
- apartment life: aug 2008 (EP)
- maison & garden stuff: nov 2008

The Sims 3: june 2009
- world adventures: nov 2009 (EP)
- high-end loft stuff: feb 2010
- ambitions: june 2010 (EP)
- fast lane stuff: sept 2010
- late night: october 2010 (EP)
- outdoor living stuff: feb 2011
- generations: may (NA)/june (EU) 2011 (EP)
- town life stuff: july 2011
- pets: oct 2011 (EP)
- master suite stuff: jan 2012
- showtime: march 2012 (EP)
- katy perry's sweet treats: june 2012
- diesel stuff: july 2012
- supernatural: sept 2012 (EP)
- seasons: nov 2012 (EP)
- 70s, 80s, & 90s stuff: jan 2013
- university life: march 2013 (EP)
- island paradise: june 2013 (EP)
- movie stuff: sept 2013
- into the future: oct 2013 (EP)

So in both games, EPs and SPs were following (more or less) a same patron unlike TS4 (which has EPs, GPs and SPs)

LunaNova · March 2016

@shionnya Its weird. I never ever bought the stuff packs that came with sims 2 or 3! I'm pretty sure thats because i preferred stuffing my game with CC back then though. Now days I really find it hard to find custom content I like so i'm happy enough to drop money (like £7/8 for me in the uk which is how much i'd spend on a burger king meal XD) on a stuff pack which includes a new game play object. So far i've personally loved all the stuff packs and expansion packs. Admittedly I didn't like luxury party stuff at first but i think that was because I still didn't really like the sims 4 at the time. But its grown on me!

Prink34320 · March 2016

Thanks for making this, this kind of information always intrigues me hehe

But I believe the SimGurus did say not to expect a pattern, since it can pretty much change but it does seem like Expansion Packs and Game Packs are taking longer to make than they originally thought, which to be honest, I don't mind, the longer they work on Packs, the more quality and quantity they'll have and the longer(hopefully) The Sims 4 will last ^-^

shionnya · March 2016

@LunaNova same here, for me stuff packs where just extras with new objects but I had too many CC so no need.
Now, I don't have SPs neither (someday, I want some of them hahaha) and I still use CC, but I like how they put new gameplay through special objects like ice-cream maker, wishing well...

LunaNova · March 2016

@shionnya I think they are worth it. I love the ice cream maker and the wishing well is a fun touch! Popcorn maker is a bit meh from movie hangout stuff but the bohemian stuff makes up for it in my opinion! I think they are worth it considering they cost how much i used to spend on smoking in a couple of days XD

drake_mccarty · March 2016

jackjack_k wrote: »

@Orchid13 wrote: »

LunaNova wrote: »

Sims 4 September 2, 2014
4 months 12 days
Outdoor Retreat January 13, 2015
2 months 18 days
Get to Work March 31, 2015
1 month 18 days
Luxury Party Stuff May 19, 2015
28 days
Perfect Patio Stuff June 16, 2015
28 days
Spa Day July 14, 2015
28 days
Cool Kitchen Stuff August 11, 2015
1 month 18 days
Spooky Stuff September 29, 2015
2 months 9 days
Get Together December 8, 2015
1 month 4 days
Movie Hangout Stuff January 12, 2016
28 days
Romantic Garden Stuff February 9, 2016

5 months 26 days between Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day.

8 months 7 days between get to work and get together.

Looking at this there seems to be an obvious pattern of stuff pack, stuff pack, game pack or expansion pack occurring (most people noticed this anyway). Hopefully this is a sign that we will be hearing about a new game pack soon! As of today its been 8 months 7 days since spa day (same time between get to work and get together!) and i'd REALLY love a big old game play addition to come along. Spa day was such a big hit for me and I still use allot of it in daily game play! (yoga mats are great for making sims focused, the bath soaks are the same etc)

I feel like I read somewhere that they have diffrent teams working on game packs to ep's and patches? can anyone confirm this or have I just pulled that out of thin air? It makes me wonder if the same team makes game packs and stuff packs?

There is no pattern though. I mean at least not with GPs. Its gonna be like 7-8 months without a GP. Its truly ridiculous

I don't know what people want though.

Everyone got angry when EA shoved content out as quick as possible. Now they have decided to take their time and people are still unhappy.
They either take their time like with Get Together and deliver something great, or rush it and deliver something like GTW.

I'd rather wait. The Sims 2 got a new pack every 6 months and was hailed the best for quality. We literally got an Expansion 3 months ago. It's not like we haven't had anything since Spa Day.

@Schantal wrote: »

I just watched a trailer compilation for Sims 3 (they had the best trailers by the way) and we were getting EXPANSIONS waaayyy quicker than Sims 4. Most packs were 5 months apart, but the last few were 3 months apart. For example University was in March and then Island Paradise was in June, just 3 months later then into the future was 3 months after that in October. Us getting an Expansion every 8 months is ridiculous when you look at the schedule of Sims 3.......remember that isn't including stuff packs or store releases. For sims 3 we were getting content constantly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_3

There was 9 months between Late Night and Generations though.

