I actually enjoy all of them now that we have toddlers and Vamps - but before I got Vamps and toddlers - I wasn't very happy with the game.
If I find something enjoyable and fun for me - I do not put a dollar value on it - so I have no regrets on what I have paid for any of my Sims games - and surely not Sims 4 either. So I clicked GTW as I use that ep all the time - I love the careers - but I equally enjoy all the other eps now too. So to be fair there needed to be an - All of the above - answer for the positive as there is for the negative. LOL.
I am of the mind that if I pay 5 dollars for something and get no joy at all of that item - then I wasted my money. I spend a lot on my pcs - on games for the pcs - and as long as I am happy with it - it is always worth what ever I spent.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I actually enjoy all of them now that we have toddlers and Vamps - but before I got Vamps and toddlers - I wasn't very happy with the game.
If I find something enjoyable and fun for me - I do not put a dollar value on it - so I have no regrets on what I have paid for any of my Sims games - and surely not Sims 4 either. So I clicked GTW as I use that ep all the time - I love the careers - but I equally enjoy all the other eps now too. So to be fair there needed to be an - All of the above - answer for the positive as there is for the negative. LOL.
I am of the mind that if I pay 5 dollars for something and get no joy at all of that item - then I wasted my money. I spend a lot on my pcs - on games for the pcs - and as long as I am happy with it - it is always worth what ever I spent.
I hear you, but I wanted to know which pack you enjoyed the MOST, that's why there isn't an all of the above option.
Despite some of the packs introducing a good deal of new features and gameplay, sadly none of them were ever designed to be worth $40, I was hesitant to purchase cats and dogs at the £32 price tag some weeks ago when I first saw the amount it was going for online and you can’t even say sims is about quality over quantity.
If you threw all of these expansion packs into one then yes you could easily charge $40/£40 for the bundle because you would have a larger variety of content, however as separate packs...no, I’m sorry but no. I used to think paying 15 to 20 pounds on sims 3 titles was expensive but this gen of the series just takes the cake.
None of these are worth what EA put them up for and frankly I advise anyone wanting sims 4 to stick to buying in bulk during the sales, save yourself the money and your wallet from a heart attack.
I actually enjoy all of them now that we have toddlers and Vamps - but before I got Vamps and toddlers - I wasn't very happy with the game.
If I find something enjoyable and fun for me - I do not put a dollar value on it - so I have no regrets on what I have paid for any of my Sims games - and surely not Sims 4 either. So I clicked GTW as I use that ep all the time - I love the careers - but I equally enjoy all the other eps now too. So to be fair there needed to be an - All of the above - answer for the positive as there is for the negative. LOL.
I am of the mind that if I pay 5 dollars for something and get no joy at all of that item - then I wasted my money. I spend a lot on my pcs - on games for the pcs - and as long as I am happy with it - it is always worth what ever I spent.
I hear you, but I wanted to know which pack you enjoyed the MOST, that's why there isn't an all of the above option.
Chazzy as I said I always tend to play the Careers so I said GTW seeing I engage in that ep every time I play. LOL.I secretly wish all the careers in the game were hands on like that - but maybe a few of ones more suited to working at home at - but unfortunately those home jobs are not under self employed which I think was a mistake.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
This was a hard poll for me to answer because I integrate all the packs into my gameplay and don't really focus or remember what came from where (unless it's really obvious such as Vampires).
I would have to say probably GTW, mostly for the retail. Even though the retail function is not as featured/interesting as Open For Business, and even if I don't end up playing retail for a long time, it gives my sims somewhere to put their money and create something unique in addition to their homes. As well, it's a great way for my sims to get items they wouldn't otherwise be able to get, specialty items from timed challenges, and other things such as tiered cakes for weddings when they don't have the gourmet skill to make their own.
C&D might be one of my favorite packs but I still haven't explored it enough to compare it (haven't played with the Vet career yet, etc.).
If I find something enjoyable and fun for me - I do not put a dollar value on it - so I have no regrets on what I have paid for any of my Sims games - and surely not Sims 4 either. So I clicked GTW as I use that ep all the time - I love the careers - but I equally enjoy all the other eps now too. So to be fair there needed to be an - All of the above - answer for the positive as there is for the negative. LOL.
