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What happens if SFP ever shuts down?

Will those of us who spend real money lose what they put into the game? Thanks. I guess I have this fear of the game being shut down one day like the sims social. :(

Comments

  • MarcustzbMarcustzb Posts: 140 Member
    Guys, this is not The Sims Online... Freeplay is able to play on Phone and Tablet and there is no possibility for Being 'Shutdown'. Sims Social? Yup, too hard to play :(
    Find me via Origin, Search by my name from my profile :)
  • ErpeErpe Posts: 5,872 Member
    Marcustzb wrote: »
    Guys, this is not The Sims Online... Freeplay is able to play on Phone and Tablet and there is no possibility for Being 'Shutdown'. Sims Social? Yup, too hard to play :(
    The Sims Freeplay can't be played offline. So if EA closes the server then the game alas won't work at all anymore. The same has happened to many other MMO games (from other companies) which worked earlier - but not anymore since the online server was taken down.
  • CupcakeWitchCupcakeWitch Posts: 542 Member
    I doubt it will be shut down anytime soon.

    They make good money off it and do whatever they can to keep the players interested (sometimes too much with these challenges back to back).
    I think if the time came, they might try to find away to make it available offline. It's the storage space that's the issue.
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  • joleacojoleaco Posts: 2,250 Member
    I used to play a game called Cityville Hometown (a Zynga game) on my iPad. I sank many hours into that game and had built up quite a large town, but eventually became tired of playing it and had a break. When I decided to start playing again, the app would never load. I went searching on the App Store and it wasn't there anymore, it had been removed. So yes, the game companies do shut these types of games down.

    I never spent a cent on that game, but I know that many people did, so they did end up losing their money. Hopefully the fun they got out of playing the game made up for it.
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  • ErpeErpe Posts: 5,872 Member
    Storm8 closed the game servers for 5 games about 18 months ago and removed those game from the app stores too. The games can't be opened anymore even if people still have them installed. The same thing happened to the Croods on http://www.rovio.com/croods-game-now-available So it is now neither playable or in the app stores animore either.

    A game like Bug Village is different though because even though it's game server isn't online anymore the game can still be downloaded and played online.

    So I don't know what will happen to the Sims Freeplay when its game server is closed. At the moment it can't be opened if there isn't a connection to the game server and EA sure won't use money to change that when the game server is closed. So unless it is possible for Firemonkeys to let the game be playable offline just by changing a setting then it won't be playable anymore either after the closure of the game server.
  • MarcustzbMarcustzb Posts: 140 Member
    SFP Still have lots of people playing.. (and also influenced me to play TS on PC)
    Find me via Origin, Search by my name from my profile :)
  • ErpeErpe Posts: 5,872 Member
    Marcustzb wrote: »
    SFP Still have lots of people playing.. (and also influenced me to play TS on PC)
    Yes. I therefore don't expect the server to be closed down very soon either :)

    But in the end it will of course be closed because EA can't just go on and expand the game forever. At some time EA therefore will want us to switch to a new game and then I don't expect the server to be up much longer.
  • WinMacSims3WinMacSims3 Posts: 1,610 Member
    joleaco wrote: »
    I used to play a game called Cityville Hometown (a Zynga game) on my iPad. I sank many hours into that game and had built up quite a large town, but eventually became tired of playing it and had a break. When I decided to start playing again, the app would never load. I went searching on the App Store and it wasn't there anymore, it had been removed. So yes, the game companies do shut these types of games down.

    I never spent a cent on that game, but I know that many people did, so they did end up losing their money. Hopefully the fun they got out of playing the game made up for it.

    This is mainly why most Simmers on this thread advice against spending money for VIP since any Free to Play game that isn't Team Fortress 2, DOTA 2, or League of Legends can shut down and take your money with it. Even Origin isn't safe despite using permanent purchases as games can be removed and can block downloads if someone previously owned the game, this happened with The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories as both were removed from Origin and all TS2 games (except The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection) can't be downloaded. As of December 2016, neither game has been sold on Origin.
    Origin ID: GothicSimmer, YouTube: GothicSimmer
  • harun789harun789 Posts: 240 Member
    joleaco wrote: »
    I used to play a game called Cityville Hometown (a Zynga game) on my iPad. I sank many hours into that game and had built up quite a large town, but eventually became tired of playing it and had a break. When I decided to start playing again, the app would never load. I went searching on the App Store and it wasn't there anymore, it had been removed. So yes, the game companies do shut these types of games down.

    I never spent a cent on that game, but I know that many people did, so they did end up losing their money. Hopefully the fun they got out of playing the game made up for it.

