@Arletta I never said EA or the dev team are lazy And yes, I'm sorry, most companies are only in whatever it is they're in for the money. You know, as long as I'm not personally attacking anyone (and, to me, an organization isn't a person, and there's plenty of things organizations do that are very well worthy of being attacked every now and then), I feel I should be allowed to have an opinion on a forum even if that opinion isn't super popular or very critical. I don't blame any particular Guru for what's happening with TS4, and I certainly don't expect them to give me answers they aren't allowed to give me anyway. I just openly wonder about why EA deals with this stuff the way it does, and if anything, I consider "Maxis" & the current TS employees the victims of EA business decisions rather than the driving forces behind them. I believe that if some of these gurus could just choose to work on and/or announce toddlers (or anything else for that matter, but since the discussion apparently keeps stuck on them) asap to make us happy, many of them probably would. And yeah, in the end, it soothes my nerves to know that we're not the only community who feels let down by EA's business & communication practices. I don't know how sharing that's personally insulting to anyone, but if it is, I apologize. Humor, and occasionally cynicism, are just part of the way I deal with things. That doesn't mean I intend to insult you, Drake, or anyone else. And afaik, none of you are named EA anyway. But to not be allowed to do that on a forum in the 21st century? Hm hm.
Dragged it out of nowhere. I never said it was what you said, and you don't need to apologise to me. It's mod speak for think before you speak, basically. I had a modding job where you weren't allowed to insult staff period. That included devs and/or the company (if two people can make a company), so there's a little understanding of both points of view.
Yeah, I do think before I speak. Sometimes I just say what I have on my mind anyway, even if it's a little provocative. And saying that EA has a history of disappointing customers of very different franchises in very similar ways, shouldn't be considered insulting. Because just like us, these consumers didn't make that up. Their disappointment shouldn't be an insult to EA: it should motivate them to do better.
9/2/2014
"Honey, I there a leak in the basement, could you check on that, please?"
3/31/15
"Honey, remember that leak in the basement, it's getting worse. Have you checked on it yet?"
12/18/15
"Honey, you really need to fix that leak in the basement, it's really bad! Could you please check on it? Now?"
6/7/16 - Sitting knee deep in water
"Honey, remember the leak in the basement that I've been telling you about? Could you please kindly fix it? Honey? Honey?"
I don't think being nice and calm is a realistic expectation for customers at this time.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
I rarely look at SimsVIP. It is one-sided. I have heard of people being prebanned on there for just trying to join. She can do whatever she wants with her site, but I do not have to subscibe to it. I would probably be prebanned anyway. I am not exactly a fangirl.
Jup, I am one of the blocked people. Being critical about them or the game will get you banned. That's just how it is.
That's crazy! I'm actually seeing more and more people being critical over there now and on other sites. They can't block everybody. It wasn't like this a year ago... That's how I know people are becoming very unsatisfied.
They blocked me because I voiced my opinion about how they are always so ''blinded'' and one sided. I never see them being critical about anything. Everything is bright and shiny.
They couldn't handle it, so they blocked me for spreading false rumors or false accusations.
Well, don't give a plumbob.
Oh okay. Well, I'm sure we know why that happened. They don't want to burn their bridges.
That's what I said too. Just like all the events, they are biased since they get invited to events, get hands ons and everything. They are the so called ''Yibsims'' If they would say that this game isn't good and needs more work and blabla, they will never get an invite again.
That's the problem with ''influencers'' and the Yibsim stuff. They aren't all 100% truthful. They are making a living because of this game, if they start being critical and start ''acting up'' their business is at risk........
The most honest responses you'll get from ordinary people who just play the game and have nothing to do with fansites or freebies.
But well, that's my opinion ofcourse. I still think it's plum. Why don't they just invite random people to such hands on events and creators camps? Doesn't matter, everyone will read their reports too, because of info, not because it's a Yibsim.
How do you know they aren't 100% truthful? Do you have evidence of their actual opinions? If you don't have actual evidence, that's a pretty serious accusation to be making.
You're right, you don't. But there's no way of telling they are either. So in that respect they're useless as reviewers. I must add I don't care about that part, I never watch those YouTube videos anyway and I even don't really have an idea who or what SimsVIP is. What concerns me, is that EA apparently wants to surround themselves by yes-sayers. Which means they're clearly not interested in what meh-sayers want and for me personally that's a bad thing. Because at the end of the day, all I'm interested in is the game. Gonna start up my TS3 save now
@SimmieSims Speaking as a person with a basement that needs two sump pumps to stop leaks (I swear, if we ever buy a house again, it's going to be in a desert), I really don't think that's an equivalence that works. As a customer, you've not be given a thing to play with that you've asked for. There's no emergency. And even if there were, calm and polite might be a better, more productive state.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
@mattandphilsims2 excellent video btw, thanks a lot for making it & sharing it with the community! You're absolutely right about their weird way of focusing on what their customers do / say / interpret wrong instead of on what they could actually do to fix the problems they're talking about. And yes, that "expiration date" comment really got to me as well. It was perhaps one of the most offensive sentences in there, because when my customers ask me to do something, and I don't comply for months, I don't end up turning it against them saying "look, I know this project was important to you and your concerns are valid, but hey, your whining's got an expiration date, so pay me for what I did cause I sure as plum ain't gonna do what you've asked me to do from the very beginning." .......... ?
Also I don't know who of you's been following the "Should The Sims 4 End Here" thread, but it recently got reopened after being closed, with this particularly interesting disclaimer:
I'm reopening this thread, but please keep the following in mind:
We're all here because we love The Sims, and all opinions are welcome; our only caveat is that posts must be respectfully expressed and on-topic with the thread. To make sure that a post is respectful and on-topic, go through this list of my golden rules:
If you are posting about a person in the thread, you should not click "Post comment"
If you are posting negative comments about any person or organization, you should not click "Post comment"
As much as we all love a good meme image, if that is the content of your post, you should not click "Post comment"
If your post doesn't meet this criteria, remember that not posting on a particular topic is always an option.
We will be monitoring this thread, and further disruption will probably result in it permanently being closed.
Are these people kidding us? What exactly do "negative comments about an organization" entail? Does this mean we shouldn't be critical anymore, as clearly they think a lot of us who're trying to be constructively critical (up to a point at least) are spreading negativity and being whiny customers? Afaik you're very well allowed to say something negative about EA on most other forums, but maybe I'm wrong... It says a lot about what kind of "freedom of expression" they'd prefer to see in our posts. lol
Calling people and/or the company who makes the game, or it's parent company lazy. as an example. Comments that they're only in it for the money, and so on.