Yes this is how I feel as well. I don't really think in terms of "worth" it, it's more do I want to play it, or not? A pack might end up being slightly disappointing but I don't have regrets as to the money spent.
I feel that they've all been worth the price and simply chose Cats and Dogs because it is the most recent release. I've purchased all packs on day one for all the sims games and have never regretted it. Love my sims.
although I dislike get together and ALL of its features, I do think it added a lot more than every other pack and therefore worth the 40$. they added tons of CAS stuff, a whole new world, the club system and more, and a skill. Which is A lot more than any other pack IMO.
(city living does come in second but the lack of apartments makes it not worth full price IMO)
Ha I am pleasantly surprised as well. It seems we the people are fed up with the high price tag and the low quality.
To be clear, for me, it's not even about quality exactly, as that can hinge on who likes what. It's about comparing the size of the expansion pack to the size of the base game. And in this regard, DLC packs for games are, I would argue, almost always overpriced.
In other words, I don't think the expansion packs are 2/3rds the size of base game. Or that GPs are 1/3rd the size, SPs 1/6th, etc.
I would bet that it's no different for DLC in past sims games, as, to my awareness, overvaluing DLC in price has pretty much always been the case in the game industry.
For me no EP that has been released is worth €40. I don't think I've ever paid full price for an EP. Two years ago I bought GT for €30, CL for €20 and C&D for €35. I think that GT was a very good EP and very worth the price I paid for it. I still use it a lot. C&D was fine for the price too. Maybe €5 less would've been better. And CL I kind of regret buying, even for half he price. To me it was a disaster. We can't even build our own apartments?!
If you look at some of the things that Game Packs bring, then the Expansions seem very lacking. Vampires was so good IMO. The whole Vampire system was great and the new neighborhood was pretty cool too. In Vampires they added a whole new system. In a lot of EPs they recycle existing features into something new. I did pay full price for Vampires and I don't regret it at all!
EPs seem to be missing something for me. EA/Maxis always seem to kind of mess up every EP in some kind of way. I think that they have to realise that we are paying $40 and that we just don't settle for less quality and quantity. I am kind of done the weird compromises that they make. I can't wait to see what the next GP is!
Clearly no expansion packs should be worth $40 at all; it's why I always wait for a sale so I can get the most out of my little/no income. That being said, the pack that is the most worth its price is hands down Get Together. I've found the stunning environment is so breathtakingly beautiful; I've always loved to live in an old European town and Windenburg is my populated world of played households by far. Not to mention the creation of social clubs, and actual dance clubs to boot. Since I got all the EPs but C/D for sale at most I would've paid at least $30 for what I got. As for the other packs listed by order of what I liked most:
Cats & Dogs- Though too early to tell since I haven't immersed myself into everything it's had to offer like Vets (bugs aside), the addition of pets is really a welcome addition to my households. I even got to reproduce all 3 of my cats almost exactly through CAP which is really fleshed out. Brindleton Bay ties with Windenburg for best environment, but would still go for Windenburg because there aren't as many lots in the new world. I would've paid maybe $20-$25 for this one.
City Living- this is the EP that first attracted me to Sims 4 when I was watching a playthrough, and since I usually tend to live small anyway the thought of apartments wasn't too much of a bother for me, though I understand the disappointments of these apartment spaces not being able to be fully designable. the work from home careers should be applied to many more careers past and future most definitely, and the festivals are a nice distracting touch (until recently when I received the festival merge issue). A lot more empty lots that aren't apartments would've been a plus though, since there aren't any empty lots in San Myshuno. I would've paid $15-$20 for this.
Get to Work- Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy the active careers, when I actually want to join them, but I understand that it can get hectic juggling multiple active careers in one household. I also have bugs involving scientists not achieving breakthroughs at a certain point and wrong suspect clues as a detective, but I have managed. Being a scientist still makes the most bang for my buck for sure. I haven't delved much into retail to really have an opinion of how it is. Magnolia Promenade is a letdown of a "world". Would've paid $15 max for this.
Get Together comes the closest to being worth the $40 I don't think any of the other expansions offer anything that expands the game in any meaningful way a bunch of mini games and poorly done features.
Sims 4 went from "You Rule" to "One of the stories we want you to tell"
I can't answer. I got GTW as a gift last year, when it was $20. GT and CL I bought myself for $20 from Target in May/June. C&D was bought for me as a gift (for you guessed it, $20) but I don't get it til Christmas. Which is mostly fine with me, I just really want the curly hair before then. It's an exact replica of my hair.
