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"If you don't like it, don't buy it"
ShuffleJ
Posts: 273 Member
I've been playing Sims for 12 years. I've lost count how much money I've spent on expansions, base games, store content, stuff packs, etc. Over the last year, I've been following the forums both here and on Facebook lamenting Sims 4 and everything that's wrong with it. People are unhappy and they're vocalizing it. Sims 4 is not a perfect game by any means. I think even avid fans can admit that a good deal is missing from the base game and while momentarily fun, the expansions are also lacking. At this point, it's all been said so I won't bore you with MY list of what's wrong with the game. You get it. Some people LOVE it, some people HATE it, some people are willing to stick it out and give it a chance. I'm the latter. I'm sticking it out because I've invested time, money, and love into The Sims. I feel like everyone deserves a second chance, but my patience is running thin.
That all said, one of the more inconsiderate comments I've come across in these discussions again and again is: "If you don't like it, don't buy it". It's not that simple. Sims isn't just a game for me. It's been my salvation. It's been a way for me to get out of the real world for a minute and play with my imagination. In the last 10 years I've moved 4 times, lost my father, 3 grandparents, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, and 2 beloved cats. I've started a new career, my mother had brain surgery, my sister got divorced, and my brother got into some trouble with the law (after living with me for a year). Needless to say, it's been rough. How do I turn my back on the one constant in my life? How do I turn my back on the characters I've created, whose little lives have brought me so much joy? Maybe Sims isn't that way for you, but it's that way for a lot of people. It's a break from the poop storm of life.
When Maxis created The Sims, they made an unspoken promise to create a game people would love. Obviously I don't speak for EVERYONE, but a vast majority have made their opinions heard. Video game companies have an obligation to produce a quality sequel that exceeds it's predecessors. When this promise is broken, there is a brief window of opportunity where forgiveness is granted, but it won't stay open forever. In this time, neither EA nor Maxis have done a very good job of communicating their intentions. Most people don't have time to read the forums or follow every guru on Twitter. Official statements have never really been made. Apologies come in the form of free dishwashers, ghosts, and pools. While these are nice little gifts, it's like your spouse cheating on you and then giving you flowers. Is that it? Really? We can work on this problem if we address the issues. I will listen to EA/Maxis and I will understand when they tell me they just can't make toddlers and never will. Yet, they haven't. It's not the toddlers, it's the lack of communication in a sea of disgruntled consumers. Rather than address our concerns, they leave us to silence. Silence leads to confusion, confusion leads to anger. We are shouting into the darkness: IS ANYONE LISTENING?
Don't buy The Sims? I've had a relationship with the Sims longer than I've had with my husband. Everyone here has the choice to like it or lump it. I desperately want to like it. No, I want to love it. I want to feel what I felt when I first started up Sims 3, the first time snow fell on my little house in Sunset Valley, when I taught Shuffle Jr. to talk and walk, when the maid stole my ice cream, or that perfect sadness when the family pet died - Death threw the stick and Rover scampered off to doggie heaven. It was a beautiful, touching moment. Where are those moments? The Sims lived in a universe that was real, unreal, hilarious, touching, and managed to be totally unscripted. It was the world I created. I decided how to proceed in my careers. I decided to live off the fat of the land and raise horses. People say "be patient'. Is a year not long enough? If a product isn't amazing on day one, every company including EA/Maxis have a responsibility to make it better. Instead, they threw freebies out like a bank robber throwing cash into a crowd as a distraction. This is my opinion, but I think a lot of people share it. We Simmers are a diverse and creative group. We are passionate about the things we love so it's heartbreaking when the object of our affection appears to have seen better days.
The Sims franchise is (at it's very basic level) a business run by a company that is thinking about it's bottom line rather than it's fan base. It is, after all is said and done, a business. Like Coca Cola, they did very well with their offshoots, but one product didn't sell very well: New Coke - which totally replaced original Coke. After months of clamoring from consumers, they brought back Classic Coke and New Coke eventually disappeared. Maxis/EA are basically telling us that we need to love New Coke 'cause that's all there is. They want me to buy an imperfect product, which I find hard to swallow. If you love the Sims, you'll buy whatever drivel they put out. It can't be like that. I demand a better product, a better formula. I can't sit back and watch the franchise I love dwindle away into nothing. I'm not alone. The outcries have been deafening, but perhaps not to those who actually have the power to do anything. Sadly, I will eventually lose hope. When that's gone, what's left? A sour taste in my mouth at the loss of such massive potential. Right now, I'm watching The Sims drown and there's nothing I can do about it.
Now, this isn't to say Sims 4 is the worst game ever. It's not. It's got some exceptional parts, but it's also got some glaring omissions. What happened between Sims 3 and Sims 4 that ended up giving us a game that feels recycled and cheap? Even some of the more steadfast YouTube Simmers can't wrap their heads around it. Either way, it doesn't matter. I don't care why it broke, I just know it's broke. Does EA/Maxis want to quiet the din? Do they really want fans to stop ranting? Make official statements. Keep us in the loop. Change what needs to be changed. Talk to us! Use our feedback. I have 12 years experience playing Sims. This makes me an expert in my field and I am just one of many. We know your product better than anyone. Why won't you listen? And if you are listening, why can't you look us in the eye when you do?