You can be critical without being insulting, which is how these threads turn out (taking this one as an example). No, they don't. They're asking you to consider what will happen if the game doesn't become what you want, imo (My opinion only but people have taken it way too personally). You don't have 'freedom of expression' on a forum. It's limited to whatever that forums rules are.
To add: There's a difference between:
You plums aren't putting in what I want. Get off your lazy behinds and do it now. If you can't do it, I want to know why and I want to know why now. Don't tell me you can't say, that you'll be fired, arrested and sued. I don't want excuses. Just get it done!
and
I was thinking and I really think <feature> would be a good addition to this game because <reason>. Would you give consideration to this. Thanks
I know you weren't talking to me but I'm going to interject this. I've spent two years explaining what I think some of the shortcomings are and what could improve it for me. I've never called any one lazy...in fact to best of my ability I can't even remember saying any of the staff didn't care about what fans wanted. I'm not the only one who has done this and it's still all business as usual.
As far as EA. They are not being altruistic when they create games. They are in it for the income. They have stockholders to satisfy.
The thing that I'll say is in this case it doesn't feel like they are particularly concerned about how we, as consumers, feel. That's not a good feeling for someone who has given them money in the past and wishes the product was still good enough to keep buying from them.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
I rarely look at SimsVIP. It is one-sided. I have heard of people being prebanned on there for just trying to join. She can do whatever she wants with her site, but I do not have to subscibe to it. I would probably be prebanned anyway. I am not exactly a fangirl.
Jup, I am one of the blocked people. Being critical about them or the game will get you banned. That's just how it is.
That's crazy! I'm actually seeing more and more people being critical over there now and on other sites. They can't block everybody. It wasn't like this a year ago... That's how I know people are becoming very unsatisfied.
They blocked me because I voiced my opinion about how they are always so ''blinded'' and one sided. I never see them being critical about anything. Everything is bright and shiny.
They couldn't handle it, so they blocked me for spreading false rumors or false accusations.
Well, don't give a plumbob.
Oh okay. Well, I'm sure we know why that happened. They don't want to burn their bridges.
That's what I said too. Just like all the events, they are biased since they get invited to events, get hands ons and everything. They are the so called ''Yibsims'' If they would say that this game isn't good and needs more work and blabla, they will never get an invite again.
That's the problem with ''influencers'' and the Yibsim stuff. They aren't all 100% truthful. They are making a living because of this game, if they start being critical and start ''acting up'' their business is at risk........
The most honest responses you'll get from ordinary people who just play the game and have nothing to do with fansites or freebies.
But well, that's my opinion ofcourse. I still think it's plum. Why don't they just invite random people to such hands on events and creators camps? Doesn't matter, everyone will read their reports too, because of info, not because it's a Yibsim.
Okay to be fair Simsvip has never blocked me anyway - but then I do not spend a lot of time there either.
And on the same vein of thought, now and then, usually rarer occasions, EA does invite non-YIBSIMS people who happen to be fan favorites and not a you tuber or any thing like that as a few of my dear friends - has at least had 1 invite to an event. But I do think they should include an equal number of regular simmers along with their so called influencers if they truly want an real eye opening HONEST experience that not all players can be bought or influenced - so they get a true opinion of their players and not one skewered by free content, etc.
"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.....
@luthienrising - You are always very positive in regards to TS4, and I respect that. I don't personally attack forum members who are happy with the game, why should I?
My personal player basement has been flooded, which is why I've moved on (out). From time to time I like to see if there's something new about the game that I've been waiting for, but unfortunately there is not.
It's really not about not getting "what I want" as a player, this is not a small group of people howling at the moon or acting irrational, as people try to explain it away. There are many players who have spent money based on EA's vision for this game, which was advertised as being the next generation of gaming in the franchise, only to find out that there is a lot less content than in previous games. Even features that were heavily advertised, "smarter Sims", who sleep with their family members, or don't even remember them, "a solid game engine", solid for what? What exactly is solid about this game engine?
And EA has has spent so much time not answering any of our questions, that fans have to wonder why?
Again, this is a product that people pay money for, and as a paying consumer, I will complain if the product is not up to par, as many others are doing.
Not responding to your customers in regard two a faulty product, that's what the real outrage should be about. Not this faux outrage about the way customers should be talking to or about EA at this point. This is simply what happens when you ignore paying customers, EA is not a charity - they should know better.
Btw, sorry about your basement - that is just terrible! My worst nightmare.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
@SimmieSims - they've said why. I'm not sure what they're supposed to say if people won't believe them
As for the basement, the backup sump pump has been the charm. So far. Fingers crossed.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
@SimmieSims Speaking as a person with a basement that needs two sump pumps to stop leaks (I swear, if we ever buy a house again, it's going to be in a desert), I really don't think that's an equivalence that works. As a customer, you've not be given a thing to play with that you've asked for. There's no emergency. And even if there were, calm and polite might be a better, more productive state.
JUst a reminder - they don't give us anything - we pay for it. Keep that in mind - that with out paying customers you have no company.
ETA: To emphasize the seriousness of this issue for just this game - in my family alone and not even counting various family friends etc - there were 31 Simmers. In the Original Sims (in November of 1999) there were 2 of us that tested the game for Will Wright (myself included in those 2) and by the time Sims 4 came out our numbers had grown to 31 Simmers total.
Keep in mind many of us were upset with the game especially the missing toddler stage and other base game content still missing, but the monthly additions gave us hope they were coming. A few of my family turned to me - as they always seem to do when it is the sims, asking me why are they (Maxis) avoiding the toddler questions and why haven't they came yet - as 2015 came and went. I had no answer for them of course, but totally understand their distress.
Well I could go on but lets leave it here - now there is just 1 lone simmer left still playing Sims 4 and still waiting for toddlers and still caring enough to still buy new content. That Simmer is NOT ME. The rest fell off the Sims 4 bandwagon and what many called empty promises and lots of no answers - they were not waiting anymore. The majority are playing other games even and when they want a sims experience they do like me and go back to Sims 2 or Sims 3 where the game was the Sims game we all grew to really love.
