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Outside Perspectives on Problems with the Sims Games
Calico45
Posts: 2,038 Member
I always find it very interesting to hear perspectives about problems with the Sims franchise from sources that consider themselves outside the community and the players. Usually when I see discussions about the games, like here on the forums, it is people very close to the issues who are quite nuanced with the details. However, sometimes these same issues are brought up by larger audiences in games media and sometimes random people in general.
From what I understand, the consensus seems to view the Sims as a very predatory game (due to its large quantities of DLC and their pricing) targeted at young women and casual players in particular. As well as a full fledged live service future being inevitable, something I find rather uncomfortable just because of how much I do not want it to happen.
Obviously those closer to the pulse will know the issues the best, but sometimes we can be bogged down in the details which is why I like thinking about these broader opinions even if they make me somewhat uncomfortable. Some of them do not seem all that different than ones echoed here in the forums.
So what are your experiences with such outside perspectives? What are they? Do you agree with them? Disagree with them? Find nothing to gain from them?
Sometimes the Sims feels very isolated from other games that I play and sometimes it doesn't, so it makes me curious what others experience in this regard.
From what I understand, the consensus seems to view the Sims as a very predatory game (due to its large quantities of DLC and their pricing) targeted at young women and casual players in particular. As well as a full fledged live service future being inevitable, something I find rather uncomfortable just because of how much I do not want it to happen.
Obviously those closer to the pulse will know the issues the best, but sometimes we can be bogged down in the details which is why I like thinking about these broader opinions even if they make me somewhat uncomfortable. Some of them do not seem all that different than ones echoed here in the forums.
So what are your experiences with such outside perspectives? What are they? Do you agree with them? Disagree with them? Find nothing to gain from them?
Sometimes the Sims feels very isolated from other games that I play and sometimes it doesn't, so it makes me curious what others experience in this regard.
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I play and watch other games on twitch and follow a fair bit of gaming news on twitter... the general impression I'm getting that people feel about the sims is no different from how people view EA in general. And that is that they are focused on making money. They are often referencing other games from EA and how expensive they are. It's not uncommon when sims is shown people write "cash grab" or "hundreds of DLC". They also like to reference the old sims games because they probably played them or watched people play them on Youtube.
A lot people also wonder when the sims5 will be released and lot of gaming news accounts that I follow don't mention the sims, ever. It's old news.
I like to tweet about games but I have a hard time tweeting about the sims because it feels like they are living in their own bubble, it doesn't feel like there are many other simmers that tweet and play other games, which I don't think it's true, they just don't tweet much about them.
I think it would be easier if the sims twitter and other people from the community was not so much excited over everything but instead talked about the sims for what it is and don't say "this is the best pack ever" just because they see a bunny in a dress.
Unfortunately there are no people like that left, except maybe Carl from the Carl's Sims Guides, and maybe also James Turner. LGR doesn't really do much sims anymore.
Today, The Sims games are considered a niche market for teenage girls to play dress up and do a few mean girl actions. (The ads a few years ago)
In the last few years chatter among those not on Twitter and or Reddit etc, is it's the LBGTQ game. Almost exclusively. I really don't want that statement to offend anyone, but it is what people say when someone mentions The Sims 4.
Among professionals like doctors and lawyers etc. not many people are going to tell them they play The Sims anymore. It's no longer considered a creative outlet or a healthy hobby in smaller circles of professionals. It's not something people put on their resume as a hobby.
It is also considered very childish, unlike WOW or something where many professionals and older people play for the competition aspects in their spare time or other type hard hitting games full of teams and rivals. Those games though played by all ages are full of middle aged men and not ashamed of their gaming prowess.
The Sims series has become very select in what type of vibe it gives and it's no longer as much mainstream as before because though it strives to be 'inclusive' and diverse it is very much considered a game for one community and not for all.
ETA: If one googles character creation etc. or skins or whatever, they usually are directed to IMVU...something I see happening to The Sims series more and more. It's no longer a game about life but identity and perfect skin and features.