And you know what happened when we got those Expansion Packs way quicker? The games were broken at launch and we had to wait for months for EA to fix every pack they shoved out every 3 months.

Have a look at how many bugs Island Paradise ALONE added to the game:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/686687.page

I can literally count the bugs Get Together had on one hand. That's why it pays to wait for packs, rather than beg EA to push out a new pack every 3 months. 3 months is not enough time for an EP to be worked on.

Island Paradise alone brought some of the most intricate and impressive new gameplay features we have ever seen in The Sims. Comparing the two really makes Get Together look bad, because it includes a much broader set of content versus Get Together. We gained the ability to go scuba diving, a brand new active career, the ability to own multiple residential lots and move freely amongst them, they added water transportation, a new lot type that could be relocated wherever the houseboat to could reach, and resort ownership. Get Together had clubs, upgrades to existing venues, one new venue that operates similarly to bars, a coffee machine, some gameplay objects, and a world.

catloverplayer · March 2016

drake_mccarty wrote: »

jackjack_k wrote: »

@Orchid13 wrote: »

LunaNova wrote: »

Sims 4 September 2, 2014
4 months 12 days
Outdoor Retreat January 13, 2015
2 months 18 days
Get to Work March 31, 2015
1 month 18 days
Luxury Party Stuff May 19, 2015
28 days
Perfect Patio Stuff June 16, 2015
28 days
Spa Day July 14, 2015
28 days
Cool Kitchen Stuff August 11, 2015
1 month 18 days
Spooky Stuff September 29, 2015
2 months 9 days
Get Together December 8, 2015
1 month 4 days
Movie Hangout Stuff January 12, 2016
28 days
Romantic Garden Stuff February 9, 2016

5 months 26 days between Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day.

8 months 7 days between get to work and get together.

Looking at this there seems to be an obvious pattern of stuff pack, stuff pack, game pack or expansion pack occurring (most people noticed this anyway). Hopefully this is a sign that we will be hearing about a new game pack soon! As of today its been 8 months 7 days since spa day (same time between get to work and get together!) and i'd REALLY love a big old game play addition to come along. Spa day was such a big hit for me and I still use allot of it in daily game play! (yoga mats are great for making sims focused, the bath soaks are the same etc)

I feel like I read somewhere that they have diffrent teams working on game packs to ep's and patches? can anyone confirm this or have I just pulled that out of thin air? It makes me wonder if the same team makes game packs and stuff packs?

There is no pattern though. I mean at least not with GPs. Its gonna be like 7-8 months without a GP. Its truly ridiculous

I don't know what people want though.

Everyone got angry when EA shoved content out as quick as possible. Now they have decided to take their time and people are still unhappy.
They either take their time like with Get Together and deliver something great, or rush it and deliver something like GTW.

I'd rather wait. The Sims 2 got a new pack every 6 months and was hailed the best for quality. We literally got an Expansion 3 months ago. It's not like we haven't had anything since Spa Day.

@Schantal wrote: »

I just watched a trailer compilation for Sims 3 (they had the best trailers by the way) and we were getting EXPANSIONS waaayyy quicker than Sims 4. Most packs were 5 months apart, but the last few were 3 months apart. For example University was in March and then Island Paradise was in June, just 3 months later then into the future was 3 months after that in October. Us getting an Expansion every 8 months is ridiculous when you look at the schedule of Sims 3.......remember that isn't including stuff packs or store releases. For sims 3 we were getting content constantly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_3

There was 9 months between Late Night and Generations though.

And you know what happened when we got those Expansion Packs way quicker? The games were broken at launch and we had to wait for months for EA to fix every pack they shoved out every 3 months.

Have a look at how many bugs Island Paradise ALONE added to the game:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/686687.page

I can literally count the bugs Get Together had on one hand. That's why it pays to wait for packs, rather than beg EA to push out a new pack every 3 months. 3 months is not enough time for an EP to be worked on.

Island Paradise alone brought some of the most intricate and impressive new gameplay features we have ever seen in The Sims. Comparing the two really makes Get Together look bad, because it includes a much broader set of content versus Get Together. We gained the ability to go scuba diving, a brand new active career, the ability to own multiple residential lots and move freely amongst them, they added water transportation, a new lot type that could be relocated wherever the houseboat to could reach, and resort ownership. Get Together had clubs, upgrades to existing venues, one new venue that operates similarly to bars, a coffee machine, some gameplay objects, and a world.

That and also The Sims 3 had multiple beach locations and 3 tropical worlds Roaring Heights,Isla Paradiso and Sunlit Tides.. So far Sims 4 doesn't have any tropical themed world or no nautical themed furniture,pictures etc. Sunset Valley had a beach but I wouldn't count it as a Tropical Themed getaway like the 3 above were.

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Days and months between expansion pack/ game pack/ stuff pack releases. Questions and speculation?

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