For me none of them have been worth the $40 price tag. I wait for a sale each time. They have nice ideas, but the amount of content just isn't there for the price. The amount of content and gameplay we used to get with Sims 2 and Sims 3 EPs were closer to being worth the asking price, especially Sims 2.
I don't think any are worth the $40 price tag either. Even $25 is pushing it I feel. I think my advice for any Sims 4 EP, if you see a 50% off sale on them, get it then. I call them glorified Stuff packs. It's sad EPs used to be my favorite pack type, but they have been so watered down with the Sims 4 more than any other iteration. I guess if you want more bang for your buck, game packs offer a lot more gameplay and replay value. EPs are kind of like the Sims 3 world packs I guess just rebranded. Game packs have become what the Sims 3 EPs were. So I guess in that sense, EPs are worth what Sims 3 world packs are worth $20. Just because something is called an expansion pack doesn't mean it is anymore. It just isn't for me and I've been around the Sims for years and know a thing or two about accounting. It just isn't worth that price tag especially for international Simmers that pay enough as it is.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I would say none of them are worth 40.00. The base game still sells for 40 dollars.
They each have potential to be worth it, but in each case they all fell short, either by bad decisions or just bad design. If I had to pick which one came closest to being worth 40 dollars, I would say:
Get Together.
The club feature is great. It is clearly a standout for Sims4. It should be in every sims game. One well done feature is not worth the price of 40. The town is beautiful and is well done. This expansion makes the sims more alive, more cohesive. The club feature does have some flaws and limitations ... like when you sim child gets kicked out of its club because of an age requirement and instead of your player sim taking over it can default to whichever sim is in club spot #2.
Get to Work.
Its not a bad version, but it isn't standout either. The three active careers are nice, but after you have done it once, the joys of 'have a co-worker change outfit three times', 'make three co-workers ravenous', 'ask co-worker for a crystal'. No. It is mind-numbing. Retail is such an afterthought with so little direction its more like why bother. It could have been so much more, but it just isn't.
City Living.
It is a fantastic EP ... provided you live in San Myshuno. Can't build apartments anywhere else ... why? It could have opened up so much ... even having the ability to rent out the upper part of a two story house. The giving friends keys only work with penthouses/apartments ... so again unless you live in the city, it doesn't work. Why can't we give keys to our sims houses to friends and family for them to drop by unannounced and let themselves in? The festivals, each tied to a district within San Myshuno. It is great and maybe worth 40 dollars ... but only if you live 100% in San Myshuno.
Cats and Dogs is good, for what it is. As someone who has had cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, fish ... animals make things feel complete. So cats and dogs are kinda mandatory to have. Dogs should sleep with sims on the bed. Mine does. What they do, they do pretty well ... the vet career is just another afterthought. It reminds me of Get to Work in the doctor career. Generate a pregnant sim, deliver baby. Generate sick cat, cure sick cat. CAP is amazing ... color wheel and all ... but we can't get one for our sims anywhere ...
... the vet career is just another afterthought. It reminds me of Get to Work in the doctor career. Generate a pregnant sim, deliver baby. Generate sick cat, cure sick cat. CAP is amazing ... color wheel and all ... but we can't get one for our sims anywhere ...
IMHO, the vet career really proved GTW's careers, especially the doctor career, were poorly designed.
There is nothing more boring than being told to click exact interactions at exact times before a timer runs out. It's just frustrating. Especially when you factor in the horrible time controls/movement of TS4, and freezing which does still occur. The vet career fixes this, and makes it more open-ended, allowing for me to a bit more control in my Sim's career. Additionally, they actually allow us to have our Sim's family work as well, which they, for some reason, did not allow us to do in a 20 dollar pack focused all around restaurants.
Which kind of gets into my next big thing... the packs are just inconsistent and poorly planned out. With TS2, it felt like expansion packs were just better thought out, and checked all the boxes the first time. With TS4, it feels like they just decide content on a whim, miss a few marks, then return to a concept that is similar to it with a future pack, maybe with recycled gameplay mechanics.
