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Bring back deluxe/launch versions
MichelleW
Posts: 665 Member
This is meant to be constructive and I know not everyone will agree but...
I think they should bring back bonus content for people who purchase expansion packs at launch. Sims 3 did something similar to this. The last few packs have felt like they lacked content to the extent that they were not much more than game packs. Expansion packs cost twice as much as game packs so they should have at least twice the content. I also think they should impact the overall game experience. I can't help but wonder if the reason we aren't seeing as much content is because historically expansion packs go on sale for 25-50% off after 3 to 6 months. People know they can wait and get expansion packs for the same amount as a gamepack. I often wait myself. I think the sims team should consider doing a deluxe version of expansion packs and make it only available for 60 days post launch and include more content. I want content rich packs and I would be willing to purchase more frequently at launch if it meant I got more content. For example Snowy Escape could have included a bonus small world to have more places to ski, snowboard, and rock climb. Or maybe a tea set and futon 😬. Eco living could have included additional green and industrial build/buy items. University could have included an additional college location. I see people complaining all the time about the lack of content in expansion packs. I feel like this would be a great way to increase launch sales and satisfy those looking for more content in the packs.
I think they should bring back bonus content for people who purchase expansion packs at launch. Sims 3 did something similar to this. The last few packs have felt like they lacked content to the extent that they were not much more than game packs. Expansion packs cost twice as much as game packs so they should have at least twice the content. I also think they should impact the overall game experience. I can't help but wonder if the reason we aren't seeing as much content is because historically expansion packs go on sale for 25-50% off after 3 to 6 months. People know they can wait and get expansion packs for the same amount as a gamepack. I often wait myself. I think the sims team should consider doing a deluxe version of expansion packs and make it only available for 60 days post launch and include more content. I want content rich packs and I would be willing to purchase more frequently at launch if it meant I got more content. For example Snowy Escape could have included a bonus small world to have more places to ski, snowboard, and rock climb. Or maybe a tea set and futon 😬. Eco living could have included additional green and industrial build/buy items. University could have included an additional college location. I see people complaining all the time about the lack of content in expansion packs. I feel like this would be a great way to increase launch sales and satisfy those looking for more content in the packs.
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Comments
I think they just need to make the packs themselves better. Offering bonus content for preordering won’t change that.
The Sims is already sold piece by piece for a large sum of money, be it packs or Sims 3 store, but not only would this lock people out of content forever but who is to say that the special edition will not cost more? The suggestion here does not call for it, but remember the Sims 4 launch editions as well as the former limited editions. I paid the top tier price for the base game and still got less content than the base games of the past, even with the hats, sound track, and tiki bar.
Quite frankly, if 4 was not making money, they would not keep making packs. Properly functioning businesses rarely throw good money after bad. Sale or no sale, fewer production hours and less content for comparable prices equals more profit. Charging more and making more does necessarily equate to making more content rich packs. Extra profit does not directly flow into their budget for their next endeavors. It is collected, controlled, and regulated by a larger entity.
So, no, I do not think this is a good idea. I would be largely unaffected by the OP suggestion alone, but I do not believe it would improve the packs as suggested. I also believe it would just become another way to justify the lacking content and make more univested profit. If 4 needs more money, it will make more packs. Then it will probably move on to 5 and start all over again. If it was a direct correlation of needing more money for more content, then why not directly raise the pack prices for the new packs with greater content? It is a much much direct and transparent method for a funding problem.
As for the limited content from 3 I already purchased, I no longer have access to it because of the time limit. So even the purchaser can be excluded from systems like that with time.
I just looked this up to see if it was true. Best Buy has it for $20. That is so frustrating. I'm never buying another pack at full price. That's ridiculous. I feel like I got got.
No offense, but you started this thread under the premise of paying more for packs/the launch prices in the hopes of getting more content. Did you not only do what you wanted others to do? The only difference being something like the animal hats or the tiki bar for the consolation of $5-$20 lost compared to the sale price.