I love this game enough - in my heart I have not totally given up in hoping the game will come around and the base game will finally feel like a Sims base game and not an unfinished mess. So I still visit the forums - but I am not buying because frankly non-replies do not make me want to spend any more money - just hoping they will eventually come through with toddlers, fixing cullying, graveyards, make worlds so we can create and expand as we have always done in the sims - etc, etc.
I just know one thing - if just my family has gone from 31 players that absolutely love this series to just one of us because of the Sims 4 being what it is - then how many other groups of 31 simmers have also dropped down to 1 or 2 players still hanging in there? Eventually even the most staunch of us will not be waiting and hoping and we are surely not about to make the simming population soar by word of mouth like we did the last 16 years, now are we?
Something to think about Maxis....
Post edited by Writin_Reg on
"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.....
@luthienrising They've said why? What am I missing? Are you're referring to the toddlers/pools/basements statement?
And what does that mean for pets and weather? You know, at this point, I need EA to come out and say, we will not have XYZ in the game, ever. It's not possible. I would be ok with that, but if EA knows that they will not have certain features, and they're not telling customers, just to continue making a buck off of them, that's dishonest.
Has EA ever made an official statement saying that there will NEVER be cars, toddlers, pets, or seasons?
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
@luthienrising They've said why? What am I missing? Are you're referring to the toddlers/pools/basements statement?
And what does that mean for pets and weather? You know, at this point, I need EA to come out and say, we will not have XYZ in the game, ever. It's not possible. I would be ok with that, but if EA knows that they will not have certain features, and they're not telling customers, just to continue making a buck off of them, that's dishonest.
Has EA ever made an official statement saying that there will NEVER be cars, toddlers, pets, or seasons?
There've been multiple explanations in the forum over the months. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark them, and the forum search for anything of the sort turns up waaaaay too much to wade through. Maybe someone else has it all bookmarked.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
They're vague as ever due to this whole future content thing, though they've also said stuff about things that could be considered future content (like the "not working on pets right now" thing). Not sure what counts as far as that goes.
@SimTrippy and @king_of_simcity7 - And that's exactly my issue with EA, and it seems that I'm not alone with this.
As a player, I can decide not to purchase the game at this time, and to wait, patiently..... And be nice. And respectful.... How's that working out for everyone here?
As someone who has invested money into EA stocks, it's not that easy, when I hear nothing but silence from EA. Silence reminds me of my grandmother telling me to keep quiet if I have nothing good to say, and people start to wonder why.
TS4 is of course not their only product, but any mishap as in the case of SimCity will have a major negative effect on EA as a company. You need satisfied customers for many reasons, buying your product is just one of them.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
@luthienrising They've said why? What am I missing? Are you're referring to the toddlers/pools/basements statement?
And what does that mean for pets and weather? You know, at this point, I need EA to come out and say, we will not have XYZ in the game, ever. It's not possible. I would be ok with that, but if EA knows that they will not have certain features, and they're not telling customers, just to continue making a buck off of them, that's dishonest.
Has EA ever made an official statement saying that there will NEVER be cars, toddlers, pets, or seasons?
There've been multiple explanations in the forum over the months. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark them, and the forum search for anything of the sort turns up waaaaay too much to wade through. Maybe someone else has it all bookmarked.
May I ask you a serious question? Not to point you out but seriously curious. Why do you enter every thread (if you aren't aware) to defend EA, Maxis and gurus who sometimes blatantly insult customers. EA is famous for this if you don't know their long seedy history. Just ask anyone who was ever insulted by an employee of EA's whether that was from Maxis, FIFA, SC, or those other MMO forums. It's known and widely known. Why do you think Andrew Wilson made a public statement about EA's bad reputation and from now on, (after he took over as CEO) things would change and no longer would 'customers' feel like they were last but would be first. There must have been a reason behind it. And there is, EA's reputation. You seem to spend hours researching proof to debunk anything anyone ever says no matter if it's just their 'opinion' or if that is how they really 'feel'. It doesn't stop you from playing and enjoying a game so I can't quite grasp why you feel you need to be Maxis' or EA's Don Quixote and go out and fight Maxis/EA windmills. Because you still have your game and you can still play so being EA's researcher isn't really helping those who are negative and unhappy get their games fixed, or things implemented or changed to suit them. It's really baffling why someone (a fan) would spend so much time running down quotes and defending EA and or Maxis or any of their other franchises. That won't make players happy, a better game makes players happy. Not nonsensical trivia.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
@SimTrippy and @king_of_simcity7 - And that's exactly my issue with EA, and it seems that I'm not alone with this.
As a player, I can decide not to purchase the game at this time, and to wait, patiently..... And be nice. And respectful.... How's that working out for everyone here?
As someone who has invested money into EA stocks, it's not that easy, when I hear nothing but silence from EA. Silence reminds me of my grandmother telling me to keep quiet if I have nothing good to say, and people start to wonder why.
TS4 is of course not their only product, but any mishap as in the case of SimCity will have a major negative effect on EA as a company. You need satisfied customers for many reasons, buying your product is just one of them.
Well myself I do not plan to buy anything for TS4 as there is no appeal for me yet.
However I am interested in some TS3 Store content. It might work in their favour where there are players still buying Store content, some of which is really good and some very good worlds are sold there
@mattandphilsims2 excellent video btw, thanks a lot for making it & sharing it with the community! You're absolutely right about their weird way of focusing on what their customers do / say / interpret wrong instead of on what they could actually do to fix the problems they're talking about. And yes, that "expiration date" comment really got to me as well. It was perhaps one of the most offensive sentences in there, because when my customers ask me to do something, and I don't comply for months, I don't end up turning it against them saying "look, I know this project was important to you and your concerns are valid, but hey, your whining's got an expiration date, so pay me for what I did cause I sure as plum ain't gonna do what you've asked me to do from the very beginning." .......... ?
Also I don't know who of you's been following the "Should The Sims 4 End Here" thread, but it recently got reopened after being closed, with this particularly interesting disclaimer:
I'm reopening this thread, but please keep the following in mind:
We're all here because we love The Sims, and all opinions are welcome; our only caveat is that posts must be respectfully expressed and on-topic with the thread. To make sure that a post is respectful and on-topic, go through this list of my golden rules:
If you are posting about a person in the thread, you should not click "Post comment"
If you are posting negative comments about any person or organization, you should not click "Post comment"
As much as we all love a good meme image, if that is the content of your post, you should not click "Post comment"
If your post doesn't meet this criteria, remember that not posting on a particular topic is always an option.