I just play a pack like Dine Out and really question why it had to be its own 20 dollar pack over throwing it in a pack like City Living or Get Together, both of which feel scarce on content. I look at TS2, and see an expansion pack like Nightlife, which includes a downtown/city district sub-hood, group system, fun dating system, cars, clubs, cafes, karaoke, restaurants, turn-ons and turn-offs, inventories, new aspirations, tons of new interactions, new build mode features, and so much more for a flat price of, back then, 35-40 dollars.
With Get Together, we got a fraction of that for 40 dollars, and have to pay EXTRA for content they split into their own packs for the reason of 'wanting to detail features'. You mean to tell me you need to make certain features their own, expensive packs YEARS after expansions used to include everything well-designed for one price? TS2 really was the best years of this franchise. So many innovations in life simulation, and we actually got content in our packs.
At best, they're worth 20, but definitely not $40, especially with the minuscule amount of content you get. They bang out a stuff pack that has items that should have been included in expansion packs.
I didn't and I wouldn't pay a full $40 price for any of them. I was buying each and every expansion of every previous sims game, but not anymore. The thing is... I still am a fan of the series, but I don't feel like the expansions coming nowadays are worth their price and I honestly think I easily have given too much of my money to this company. I'm not so keen to do it anymore...
With Get Together, we got a fraction of that for 40 dollars, and have to pay EXTRA for content they split into their own packs for the reason of 'wanting to detail features'. You mean to tell me you need to make certain features their own, expensive packs YEARS after expansions used to include everything well-designed for one price? TS2 really was the best years of this franchise. So many innovations in life simulation, and we actually got content in our packs.
Not only does it mean we have to pay almost double the price for the content, it also means we have to wait double the amount of time to get it. At this point in time in TS2 and TS3 we had 8 EPs out, including all of the fan favorite ones (like Seasons and University, which we still will have to wait at least 2 more years to have both). It's kind of ridiculous actually. I think that TS4 having a much larger lifespan than previous games is such a bad idea, because people eventually will get tired of waiting for their favorite packs/content to come. Many have returned to previous games because of this, while others take long pauses until the next EP comes out.
I only have GTW and GT and I got both in sales and am still really getting to know GTW. I think that on first impressions I would say GTW is probably more worth the price tag content-wise because of the variety but I love GT as well because there are a lot of fun things you can do with the club feature beyond basic clubs. I have found lots of original ways to use this feature.
But since I haven't paid the full whack for either I am just speculating. I like both the EPs I have but I may be more positive about them because I didn't pay full price? I don't know.
As for paying a higher price, that's called inflation. It happens over years unfortunately. We have no control over that because costs get passed down to the customer. But there are a lot of sales on with the EPs in Sims and that's a good thing. I paid full price for all of the TS2 games as and when they came out and regretted a few, like Pets. Now, because I only buy in the sales, I have time to explore a pack properly and I feel that means I get the most out of it. So maybe buying in sales is actually better in other ways than just cost.
I am guilty of this, actually, because I want university, but it would be nice to have totally different EPs sometimes for the Sims instead of just remade content from the past games. I mean, I love seasons too, but I also feel like one of the reasons people feel resentful about the price paid is that it's generally paying a higher price for the same features and then everyone compares the pack to TS2 or TS3 instead of looking at it on its own merits in the game.
Also if we get Seasons I will have to pay proper attention to roofing. And I hate roofing houses, as playing the house means such things are never visible. Yes, I am lazy.
I bought Get To Work at full price and regretted it. After that I always waited for a sale. None of the EPs in this iteration feel complete, in my opinion.
Comments
If I find something enjoyable and fun for me - I do not put a dollar value on it - so I have no regrets on what I have paid for any of my Sims games - and surely not Sims 4 either. So I clicked GTW as I use that ep all the time - I love the careers - but I equally enjoy all the other eps now too. So to be fair there needed to be an - All of the above - answer for the positive as there is for the negative. LOL.
I am of the mind that if I pay 5 dollars for something and get no joy at all of that item - then I wasted my money. I spend a lot on my pcs - on games for the pcs - and as long as I am happy with it - it is always worth what ever I spent.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I hear you, but I wanted to know which pack you enjoyed the MOST, that's why there isn't an all of the above option.
If you threw all of these expansion packs into one then yes you could easily charge $40/£40 for the bundle because you would have a larger variety of content, however as separate packs...no, I’m sorry but no. I used to think paying 15 to 20 pounds on sims 3 titles was expensive but this gen of the series just takes the cake.