That all said, one of the more inconsiderate comments I've come across in these discussions again and again is: "If you don't like it, don't buy it". It's not that simple. Sims isn't just a game for me. It's been my salvation. It's been a way for me to get out of the real world for a minute and play with my imagination. In the last 10 years I've moved 4 times, lost my father, 3 grandparents, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, and 2 beloved cats. I've started a new career, my mother had brain surgery, my sister got divorced, and my brother got into some trouble with the law (after living with me for a year). Needless to say, it's been rough. How do I turn my back on the one constant in my life? How do I turn my back on the characters I've created, whose little lives have brought me so much joy? Maybe Sims isn't that way for you, but it's that way for a lot of people. It's a break from the poop storm of life.
When Maxis created The Sims, they made an unspoken promise to create a game people would love. Obviously I don't speak for EVERYONE, but a vast majority have made their opinions heard. Video game companies have an obligation to produce a quality sequel that exceeds it's predecessors. When this promise is broken, there is a brief window of opportunity where forgiveness is granted, but it won't stay open forever. In this time, neither EA nor Maxis have done a very good job of communicating their intentions. Most people don't have time to read the forums or follow every guru on Twitter. Official statements have never really been made. Apologies come in the form of free dishwashers, ghosts, and pools. While these are nice little gifts, it's like your spouse cheating on you and then giving you flowers. Is that it? Really? We can work on this problem if we address the issues. I will listen to EA/Maxis and I will understand when they tell me they just can't make toddlers and never will. Yet, they haven't. It's not the toddlers, it's the lack of communication in a sea of disgruntled consumers. Rather than address our concerns, they leave us to silence. Silence leads to confusion, confusion leads to anger. We are shouting into the darkness: IS ANYONE LISTENING?
Don't buy The Sims? I've had a relationship with the Sims longer than I've had with my husband. Everyone here has the choice to like it or lump it. I desperately want to like it. No, I want to love it. I want to feel what I felt when I first started up Sims 3, the first time snow fell on my little house in Sunset Valley, when I taught Shuffle Jr. to talk and walk, when the maid stole my ice cream, or that perfect sadness when the family pet died - Death threw the stick and Rover scampered off to doggie heaven. It was a beautiful, touching moment. Where are those moments? The Sims lived in a universe that was real, unreal, hilarious, touching, and managed to be totally unscripted. It was the world I created. I decided how to proceed in my careers. I decided to live off the fat of the land and raise horses. People say "be patient'. Is a year not long enough? If a product isn't amazing on day one, every company including EA/Maxis have a responsibility to make it better. Instead, they threw freebies out like a bank robber throwing cash into a crowd as a distraction. This is my opinion, but I think a lot of people share it. We Simmers are a diverse and creative group. We are passionate about the things we love so it's heartbreaking when the object of our affection appears to have seen better days.
The Sims franchise is (at it's very basic level) a business run by a company that is thinking about it's bottom line rather than it's fan base. It is, after all is said and done, a business. Like Coca Cola, they did very well with their offshoots, but one product didn't sell very well: New Coke - which totally replaced original Coke. After months of clamoring from consumers, they brought back Classic Coke and New Coke eventually disappeared. Maxis/EA are basically telling us that we need to love New Coke 'cause that's all there is. They want me to buy an imperfect product, which I find hard to swallow. If you love the Sims, you'll buy whatever drivel they put out. It can't be like that. I demand a better product, a better formula. I can't sit back and watch the franchise I love dwindle away into nothing. I'm not alone. The outcries have been deafening, but perhaps not to those who actually have the power to do anything. Sadly, I will eventually lose hope. When that's gone, what's left? A sour taste in my mouth at the loss of such massive potential. Right now, I'm watching The Sims drown and there's nothing I can do about it.
Now, this isn't to say Sims 4 is the worst game ever. It's not. It's got some exceptional parts, but it's also got some glaring omissions. What happened between Sims 3 and Sims 4 that ended up giving us a game that feels recycled and cheap? Even some of the more steadfast YouTube Simmers can't wrap their heads around it. Either way, it doesn't matter. I don't care why it broke, I just know it's broke. Does EA/Maxis want to quiet the din? Do they really want fans to stop ranting? Make official statements. Keep us in the loop. Change what needs to be changed. Talk to us! Use our feedback. I have 12 years experience playing Sims. This makes me an expert in my field and I am just one of many. We know your product better than anyone. Why won't you listen? And if you are listening, why can't you look us in the eye when you do?
167
Comments
This is exactly how I feel.
This silence from them is equivalent to not listening and its taken its toll on the fan base. Maxis wants things to change? They want people to love their game? Then change this formula of yours because so its not working.