We will be monitoring this thread, and further disruption will probably result in it permanently being closed.
Are these people kidding us? What exactly do "negative comments about an organization" entail? Does this mean we shouldn't be critical anymore, as clearly they think a lot of us who're trying to be constructively critical (up to a point at least) are spreading negativity and being whiny customers? Afaik you're very well allowed to say something negative about EA on most other forums, but maybe I'm wrong... It says a lot about what kind of "freedom of expression" they'd prefer to see in our posts. lol
Calling people and/or the company who makes the game, or it's parent company lazy. as an example. Comments that they're only in it for the money, and so on.
You can be critical without being insulting, which is how these threads turn out (taking this one as an example). No, they don't. They're asking you to consider what will happen if the game doesn't become what you want, imo (My opinion only but people have taken it way too personally). You don't have 'freedom of expression' on a forum. It's limited to whatever that forums rules are.
To add: There's a difference between:
You plums aren't putting in what I want. Get off your lazy behinds and do it now. If you can't do it, I want to know why and I want to know why now. Don't tell me you can't say, that you'll be fired, arrested and sued. I don't want excuses. Just get it done!
and
I was thinking and I really think <feature> would be a good addition to this game because <reason>. Would you give consideration to this. Thanks
I know you weren't talking to me but I'm going to interject this. I've spent two years explaining what I think some of the shortcomings are and what could improve it for me. I've never called any one lazy...in fact to best of my ability I can't even remember saying any of the staff didn't care about what fans wanted. I'm not the only one who has done this and it's still all business as usual.
As far as EA. They are not being altruistic when they create games. They are in it for the income. They have stockholders to satisfy.
The thing that I'll say is in this case it doesn't feel like they are particularly concerned about how we, as consumers, feel. That's not a good feeling for someone who has given them money in the past and wishes the product was still good enough to keep buying from them.
Here's the thing, and part of the reason I don't get the outrage when they say that our complaints have an expiration date, which I get, they've never cared how we as consumers feel, not really. They've never gone out of their way to fix what we thought what was wrong. Ranging from 'vacation or staycation' in the first town we paid for (name escapes me) something Bay, that a whole bunch of people brought believing that it could be used as another WA world, to the hot air balloon that went up a minute amount in the air, to the store town with one nice looking lawn in winter, the cars that got stuck everywhere, the issues with Isla Paradiso and the city town (name escapes me again), which some couldn't play. And the list goes on.
Never have they once gone "Oh, yes, well, with TS3 we slipped up. We'll issue fixes. We'll do better with TS4". And now when it's confirmed that they'll only listen to the complaints for a limited time, we've got outrage, really? What? Where were you lot over the past 7 years?
The absence of toddlers and other 'missing items', along with a little bit of misunderstanding at launch isn't going to make them apologise or fix anything now either. You're mistaken if you believe it will happen if you shout loud enough.
@mattandphilsims2 excellent video btw, thanks a lot for making it & sharing it with the community! You're absolutely right about their weird way of focusing on what their customers do / say / interpret wrong instead of on what they could actually do to fix the problems they're talking about. And yes, that "expiration date" comment really got to me as well. It was perhaps one of the most offensive sentences in there, because when my customers ask me to do something, and I don't comply for months, I don't end up turning it against them saying "look, I know this project was important to you and your concerns are valid, but hey, your whining's got an expiration date, so pay me for what I did cause I sure as plum ain't gonna do what you've asked me to do from the very beginning." .......... ?
Also I don't know who of you's been following the "Should The Sims 4 End Here" thread, but it recently got reopened after being closed, with this particularly interesting disclaimer:
I'm reopening this thread, but please keep the following in mind:
We're all here because we love The Sims, and all opinions are welcome; our only caveat is that posts must be respectfully expressed and on-topic with the thread. To make sure that a post is respectful and on-topic, go through this list of my golden rules:
If you are posting about a person in the thread, you should not click "Post comment"
If you are posting negative comments about any person or organization, you should not click "Post comment"
As much as we all love a good meme image, if that is the content of your post, you should not click "Post comment"
If your post doesn't meet this criteria, remember that not posting on a particular topic is always an option.
We will be monitoring this thread, and further disruption will probably result in it permanently being closed.
Are these people kidding us? What exactly do "negative comments about an organization" entail? Does this mean we shouldn't be critical anymore, as clearly they think a lot of us who're trying to be constructively critical (up to a point at least) are spreading negativity and being whiny customers? Afaik you're very well allowed to say something negative about EA on most other forums, but maybe I'm wrong... It says a lot about what kind of "freedom of expression" they'd prefer to see in our posts. lol
Calling people and/or the company who makes the game, or it's parent company lazy. as an example. Comments that they're only in it for the money, and so on.
You can be critical without being insulting, which is how these threads turn out (taking this one as an example). No, they don't. They're asking you to consider what will happen if the game doesn't become what you want, imo (My opinion only but people have taken it way too personally). You don't have 'freedom of expression' on a forum. It's limited to whatever that forums rules are.
To add: There's a difference between:
You plums aren't putting in what I want. Get off your lazy behinds and do it now. If you can't do it, I want to know why and I want to know why now. Don't tell me you can't say, that you'll be fired, arrested and sued. I don't want excuses. Just get it done!
and
I was thinking and I really think <feature> would be a good addition to this game because <reason>. Would you give consideration to this. Thanks
I know you weren't talking to me but I'm going to interject this. I've spent two years explaining what I think some of the shortcomings are and what could improve it for me. I've never called any one lazy...in fact to best of my ability I can't even remember saying any of the staff didn't care about what fans wanted. I'm not the only one who has done this and it's still all business as usual.
As far as EA. They are not being altruistic when they create games. They are in it for the income. They have stockholders to satisfy.
The thing that I'll say is in this case it doesn't feel like they are particularly concerned about how we, as consumers, feel. That's not a good feeling for someone who has given them money in the past and wishes the product was still good enough to keep buying from them.
Here's the thing, and part of the reason I don't get the outrage when they say that our complaints have an expiration date, which I get, they've never cared how we as consumers feel, not really. They've never gone out of their way to fix what we thought what was wrong. Ranging from 'vacation or staycation' in the first town we paid for (name escapes me) something Bay, that a whole bunch of people brought believing that it could be used as another WA world, to the hot air balloon that went up a minute amount in the air, to the store town with one nice looking lawn in winter, the cars that got stuck everywhere, the issues with Isla Paradiso and the city town (name escapes me again), which some couldn't play. And the list goes on.