That is what I hear.
I bought Sims 2 in 2007, I used to tell people I played it and most people knew what I was talking about or I play that too.
Sims 4 I have to explain and there’s few people who I know play it.
I think that's because you never see Sims games on game stores shelves anymore. I remember large posters and shelves full of Sims 1, 2 and 3 in my high street stores but the Base game for the latest was so dire that people read the reports and didn't even start playing it. I also think a great many people stopped buying after completing Sims 2. I've met many people who've done that.
I think we need to bring back Spin the Bottle, it's cheaper. :P
Sims 4 caters to only free love, LBGTQ, green peace & animal zealots. While leaving out cultural faiths/beliefs, one-couple only love & celebates. I call that prejudice. We as a human race are all different with different lifestyles, beliefs, non-beliefs & so forth. It should never be dictated to a particular types only. Whatever happened to free-will & human rights? It's very sad that in this day & age there's still prejudice.
Buying online doesn’t give the same buzz.
I would like to not stigmatize it as "just a dollhouse game". People play what they want to play and have fun. If anything on here and in experience I've learned that it's not all about stereotypes. I get the comments about all of the expansions but they're all choices and there are various sales. Additionally, there are a lot of games out there that are very much about "pay to play".
Comments to improve the game or fit different playstyles are cool but criticizing the game concept as a whole is silly. I could do that about a lot of games out there but I won't.
Idk but I never knew the sims existed until about 2017. Which is unfortunate because it was a game I always wanted but I thought no one thought to make a game like it lol. And I never seen sims advertisements, not even on YouTube.
I compare other games.
I’ve played Call of Duty once or twice but never got into it like some.
The PC games I played constantly, that had more than one series were Sims, Star Trek and Harry Potter.
Star Trek Armada had two games. Star Trek Armada 2 had a less engaging storyline and the cut scenes were odd. 1 had the lore whereas 2 had the graphics, longer missions and more ships.
Harry Potter games. I played HP3 and HP4. 3 was brilliant, I still play that occasionally. HP3 you could do the missions but also choose to explore the grounds.
HP4 although was more smoother it was the worst. I gave HP4 away in the end. There was a section you had to go along a castle embattlemet zapping weird pumpkin dudes which still annoys me to this day. 😫😩😫😩😫😩😫.
I do compare because each versions has positive and negative things. That’s how I know if I like something or not. The concept matters to me as it’s the core of what I’m playing and spending money on.
You’re right I never saw advertisements either. Fortunately I signed up for newsletters and bookmarked websites.
Although the day I got my Sims 4 disc in 2014 and installed it, I thought there was an error. No swimming pool tools!
Then I read the book that came with it and there wasn’t any swimming pools. 🤦🏼♂️😭.
Thankfully they patched them in a few months later.
Yeah the launch version of sims 4 seemed to be so much different from how it is now. I hope sims 5 gets a better launch.
He also thinks the Sims needs direct competition. Which I agree with. In the genres he plays he has several different options for games. Life simulators are slim pickins. We have some in the works but as of now nothing really competes with the Sims.
I guess TS4 isn't a life simulator since games like Stardew Valley was in the list.. and or any other type game or even pc game doesn't mention TS4 when searching..but will list TS3. ...lol. Maxis has a lot of work to do, if they want people to believe it's a life simulator and not a DLC game for hire. Especially when it doesn't even pop up as a pc life simulator game anymore, but TS3 will.
I got similar results. I typed ‘life simulation pc games’.
There was a few I hadn’t heard of:
Simsville.
Sim Life.
Two Point Hospital.
My Time at Portia.
I also understand why people are mentioning Stardew Valley to Cottage Living so it was good to have a look.
One is surprised to learn just how large the Sims community is around Sims 4. This is in games media, so one at least had played the Sims 4 at launch and dismissed as a sequel with less content than the prequel (though the genres never really matched tastes, either, so always outside the community). Everything lined up with my first post: predatory, targeted, etc. One even adds that the only way to go is live service with the Sims.