It seems like they are pressing forward sticking to this ill conceived secret agenda of theirs all the while scratching their heads because they don't get why the fans are reacting as they are.
In reality they know what we want and don't want but just don't care. They've become jaded or perhaps their past success has hindered them and are no longer humble to the realization that just as fast as you became successful you can become a failure.
Here's an excerpt from an interview with Tim Latourneau:
VB: From a business view, I think of the Sims as an annuity business. From the purely business view, it is an example of milking a franchise for all that it is worth. Not many franchises would justify that. From a business view, The Sims seems to represent the best and the worst of games.
TL: As developers, we have always lived by the motto that we earn the right to make the next one. We can’t ever feel like we are just in a routine. We have to earn the right to make the next one. We have to create the desire for the consumer to come back. We stay humble. How do we deliver a quality experience for fans that makes them want to come back. We don’t take our success for granted.
If only they had retained this attitude.
Here's the link tot he article.
venturebeat.com/2010/02/03/interview-with-tim-letourneau-on-10-years-of-making-the-sims/
There is so called Origin great game guarantee option. You buy a game, you try it, don't like it, you get refund. Works with Sims 4 too.
The rest you mention is a result of two things.
The first one is lack of competition. There is no other life sim of this scale out there. The good news is that Paradox is preparing a life sim of their own and all eyes from disappointed simmers are already on it.
The second one is that someway in it's business Electronic Arts decided they won't produce works of art any more. Producing junk is cheap and there are always masses who'll buy it. It didn't start with Sims 4, Sims 4 is only the result of that phylosophy.
EA doesn't need us who want a quality product. Sooner or later we get so much frustrated with Sims 4, we slip, break TOS, and get banned from this board.
EA needs only those who'll praise. Those who won't criticize anything. Those who refuse to admit they're disappointed with the direction Sims 4 is going. Those who'll buy any single thing EA makes without any question asked.
But in the end, it's not EA who needs to change. They run a business. They make and sell something.
It's us who need to change. Not by suddenly becoming nitpicking crybabies every single one of us. But by refusing to buy garbage. If EA loses the audience who buys junk, they'll make sure next time they offer a quality product instead of keeping some people on their payroll to create artificial hype on forums and social networks over overpriced garbage.
For further reference, check outside sources what happened with DA2 and what's DA:I a result of.
@Joxer I agree with everything you said. EA will continue in this direction as long as we allow it. I've been saying that ever since S3 came out and opened their online store for it.
Regardless. Do you have a link to the info on this other game you speak of? I'd appreciate a pm with it if you have one.
Regards.
This is really a perfect example and comparison. The Sims 4 is like the DA2 of The Sims franchise.
Ditto!!
Marvellous post, OP. Agreed 100%
--T
This is exactly how I feel, @ShuffleJ. Thank you for posting it.
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--T
Thank you. So much for that then. *siiiiiiiigh*
--T
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I'm sorry to hear about all of your troubles in life, and I can understand and appreciate using video games as a sort of escape from that.
However, the only way to get through to a company like this is to vote with your wallet. I know you don't want to hear that but it's true.
I'll just continue to roll my eyes and hit ignore on the kids who write things like"don't like it, don't buy it". I got no time for childish behavior.
I really wish people understood this. I recently got into a really long, heated discussion with people on the official Sims facebook page when they announced Get Together. I tried explaining how frustrated family-Sim players are and how we're constantly overlooked, ignored and silenced. Those who were trying to defend EA said "just be patient!" Is a year truly not long enough, especially when we've been screaming out for toddlers since before the base game was even released? I also had people arguing "coding is hard, you try doing it and make your own game!" That's not the point. Coding is the job of the game developers. That. Is. THEIR. JOB. My job as a consumer is to critique what is presented to me and if the developer is lucky enough, purchase the game. And if coding is apparently 'too difficult' for them then they need to fire everyone on the Sims team and hire people who are competent enough and willing to listen to a vast majority of their fan base. It's all good and easy to tell us to shut up and be patient when you're not the one being constantly ignored.
Not buying is always an option, but has it really come to that? I'm sort of hoping they'll finally get the message and do some of the hard work. I also know the team is working hard and there's all kinds of red tape to wade through. It's probably not one specific person's fault and I've heard things about EA as a company. Still, it's not about which gurus work the hardest: Even at the lowest level, it's still a business that should listen to it's customers, happy or unhappy. Like my Coca Cola reference: People complained, they fixed the problem. That's really all I'm asking for. At the very least better communication; which isn't asking for much.
> Very well said. Shufflej. I'm not far behind you, I've got ten years under my belt playing Sims. I began with Sims2 and have a love-hate relationship with Sims3. I'm still trying to give TS4 the chance to improve. Sadly, I played Sims3 all the way through, waiting. I never got back what I was missing from it. I'm worried the same thing will happen with this new iteration. But, I'm not sure I could have put it quite as eloquently as you did. Thank you!
I feel exactly the same. I've been playing since TS1 and TS3 was a big let-down. I really don't want TS4 to go down the same path.