In all seriousness, I 100% believe it is just because of Black Friday that it was on sale this quickly. Otherwise Origin would do it, too.
I don't understand the question "Did you not only do what you wanted others to do?"
I said in the original post that I often wait myself to purchase packs to get them at a discount.
I am willing to pay $40. I did pay $40. But there is no incentive for me to pay $40 when I can wait a few months, or a week apparently, and get it for $20 or $30. My point is I want a reason to pay full price and I want a content rich pack. I feel like they are giving us less content knowing that they are going to sell the packs for $20 or $30 3 months after launch. So instead of limiting content, give more content to those that are willing to pay full price at launch.
Okay, that makes a little more sense. It sounded to me that your original thought was that they were not making enough money so they had to do something to convince people to pay the launch prices.
Also, I do agree that the packs feel empty in comparison to old ones. In the beginning we were told a lot (now, too, occasionally) that it was due to Sims 4's limitations. I have always felt this was a large part of it, plus that the obvious less content for same price equals more profit was too difficult to ignore.
Anyway, they could just stop putting it on sale, right? I doubt they would ever lose money on it and if it was their goal to make enough to equate to a sale price I doubt there would really be a way to fix it.
I personally wait until it's half off for 90% of the content. Because that's the cost I feel makes what I get worth it.
I bought Vampires at full price for 2 reasons. First was that it seemed really well done, especially compared to vampires in Sims 2 and Sims 3. Second they had just added toddlers to the game and they were really well done and not just added to the game with just the bare minimum. Sims 4 toddlers are the best in the series. I likely would have bought Vampires at full price even without the toddlers being added, it just may not have been right then.
A single item isn't going to make me pay more right at launch. For an EP, it would have to be stuff totaling a worth of $20. AKA: it would have to be content that would make it worth paying full price for. And there would be outrage at basically an entire EP's (or SP's or GP's for those packs) worth of content being locked up in buying it right at launch for full price.
If EA upped their game and started really fleshing out the packs, being better at working out the bugs (and communicating about the bugs that are difficult to fix so players aren't left in the dark about where a bug sits in the priority list on EA's side), and other things like that, I would have no problem paying full price at launch and potentially pre-ordering if they started being consistently good again.
But a special hot tub or a special community lot or a special outfit isn't enough to get me to buy a pack at full price at launch when there's not that much content in the EP and the bugs that inevitably take ages to fix that should have been easily discovered in QA.
Discounting the latest pack less than 2 weeks after release feels like a slap in the face. The new expectation seems to be that the pack will be discounted so just wait. Unless something changes I have bought my last full price pack.
They should add that value by putting the content into the actual pack. Not tie it behind buying it at launch.
Why argue for something that doesn't solve the problem you have?
Anything tied to at launch can at most be an outfit, an object, or a lot. It can't add anything of substance. Because that would be a PR disaster to lock a meaningful amount of content behind buying a pack at launch. They can't put $20 worth of content behind a "buy at launch" campaign for a $40 EP. That would be disastrous.
What would solve your problem is EA actually caring about the product they put out and allow for the team to put in the content that would be worth the full price or lowering the full price of the packs. Even if you buy the pack 5 years from now.
Let's see if we can get them to see this for The Sims 5. It may be too late to do this for The Sims 4, .... unless they can retroactively offer rewards. Actually, maybe if EA has the purchase data, let's get this idea to them to do just that for those who've already purchased The Sims 4 packs at release.
Mind you, I haven't bought any packs at release — lol — but I would support it for any fellow player who has.
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I would only support this if the items in the pack itself were worth the full price of the pack. The pack needs to be able to stand on its own for full price. Not bribe completionists into buying it full price just to get one item or lot.
Which currently, Sims 4 does not do - it sits at worth about half price for most packs. And I won't be holding my breath for Sims 5.