    This is mainly why most Simmers on this thread advice against spending money for VIP since any Free to Play game that isn't Team Fortress 2, DOTA 2, or League of Legends can shut down and take your money with it. Even Origin isn't safe despite using permanent purchases as games can be removed and can block downloads if someone previously owned the game, this happened with The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories as both were removed from Origin and all TS2 games (except The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection) can't be downloaded. As of December 2016, neither game has been sold on Origin.

    the sims 2 and sims stories can no longer be purchased but if you purschased before they were removed from the store you can still download and play it .
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  • WulfsimmerWulfsimmer Posts: 4,381 Member
    @SimGuruEmma Can you answer this? D: I am worried as well, I am debating wether I should spend money or a ton of effort into my save only for the game to shut down its servers and I lose all my progress. I know it won't close anytime soon or you 'don't have any plans to shut it down' yada yada yada, but it would be great to be assured progress won't be lost and you will be able to continue somehow like being able to play offline or something
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  • ErpeErpe Posts: 5,872 Member
    I think that EA should add an option to play offline too (at least just before the servers are closed down). It seems to be something that people would even buy as an in-app purchase. So it is likely to also be profitable for EA for other reasons than that people now are afraid to use money on the game because they fear that the servers soon could be closed down ;)
  • MingYangYoMingYangYo Posts: 362 Member
    I like it but im dreading the life and dreams quest so if it ever does I won't be upset.
    Let me in I got a heart of gold

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  • SimGuruEmmaSimGuruEmma Posts: 118 SimGuru
    Hey @Wulfsimmer, sorry for the delayed reply - I haven't been at my desk!

    The Sims FreePlay has been going for an amazing 5 years, however as with all good things, everything does eventually come to an end. This however won't be for a long while (to the best of my knowledge!) so there's no fear there of any servers being closed any time soon.

    If, for any reason whatsoever, the servers would be closed down, we would make sure to be as proactive as possible with informing the community well ahead of time.
    Community Engagement Manager - The Sims FreePlay + The Sims Mobile - Firemonkeys and Maxis
  • WulfsimmerWulfsimmer Posts: 4,381 Member
    Hey @Wulfsimmer, sorry for the delayed reply - I haven't been at my desk!

    The Sims FreePlay has been going for an amazing 5 years, however as with all good things, everything does eventually come to an end. This however won't be for a long while (to the best of my knowledge!) so there's no fear there of any servers being closed any time soon.

    If, for any reason whatsoever, the servers would be closed down, we would make sure to be as proactive as possible with informing the community well ahead of time.

    So no offline option in plans D: ? I wanted to spend a lot of money on packs but if it ever goes down in 2 to 3 years I would rather not waste $150 :/ Please consider that.
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  • ErpeErpe Posts: 5,872 Member
    Offline mode is about the only thing that I actually would pay a little money for.

    The reason isn't that I would play a lot after the servers are closed down. But it is about memories. I like to open up old games that I haven't played for a long time to be reminded of how they worked and to remember how it was to play them.

    So while I know that an offline mode still wouldn't allow us to visit other players or to give us new quests and events I would like to be able to go into the game and tell my sims to use some objects, do some hobbies or go to work a little because this would bring back good memories. Therefore I would buy this option if it was added before EA closes the servers down.
  • WinMacSims3WinMacSims3 Posts: 1,610 Member
    harun789 wrote: »
    joleaco wrote: »
    I used to play a game called Cityville Hometown (a Zynga game) on my iPad. I sank many hours into that game and had built up quite a large town, but eventually became tired of playing it and had a break. When I decided to start playing again, the app would never load. I went searching on the App Store and it wasn't there anymore, it had been removed. So yes, the game companies do shut these types of games down.

    I never spent a cent on that game, but I know that many people did, so they did end up losing their money. Hopefully the fun they got out of playing the game made up for it.

    This is mainly why most Simmers on this thread advice against spending money for VIP since any Free to Play game that isn't Team Fortress 2, DOTA 2, or League of Legends can shut down and take your money with it. Even Origin isn't safe despite using permanent purchases as games can be removed and can block downloads if someone previously owned the game, this happened with The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories as both were removed from Origin and all TS2 games (except The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection) can't be downloaded. As of December 2016, neither game has been sold on Origin.

    the sims 2 and sims stories can no longer be purchased but if you purschased before they were removed from the store you can still download and play it .