It was really interesting to listen to, just from the perspective of how truly... Not special the Sims 4 was to them. It was never forgotten, just brushed aside as something not worth remembering. Something with a presumably darker future ahead, or at least that is how I interpreted it.
I get a similar sense at large. There definitely are people unaware of the Sims, but it pops up in all sorts of places I do not expect it. I loved Pet Raiser Sims growing up, but very few are made anymore. I was trying to find a list and do you know what was on the the top? C&D. I was somewhat offended, but it was a ramshackle list because of how few current ones there really are. It makes me wonder if the Sims was largely dismissed by anyone that has been close, but not converted into a community member.
You don't see any PC games in stores any longer. A couple of days ago I made a rare visit to one of the largest shopping malls in my area looking for shirts. It has had a game store since the beginning, one that I used to visit fairly frequently back in the day. Went in out of curiosity, and not one PC game, nothing but console. Same goes for any type of store that sells computer games/software. I also remember the days when TS1, 2 & 3 were jamming the shelves, displayed on posters, and were in every gaming magazine out there. I even remember that those games could still be found in stores after they went out of production. No more. It's like an era ended. From what I've seen and read, Cinebar is spot on about how the game is currently viewed.
Lol intersting!! Welcome to the world of sims!!🤭🤭 honestly I always wanted a game like this as a child. Sims series is a dream come true.
It's definitely an isolated community. I don't know ANYONE outside of my tiny tiny circle who knows about the game. And the few people that saw ne playing was like it's so booooooooorrrrrrrriinnggg how do you play this?!! How can you never get tired of clicking over and over?🤣🤣🤣
I'm like let me be at peace😌
Meanwhile those same people play 400 different versions of the same type of shooter games where all they do is run, shoot, jump, crouch, duck, shoot, swing, punch, kick, shoot, grab an item, shoot, upgrade their weapon, shoot, talk to some NPC for information, run, jump, punch, crouch, swing, jump, run, shoot some more...... click click clickety click pew pew click click..... for 12 hours straight.
[insert slap forehead-of-irony here]
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." ~ Mark Twain
While this is definitely a fair criticism of someone throwing stones while living in a glass house, this personally sounds like someone that doesn't play games. I think it is also a more charitable position to take since it can be difficult for people to understand the enjoyment derived from clicking a mouse if they have never done it themselves. Though I might be wrong, since this happened to someone else only (s)he can say.
But this kind of hypocrisy absolutely does exist. My own brother, a man that loved to watch me plays the Sims in his wee youth, and has played some himself has gone through several stages of gaming elitism through the years. As if what and how anyone else plays plays a game affects you. (Though I think real world constraints and age have been taming that mindset.)
The only thing really mitigating I can offer is pacing. 400 hues of shooter probably has a far different sense of pacing, and most definitely level of competitiveness, that could make the Sims one of the last thing these type of players want to play.
So what else did she find important to share with non-gamers? The fact that the expansion makes the sims’ life harder due to needy animals and that cooking now requires ingredients (yes, it is an optional lot challenge, but that would have went too much into detail for a feel good article).
She said that the pack is on par with the ones before, because the number of objects is about the same and even wrote down the exact numbers. Basing a pack’s worth on the number of included CAS and Build/Buy items is something I’ve seen in the community, too.
Then there was the obligatory minor criticism that such five minute “game tests” tend to include. The author choose to use the fact that swatches (she didn’t use that term) once again don’t match the base game ones.
Finally the author mentioned that the pack was in line with the current Cottagecore trend on Instagram, again assuming that her audience was familiar with the platform (I’m not, but I’m probably in the minority in this regard).
…did I just write a review of a review? In any case, I found it interesting to see how a journalist (and probably also a gamer) chose to approach the topic for a very broad audience.
Meanwhile here I sit, afraid to update my game and to purchase Cottage Living, because of the thousands of households bloat bug and the Finchwick fair problems.
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/17959481#Comment_17959481