Never have they once gone "Oh, yes, well, with TS3 we slipped up. We'll issue fixes. We'll do better with TS4". And now when it's confirmed that they'll only listen to the complaints for a limited time, we've got outrage, really? What? Where were you lot over the past 7 years?
The absence of toddlers and other 'missing items', along with a little bit of misunderstanding at launch isn't going to make them apologise or fix anything now either. You're mistaken if you believe it will happen if you shout loud enough.
I sort of thought they would do better (because yes, I raved on TS3, too) when Andrew Wilson promised they would but I guess that doesn't apply to The Sims Studio under the guise of being called Maxis.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
@Arletta I never said EA or the dev team are lazy And yes, I'm sorry, most companies are only in whatever it is they're in for the money. You know, as long as I'm not personally attacking anyone (and, to me, an organization isn't a person, and there's plenty of things organizations do that are very well worthy of being attacked every now and then), I feel I should be allowed to have an opinion on a forum even if that opinion isn't super popular or very critical. I don't blame any particular Guru for what's happening with TS4, and I certainly don't expect them to give me answers they aren't allowed to give me anyway. I just openly wonder about why EA deals with this stuff the way it does, and if anything, I consider "Maxis" & the current TS employees the victims of EA business decisions rather than the driving forces behind them. I believe that if some of these gurus could just choose to work on and/or announce toddlers (or anything else for that matter, but since the discussion apparently keeps stuck on them) asap to make us happy, many of them probably would. And yeah, in the end, it soothes my nerves to know that we're not the only community who feels let down by EA's business & communication practices. I don't know how sharing that's personally insulting to anyone, but if it is, I apologize. Humor, and occasionally cynicism, are just part of the way I deal with things. That doesn't mean I intend to insult you, Drake, or anyone else. And afaik, none of you are named EA anyway. But to not be allowed to do that on a forum in the 21st century? Hm hm.
Dragged it out of nowhere. I never said it was what you said, and you don't need to apologise to me. It's mod speak for think before you speak, basically. I had a modding job where you weren't allowed to insult staff period. That included devs and/or the company (if two people can make a company), so there's a little understanding of both points of view.
Yeah, I do think before I speak. Sometimes I just say what I have on my mind anyway, even if it's a little provocative. And saying that EA has a history of disappointing customers of very different franchises in very similar ways, shouldn't be considered insulting. Because just like us, these consumers didn't make that up. Their disappointment shouldn't be an insult to EA: it should motivate them to do better.
I would think that pointing out EA's disappointing history would be an obvious thing, and certainly not an insult. You don't "win" the Worst Company in America tournament for 2 straight years for being great.
@luthienrising They've said why? What am I missing? Are you're referring to the toddlers/pools/basements statement?
And what does that mean for pets and weather? You know, at this point, I need EA to come out and say, we will not have XYZ in the game, ever. It's not possible. I would be ok with that, but if EA knows that they will not have certain features, and they're not telling customers, just to continue making a buck off of them, that's dishonest.
Has EA ever made an official statement saying that there will NEVER be cars, toddlers, pets, or seasons?
There've been multiple explanations in the forum over the months. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark them, and the forum search for anything of the sort turns up waaaaay too much to wade through. Maybe someone else has it all bookmarked.
May I ask you a serious question? Not to point you out but seriously curious. Why do you enter every thread (if you aren't aware) to defend EA, Maxis and gurus who sometimes blatantly insult customers. EA is famous for this if you don't know their long seedy history. Just ask anyone who was ever insulted by an employee of EA's whether that was from Maxis, FIFA, SC, or those other MMO forums. It's known and widely known. Why do you think Andrew Wilson made a public statement about EA's bad reputation and from now on, (after he took over as CEO) things would change and no longer would 'customers' feel like they were last but would be first. There must have been a reason behind it. And there is, EA's reputation. You seem to spend hours researching proof to debunk anything anyone ever says no matter if it's just their 'opinion' or if that is how they really 'feel'. It doesn't stop you from playing and enjoying a game so I can't quite grasp why you feel you need to be Maxis' or EA's Don Quixote and go out and fight Maxis/EA windmills. Because you still have your game and you can still play so being EA's researcher isn't really helping those who are negative and unhappy get their games fixed, or things implemented or changed to suit them. It's really baffling why someone (a fan) would spend so much time running down quotes and defending EA and or Maxis or any of their other franchises. That won't make players happy, a better game makes players happy. Not nonsensical trivia.
I'm not defending, I'm explaining, on particular things. I look stuff like the regulations up because I'm personally curious about stuff like that and enjoy learning it. The business world, economics, law, and data stuff generally intrigue me, have for years now - if I weren't deep into a second career already and paying my kids' tuition, I'd be back in school, though more likely for economics or stats than law (a friend my age went back for law - it's tough to get started as a new lawyer no matter how much other experience you have). It really does not take hours if you spend enough time doing it anyway (which I do, sometimes for work, sometimes just because it's lunch, which I save the business section of paper for). Mostly, I've answered to stuff about this particular regulation lately because I've been asked to, after having gotten my head around it out of curiosity in the first place.
You know, you could have phrased that question more nicely. How about you just put me on Ignore, since you are so offended by the fact that I choose to acquire and share this particular area of knowledge? Other people seem to have appreciated that someone chose to make the effort so they didn't have to.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
@Arletta I never said EA or the dev team are lazy And yes, I'm sorry, most companies are only in whatever it is they're in for the money. You know, as long as I'm not personally attacking anyone (and, to me, an organization isn't a person, and there's plenty of things organizations do that are very well worthy of being attacked every now and then), I feel I should be allowed to have an opinion on a forum even if that opinion isn't super popular or very critical. I don't blame any particular Guru for what's happening with TS4, and I certainly don't expect them to give me answers they aren't allowed to give me anyway. I just openly wonder about why EA deals with this stuff the way it does, and if anything, I consider "Maxis" & the current TS employees the victims of EA business decisions rather than the driving forces behind them. I believe that if some of these gurus could just choose to work on and/or announce toddlers (or anything else for that matter, but since the discussion apparently keeps stuck on them) asap to make us happy, many of them probably would. And yeah, in the end, it soothes my nerves to know that we're not the only community who feels let down by EA's business & communication practices. I don't know how sharing that's personally insulting to anyone, but if it is, I apologize. Humor, and occasionally cynicism, are just part of the way I deal with things. That doesn't mean I intend to insult you, Drake, or anyone else. And afaik, none of you are named EA anyway. But to not be allowed to do that on a forum in the 21st century? Hm hm.