None of these are worth what EA put them up for and frankly I advise anyone wanting sims 4 to stick to buying in bulk during the sales, save yourself the money and your wallet from a heart attack.
Chazzy as I said I always tend to play the Careers so I said GTW seeing I engage in that ep every time I play. LOL.I secretly wish all the careers in the game were hands on like that - but maybe a few of ones more suited to working at home at - but unfortunately those home jobs are not under self employed which I think was a mistake.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I would have to say probably GTW, mostly for the retail. Even though the retail function is not as featured/interesting as Open For Business, and even if I don't end up playing retail for a long time, it gives my sims somewhere to put their money and create something unique in addition to their homes. As well, it's a great way for my sims to get items they wouldn't otherwise be able to get, specialty items from timed challenges, and other things such as tiered cakes for weddings when they don't have the gourmet skill to make their own.
C&D might be one of my favorite packs but I still haven't explored it enough to compare it (haven't played with the Vet career yet, etc.).
Yes this is how I feel as well. I don't really think in terms of "worth" it, it's more do I want to play it, or not? A pack might end up being slightly disappointing but I don't have regrets as to the money spent.
Sim Stuff by Pegasys
(city living does come in second but the lack of apartments makes it not worth full price IMO)
-Yarden.
In other words, I don't think the expansion packs are 2/3rds the size of base game. Or that GPs are 1/3rd the size, SPs 1/6th, etc.
I would bet that it's no different for DLC in past sims games, as, to my awareness, overvaluing DLC in price has pretty much always been the case in the game industry.
If you look at some of the things that Game Packs bring, then the Expansions seem very lacking. Vampires was so good IMO. The whole Vampire system was great and the new neighborhood was pretty cool too. In Vampires they added a whole new system. In a lot of EPs they recycle existing features into something new. I did pay full price for Vampires and I don't regret it at all!
EPs seem to be missing something for me. EA/Maxis always seem to kind of mess up every EP in some kind of way. I think that they have to realise that we are paying $40 and that we just don't settle for less quality and quantity. I am kind of done the weird compromises that they make. I can't wait to see what the next GP is!
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Cats & Dogs- Though too early to tell since I haven't immersed myself into everything it's had to offer like Vets (bugs aside), the addition of pets is really a welcome addition to my households. I even got to reproduce all 3 of my cats almost exactly through CAP which is really fleshed out. Brindleton Bay ties with Windenburg for best environment, but would still go for Windenburg because there aren't as many lots in the new world. I would've paid maybe $20-$25 for this one.
City Living- this is the EP that first attracted me to Sims 4 when I was watching a playthrough, and since I usually tend to live small anyway the thought of apartments wasn't too much of a bother for me, though I understand the disappointments of these apartment spaces not being able to be fully designable. the work from home careers should be applied to many more careers past and future most definitely, and the festivals are a nice distracting touch (until recently when I received the festival merge issue). A lot more empty lots that aren't apartments would've been a plus though, since there aren't any empty lots in San Myshuno. I would've paid $15-$20 for this.
Get to Work- Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy the active careers, when I actually want to join them, but I understand that it can get hectic juggling multiple active careers in one household. I also have bugs involving scientists not achieving breakthroughs at a certain point and wrong suspect clues as a detective, but I have managed. Being a scientist still makes the most bang for my buck for sure. I haven't delved much into retail to really have an opinion of how it is. Magnolia Promenade is a letdown of a "world". Would've paid $15 max for this.
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They each have potential to be worth it, but in each case they all fell short, either by bad decisions or just bad design. If I had to pick which one came closest to being worth 40 dollars, I would say:
Get Together.
The club feature is great. It is clearly a standout for Sims4. It should be in every sims game. One well done feature is not worth the price of 40. The town is beautiful and is well done. This expansion makes the sims more alive, more cohesive. The club feature does have some flaws and limitations ... like when you sim child gets kicked out of its club because of an age requirement and instead of your player sim taking over it can default to whichever sim is in club spot #2.
Get to Work.
Its not a bad version, but it isn't standout either. The three active careers are nice, but after you have done it once, the joys of 'have a co-worker change outfit three times', 'make three co-workers ravenous', 'ask co-worker for a crystal'. No. It is mind-numbing. Retail is such an afterthought with so little direction its more like why bother. It could have been so much more, but it just isn't.