    I've tried downloading The Sims 2 Glamour Life that I previously purchased and Origin refused to download it. However, I no longer have the game available to download although I purchased it in the past. However, you can download The Sims 2 UC if that game is in your Library.
    Erpe wrote: »
    I think that EA should add an option to play offline too (at least just before the servers are closed down). It seems to be something that people would even buy as an in-app purchase. So it is likely to also be profitable for EA for other reasons than that people now are afraid to use money on the game because they fear that the servers soon could be closed down ;)
    This is the reason why VIP is opposed by Simmers seeing as it requires real money and free to play games are subject to shutdowns meaning you do not keep the content and you are not refunded. VIP is made worse with The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 as their DLCs also cost real money at about $600+ for both The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 vs $2400 for FreePlay's VIP 15. Seeing as Ubisoft shut down Ghost Recon Phantoms on December 1, 2016, it doesn't look like the idea of free to play games being shut down isn't going to go away anytime soon.
    Origin ID: GothicSimmer, YouTube: GothicSimmer
  • ErpeErpe Posts: 5,872 Member
    harun789 wrote: »
    joleaco wrote: »
    I used to play a game called Cityville Hometown (a Zynga game) on my iPad. I sank many hours into that game and had built up quite a large town, but eventually became tired of playing it and had a break. When I decided to start playing again, the app would never load. I went searching on the App Store and it wasn't there anymore, it had been removed. So yes, the game companies do shut these types of games down.

    I never spent a cent on that game, but I know that many people did, so they did end up losing their money. Hopefully the fun they got out of playing the game made up for it.

    This is mainly why most Simmers on this thread advice against spending money for VIP since any Free to Play game that isn't Team Fortress 2, DOTA 2, or League of Legends can shut down and take your money with it. Even Origin isn't safe despite using permanent purchases as games can be removed and can block downloads if someone previously owned the game, this happened with The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories as both were removed from Origin and all TS2 games (except The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection) can't be downloaded. As of December 2016, neither game has been sold on Origin.

    the sims 2 and sims stories can no longer be purchased but if you purschased before they were removed from the store you can still download and play it .

    I've tried downloading The Sims 2 Glamour Life that I previously purchased and Origin refused to download it. However, I no longer have the game available to download although I purchased it in the past. However, you can download The Sims 2 UC if that game is in your Library.
    Erpe wrote: »
    I think that EA should add an option to play offline too (at least just before the servers are closed down). It seems to be something that people would even buy as an in-app purchase. So it is likely to also be profitable for EA for other reasons than that people now are afraid to use money on the game because they fear that the servers soon could be closed down ;)
    This is the reason why VIP is opposed by Simmers seeing as it requires real money and free to play games are subject to shutdowns meaning you do not keep the content and you are not refunded. VIP is made worse with The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 as their DLCs also cost real money at about $600+ for both The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 vs $2400 for FreePlay's VIP 15. Seeing as Ubisoft shut down Ghost Recon Phantoms on December 1, 2016, it doesn't look like the idea of free to play games being shut down isn't going to go away anytime soon.
    It seems to me that you just can't accept that the game companies sell games to earn money and not just for philanthropical reasons to please you.

    VIP isn't opposed by simmers because they don't want it. If it is then it is because they can't afford it and have the misconception that getting VIP is necessary just to play the game. Personally I play and have played a lot of free games and I usually just ignore all the ingame advertising and am not VIP in any of them. (Only the Sims Freeplay is an exception even though I didn't really buy anything here either.)

    Hundreds of millions of people also have subscriptions for Netflix, HBO, World of Warcraft and similar things to be able to watch movies or to play a game for a limited period of time even though the movies and the games will be removed at some time such that the money they played for a subscription become "wasted". Other people just pay to rent a game or a movie instead and their money is "wasted" even faster. We all just "waste" a lot of money in such ways and "wasting" the money on ingame purchases is not different. If you don't think that buying VIP is worth it (and I usually don't) then just don't buy it. But if you are a multimillionaire or a billionaire who just don't know how to use all your huge income then by all means just buy all the ingame things that you can ;)
  • ParyPary Posts: 6,871 Member
    It is a worry.
    I don't play SFP, but I play an old Bioware game and I purchased ( with REAL MONEY ) three DLC module expansions for the game. As of last year, EA shut down the authentication server with no warning to users, just secretly, behind the scenes, and thus rendered the DLC for people's games utterly useless - because if the modules cannot be authorised, then they cannot be played.

    With the authentication server gone, and no lifting of the restriction, EA effectively turned all the DLC into useless files that now cannot be used, despite the money that users paid for them - the adventures are now useless content that doesn't work.

    So yes, this is a real concern and people should be wary of spending too much I think.
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  • WulfsimmerWulfsimmer Posts: 4,381 Member
    Yea I've settled with not being ANYTHING and not spending too much time to progress, after hearing what @SimGuruEmma said, in the game until an offline mode is confirmed :/
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