Dragged it out of nowhere. I never said it was what you said, and you don't need to apologise to me. It's mod speak for think before you speak, basically. I had a modding job where you weren't allowed to insult staff period. That included devs and/or the company (if two people can make a company), so there's a little understanding of both points of view.
Yeah, I do think before I speak. Sometimes I just say what I have on my mind anyway, even if it's a little provocative. And saying that EA has a history of disappointing customers of very different franchises in very similar ways, shouldn't be considered insulting. Because just like us, these consumers didn't make that up. Their disappointment shouldn't be an insult to EA: it should motivate them to do better.
I would think that pointing out EA's disappointing history would be an obvious thing, and certainly not an insult. You don't "win" the Worst Company in America tournament for 2 straight years for being great.
@mattandphilsims2 excellent video btw, thanks a lot for making it & sharing it with the community! You're absolutely right about their weird way of focusing on what their customers do / say / interpret wrong instead of on what they could actually do to fix the problems they're talking about. And yes, that "expiration date" comment really got to me as well. It was perhaps one of the most offensive sentences in there, because when my customers ask me to do something, and I don't comply for months, I don't end up turning it against them saying "look, I know this project was important to you and your concerns are valid, but hey, your whining's got an expiration date, so pay me for what I did cause I sure as plum ain't gonna do what you've asked me to do from the very beginning." .......... ?
Also I don't know who of you's been following the "Should The Sims 4 End Here" thread, but it recently got reopened after being closed, with this particularly interesting disclaimer:
I'm reopening this thread, but please keep the following in mind:
We're all here because we love The Sims, and all opinions are welcome; our only caveat is that posts must be respectfully expressed and on-topic with the thread. To make sure that a post is respectful and on-topic, go through this list of my golden rules:
If you are posting about a person in the thread, you should not click "Post comment"
If you are posting negative comments about any person or organization, you should not click "Post comment"
As much as we all love a good meme image, if that is the content of your post, you should not click "Post comment"
If your post doesn't meet this criteria, remember that not posting on a particular topic is always an option.
We will be monitoring this thread, and further disruption will probably result in it permanently being closed.
Are these people kidding us? What exactly do "negative comments about an organization" entail? Does this mean we shouldn't be critical anymore, as clearly they think a lot of us who're trying to be constructively critical (up to a point at least) are spreading negativity and being whiny customers? Afaik you're very well allowed to say something negative about EA on most other forums, but maybe I'm wrong... It says a lot about what kind of "freedom of expression" they'd prefer to see in our posts. lol
Calling people and/or the company who makes the game, or it's parent company lazy. as an example. Comments that they're only in it for the money, and so on.
You can be critical without being insulting, which is how these threads turn out (taking this one as an example). No, they don't. They're asking you to consider what will happen if the game doesn't become what you want, imo (My opinion only but people have taken it way too personally). You don't have 'freedom of expression' on a forum. It's limited to whatever that forums rules are.
To add: There's a difference between:
You plums aren't putting in what I want. Get off your lazy behinds and do it now. If you can't do it, I want to know why and I want to know why now. Don't tell me you can't say, that you'll be fired, arrested and sued. I don't want excuses. Just get it done!
and
I was thinking and I really think <feature> would be a good addition to this game because <reason>. Would you give consideration to this. Thanks
I know you weren't talking to me but I'm going to interject this. I've spent two years explaining what I think some of the shortcomings are and what could improve it for me. I've never called any one lazy...in fact to best of my ability I can't even remember saying any of the staff didn't care about what fans wanted. I'm not the only one who has done this and it's still all business as usual.
As far as EA. They are not being altruistic when they create games. They are in it for the income. They have stockholders to satisfy.
The thing that I'll say is in this case it doesn't feel like they are particularly concerned about how we, as consumers, feel. That's not a good feeling for someone who has given them money in the past and wishes the product was still good enough to keep buying from them.
Here's the thing, and part of the reason I don't get the outrage when they say that our complaints have an expiration date, which I get, they've never cared how we as consumers feel, not really. They've never gone out of their way to fix what we thought what was wrong. Ranging from 'vacation or staycation' in the first town we paid for (name escapes me) something Bay, that a whole bunch of people brought believing that it could be used as another WA world, to the hot air balloon that went up a minute amount in the air, to the store town with one nice looking lawn in winter, the cars that got stuck everywhere, the issues with Isla Paradiso and the city town (name escapes me again), which some couldn't play. And the list goes on.
Never have they once gone "Oh, yes, well, with TS3 we slipped up. We'll issue fixes. We'll do better with TS4". And now when it's confirmed that they'll only listen to the complaints for a limited time, we've got outrage, really? What? Where were you lot over the past 7 years?
The absence of toddlers and other 'missing items', along with a little bit of misunderstanding at launch isn't going to make them apologise or fix anything now either. You're mistaken if you believe it will happen if you shout loud enough.
I sort of thought they would do better (because yes, I raved on TS3, too) when Andrew Wilson promised they would but I guess that doesn't apply to The Sims Studio under the guise of being called Maxis.
You know what happens when you get a new boss. They go "Yes, we shall fix all that the old boss did wrong. We have learned our lesson. It won't happen again". It doesn't happen. It's just words. It makes you nod and buy things, basically, and makes the new boss sound good.
@Arletta I never said EA or the dev team are lazy And yes, I'm sorry, most companies are only in whatever it is they're in for the money. You know, as long as I'm not personally attacking anyone (and, to me, an organization isn't a person, and there's plenty of things organizations do that are very well worthy of being attacked every now and then), I feel I should be allowed to have an opinion on a forum even if that opinion isn't super popular or very critical. I don't blame any particular Guru for what's happening with TS4, and I certainly don't expect them to give me answers they aren't allowed to give me anyway. I just openly wonder about why EA deals with this stuff the way it does, and if anything, I consider "Maxis" & the current TS employees the victims of EA business decisions rather than the driving forces behind them. I believe that if some of these gurus could just choose to work on and/or announce toddlers (or anything else for that matter, but since the discussion apparently keeps stuck on them) asap to make us happy, many of them probably would. And yeah, in the end, it soothes my nerves to know that we're not the only community who feels let down by EA's business & communication practices. I don't know how sharing that's personally insulting to anyone, but if it is, I apologize. Humor, and occasionally cynicism, are just part of the way I deal with things. That doesn't mean I intend to insult you, Drake, or anyone else. And afaik, none of you are named EA anyway. But to not be allowed to do that on a forum in the 21st century? Hm hm.