City Living.
It is a fantastic EP ... provided you live in San Myshuno. Can't build apartments anywhere else ... why? It could have opened up so much ... even having the ability to rent out the upper part of a two story house. The giving friends keys only work with penthouses/apartments ... so again unless you live in the city, it doesn't work. Why can't we give keys to our sims houses to friends and family for them to drop by unannounced and let themselves in? The festivals, each tied to a district within San Myshuno. It is great and maybe worth 40 dollars ... but only if you live 100% in San Myshuno.
Cats and Dogs is good, for what it is. As someone who has had cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, fish ... animals make things feel complete. So cats and dogs are kinda mandatory to have. Dogs should sleep with sims on the bed. Mine does. What they do, they do pretty well ... the vet career is just another afterthought. It reminds me of Get to Work in the doctor career. Generate a pregnant sim, deliver baby. Generate sick cat, cure sick cat. CAP is amazing ... color wheel and all ... but we can't get one for our sims anywhere ...
IMHO, the vet career really proved GTW's careers, especially the doctor career, were poorly designed.
There is nothing more boring than being told to click exact interactions at exact times before a timer runs out. It's just frustrating. Especially when you factor in the horrible time controls/movement of TS4, and freezing which does still occur. The vet career fixes this, and makes it more open-ended, allowing for me to a bit more control in my Sim's career. Additionally, they actually allow us to have our Sim's family work as well, which they, for some reason, did not allow us to do in a 20 dollar pack focused all around restaurants.
Which kind of gets into my next big thing... the packs are just inconsistent and poorly planned out. With TS2, it felt like expansion packs were just better thought out, and checked all the boxes the first time. With TS4, it feels like they just decide content on a whim, miss a few marks, then return to a concept that is similar to it with a future pack, maybe with recycled gameplay mechanics.
I just play a pack like Dine Out and really question why it had to be its own 20 dollar pack over throwing it in a pack like City Living or Get Together, both of which feel scarce on content. I look at TS2, and see an expansion pack like Nightlife, which includes a downtown/city district sub-hood, group system, fun dating system, cars, clubs, cafes, karaoke, restaurants, turn-ons and turn-offs, inventories, new aspirations, tons of new interactions, new build mode features, and so much more for a flat price of, back then, 35-40 dollars.
With Get Together, we got a fraction of that for 40 dollars, and have to pay EXTRA for content they split into their own packs for the reason of 'wanting to detail features'. You mean to tell me you need to make certain features their own, expensive packs YEARS after expansions used to include everything well-designed for one price? TS2 really was the best years of this franchise. So many innovations in life simulation, and we actually got content in our packs.
Not only does it mean we have to pay almost double the price for the content, it also means we have to wait double the amount of time to get it. At this point in time in TS2 and TS3 we had 8 EPs out, including all of the fan favorite ones (like Seasons and University, which we still will have to wait at least 2 more years to have both). It's kind of ridiculous actually. I think that TS4 having a much larger lifespan than previous games is such a bad idea, because people eventually will get tired of waiting for their favorite packs/content to come. Many have returned to previous games because of this, while others take long pauses until the next EP comes out.
But since I haven't paid the full whack for either I am just speculating. I like both the EPs I have but I may be more positive about them because I didn't pay full price? I don't know.
As for paying a higher price, that's called inflation. It happens over years unfortunately. We have no control over that because costs get passed down to the customer. But there are a lot of sales on with the EPs in Sims and that's a good thing. I paid full price for all of the TS2 games as and when they came out and regretted a few, like Pets. Now, because I only buy in the sales, I have time to explore a pack properly and I feel that means I get the most out of it. So maybe buying in sales is actually better in other ways than just cost.
I am guilty of this, actually, because I want university, but it would be nice to have totally different EPs sometimes for the Sims instead of just remade content from the past games. I mean, I love seasons too, but I also feel like one of the reasons people feel resentful about the price paid is that it's generally paying a higher price for the same features and then everyone compares the pack to TS2 or TS3 instead of looking at it on its own merits in the game.
Also if we get Seasons I will have to pay proper attention to roofing. And I hate roofing houses, as playing the house means such things are never visible. Yes, I am lazy.
The only thing I've paid full price for is the Toddler stuff pack.
I purchased cats and dogs for $20