Dragged it out of nowhere. I never said it was what you said, and you don't need to apologise to me. It's mod speak for think before you speak, basically. I had a modding job where you weren't allowed to insult staff period. That included devs and/or the company (if two people can make a company), so there's a little understanding of both points of view.
Yeah, I do think before I speak. Sometimes I just say what I have on my mind anyway, even if it's a little provocative. And saying that EA has a history of disappointing customers of very different franchises in very similar ways, shouldn't be considered insulting. Because just like us, these consumers didn't make that up. Their disappointment shouldn't be an insult to EA: it should motivate them to do better.
I would think that pointing out EA's disappointing history would be an obvious thing, and certainly not an insult. You don't "win" the Worst Company in America tournament for 2 straight years for being great.
@luthienrising They've said why? What am I missing? Are you're referring to the toddlers/pools/basements statement?
And what does that mean for pets and weather? You know, at this point, I need EA to come out and say, we will not have XYZ in the game, ever. It's not possible. I would be ok with that, but if EA knows that they will not have certain features, and they're not telling customers, just to continue making a buck off of them, that's dishonest.
Has EA ever made an official statement saying that there will NEVER be cars, toddlers, pets, or seasons?
There've been multiple explanations in the forum over the months. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark them, and the forum search for anything of the sort turns up waaaaay too much to wade through. Maybe someone else has it all bookmarked.
May I ask you a serious question? Not to point you out but seriously curious. Why do you enter every thread (if you aren't aware) to defend EA, Maxis and gurus who sometimes blatantly insult customers. EA is famous for this if you don't know their long seedy history. Just ask anyone who was ever insulted by an employee of EA's whether that was from Maxis, FIFA, SC, or those other MMO forums. It's known and widely known. Why do you think Andrew Wilson made a public statement about EA's bad reputation and from now on, (after he took over as CEO) things would change and no longer would 'customers' feel like they were last but would be first. There must have been a reason behind it. And there is, EA's reputation. You seem to spend hours researching proof to debunk anything anyone ever says no matter if it's just their 'opinion' or if that is how they really 'feel'. It doesn't stop you from playing and enjoying a game so I can't quite grasp why you feel you need to be Maxis' or EA's Don Quixote and go out and fight Maxis/EA windmills. Because you still have your game and you can still play so being EA's researcher isn't really helping those who are negative and unhappy get their games fixed, or things implemented or changed to suit them. It's really baffling why someone (a fan) would spend so much time running down quotes and defending EA and or Maxis or any of their other franchises. That won't make players happy, a better game makes players happy. Not nonsensical trivia.
I'm not defending, I'm explaining, on particular things. I look stuff like the regulations up because I'm personally curious about stuff like that and enjoy learning it. The business world, economics, law, and data stuff generally intrigue me, have for years now - if I weren't deep into a second career already and paying my kids' tuition, I'd be back in school, though more likely for economics or stats than law (a friend my age went back for law - it's tough to get started as a new lawyer no matter how much other experience you have). It really does not take hours if you spend enough time doing it anyway (which I do, sometimes for work, sometimes just because it's lunch, which I save the business section of paper for). Mostly, I've answered to stuff about this particular regulation lately because I've been asked to, after having gotten my head around it out of curiosity in the first place.
You know, you could have phrased that question more nicely. How about you just put me on Ignore, since you are so offended by the fact that I choose to acquire and share this particular area of knowledge? Other people seem to have appreciated that someone chose to make the effort so they didn't have to.
I don't want to put you on ignore I would have months ago. I like to listen to everyone even if I may never agree with them. That is the sort of person I am even if it doesn't appear to be so, here. I don't need a 'safe space' I like to engage in discussions and good, healthy debates, and sometimes yes, those can get heated but everyone deserves to be heard in my book. And I was just curious and I may have pointed out you do enter threads and do defend some things, but I suppose that is your freedom to do that. Just as much as it is mine to explain for the hundredth time how they could make this game better. And from the bottom of my heart, I hope you do go back to school and make your dreams come true.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
Comments
Yeah, I do think before I speak. Sometimes I just say what I have on my mind anyway, even if it's a little provocative. And saying that EA has a history of disappointing customers of very different franchises in very similar ways, shouldn't be considered insulting. Because just like us, these consumers didn't make that up. Their disappointment shouldn't be an insult to EA: it should motivate them to do better.
9/2/2014
"Honey, I there a leak in the basement, could you check on that, please?"
3/31/15
"Honey, remember that leak in the basement, it's getting worse. Have you checked on it yet?"
12/18/15
"Honey, you really need to fix that leak in the basement, it's really bad! Could you please check on it? Now?"
6/7/16 - Sitting knee deep in water
"Honey, remember the leak in the basement that I've been telling you about? Could you please kindly fix it? Honey? Honey?"
I don't think being nice and calm is a realistic expectation for customers at this time.
I know you weren't talking to me but I'm going to interject this. I've spent two years explaining what I think some of the shortcomings are and what could improve it for me. I've never called any one lazy...in fact to best of my ability I can't even remember saying any of the staff didn't care about what fans wanted. I'm not the only one who has done this and it's still all business as usual.
As far as EA. They are not being altruistic when they create games. They are in it for the income. They have stockholders to satisfy.
The thing that I'll say is in this case it doesn't feel like they are particularly concerned about how we, as consumers, feel. That's not a good feeling for someone who has given them money in the past and wishes the product was still good enough to keep buying from them.
Okay to be fair Simsvip has never blocked me anyway - but then I do not spend a lot of time there either.
And on the same vein of thought, now and then, usually rarer occasions, EA does invite non-YIBSIMS people who happen to be fan favorites and not a you tuber or any thing like that as a few of my dear friends - has at least had 1 invite to an event. But I do think they should include an equal number of regular simmers along with their so called influencers if they truly want an real eye opening HONEST experience that not all players can be bought or influenced - so they get a true opinion of their players and not one skewered by free content, etc.
"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.....
My personal player basement has been flooded, which is why I've moved on (out). From time to time I like to see if there's something new about the game that I've been waiting for, but unfortunately there is not.
It's really not about not getting "what I want" as a player, this is not a small group of people howling at the moon or acting irrational, as people try to explain it away. There are many players who have spent money based on EA's vision for this game, which was advertised as being the next generation of gaming in the franchise, only to find out that there is a lot less content than in previous games. Even features that were heavily advertised, "smarter Sims", who sleep with their family members, or don't even remember them, "a solid game engine", solid for what? What exactly is solid about this game engine?
And EA has has spent so much time not answering any of our questions, that fans have to wonder why?
Again, this is a product that people pay money for, and as a paying consumer, I will complain if the product is not up to par, as many others are doing.
Not responding to your customers in regard two a faulty product, that's what the real outrage should be about. Not this faux outrage about the way customers should be talking to or about EA at this point. This is simply what happens when you ignore paying customers, EA is not a charity - they should know better.
Btw, sorry about your basement - that is just terrible! My worst nightmare.
As for the basement, the backup sump pump has been the charm. So far. Fingers crossed.
JUst a reminder - they don't give us anything - we pay for it. Keep that in mind - that with out paying customers you have no company.
ETA: To emphasize the seriousness of this issue for just this game - in my family alone and not even counting various family friends etc - there were 31 Simmers. In the Original Sims (in November of 1999) there were 2 of us that tested the game for Will Wright (myself included in those 2) and by the time Sims 4 came out our numbers had grown to 31 Simmers total.
Keep in mind many of us were upset with the game especially the missing toddler stage and other base game content still missing, but the monthly additions gave us hope they were coming. A few of my family turned to me - as they always seem to do when it is the sims, asking me why are they (Maxis) avoiding the toddler questions and why haven't they came yet - as 2015 came and went. I had no answer for them of course, but totally understand their distress.
Well I could go on but lets leave it here - now there is just 1 lone simmer left still playing Sims 4 and still waiting for toddlers and still caring enough to still buy new content. That Simmer is NOT ME. The rest fell off the Sims 4 bandwagon and what many called empty promises and lots of no answers - they were not waiting anymore. The majority are playing other games even and when they want a sims experience they do like me and go back to Sims 2 or Sims 3 where the game was the Sims game we all grew to really love.
I love this game enough - in my heart I have not totally given up in hoping the game will come around and the base game will finally feel like a Sims base game and not an unfinished mess. So I still visit the forums - but I am not buying because frankly non-replies do not make me want to spend any more money - just hoping they will eventually come through with toddlers, fixing cullying, graveyards, make worlds so we can create and expand as we have always done in the sims - etc, etc.
I just know one thing - if just my family has gone from 31 players that absolutely love this series to just one of us because of the Sims 4 being what it is - then how many other groups of 31 simmers have also dropped down to 1 or 2 players still hanging in there? Eventually even the most staunch of us will not be waiting and hoping and we are surely not about to make the simming population soar by word of mouth like we did the last 16 years, now are we?
Something to think about Maxis....
"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.....
And what does that mean for pets and weather? You know, at this point, I need EA to come out and say, we will not have XYZ in the game, ever. It's not possible. I would be ok with that, but if EA knows that they will not have certain features, and they're not telling customers, just to continue making a buck off of them, that's dishonest.
Has EA ever made an official statement saying that there will NEVER be cars, toddlers, pets, or seasons?
Nope.
And I think that is why some players are annoyed as they have never actually said 'no' to anything...
"Are you going to give us answers?"
"No. But brace yourselves, be patient, and maybe one day, we will."
There've been multiple explanations in the forum over the months. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark them, and the forum search for anything of the sort turns up waaaaay too much to wade through. Maybe someone else has it all bookmarked.
As a player, I can decide not to purchase the game at this time, and to wait, patiently..... And be nice. And respectful.... How's that working out for everyone here?
As someone who has invested money into EA stocks, it's not that easy, when I hear nothing but silence from EA. Silence reminds me of my grandmother telling me to keep quiet if I have nothing good to say, and people start to wonder why.
TS4 is of course not their only product, but any mishap as in the case of SimCity will have a major negative effect on EA as a company. You need satisfied customers for many reasons, buying your product is just one of them.
May I ask you a serious question? Not to point you out but seriously curious. Why do you enter every thread (if you aren't aware) to defend EA, Maxis and gurus who sometimes blatantly insult customers. EA is famous for this if you don't know their long seedy history. Just ask anyone who was ever insulted by an employee of EA's whether that was from Maxis, FIFA, SC, or those other MMO forums. It's known and widely known. Why do you think Andrew Wilson made a public statement about EA's bad reputation and from now on, (after he took over as CEO) things would change and no longer would 'customers' feel like they were last but would be first. There must have been a reason behind it. And there is, EA's reputation. You seem to spend hours researching proof to debunk anything anyone ever says no matter if it's just their 'opinion' or if that is how they really 'feel'. It doesn't stop you from playing and enjoying a game so I can't quite grasp why you feel you need to be Maxis' or EA's Don Quixote and go out and fight Maxis/EA windmills. Because you still have your game and you can still play so being EA's researcher isn't really helping those who are negative and unhappy get their games fixed, or things implemented or changed to suit them. It's really baffling why someone (a fan) would spend so much time running down quotes and defending EA and or Maxis or any of their other franchises. That won't make players happy, a better game makes players happy. Not nonsensical trivia.
Well myself I do not plan to buy anything for TS4 as there is no appeal for me yet.
However I am interested in some TS3 Store content. It might work in their favour where there are players still buying Store content, some of which is really good and some very good worlds are sold there
Here's the thing, and part of the reason I don't get the outrage when they say that our complaints have an expiration date, which I get, they've never cared how we as consumers feel, not really. They've never gone out of their way to fix what we thought what was wrong. Ranging from 'vacation or staycation' in the first town we paid for (name escapes me) something Bay, that a whole bunch of people brought believing that it could be used as another WA world, to the hot air balloon that went up a minute amount in the air, to the store town with one nice looking lawn in winter, the cars that got stuck everywhere, the issues with Isla Paradiso and the city town (name escapes me again), which some couldn't play. And the list goes on.
Never have they once gone "Oh, yes, well, with TS3 we slipped up. We'll issue fixes. We'll do better with TS4". And now when it's confirmed that they'll only listen to the complaints for a limited time, we've got outrage, really? What? Where were you lot over the past 7 years?
The absence of toddlers and other 'missing items', along with a little bit of misunderstanding at launch isn't going to make them apologise or fix anything now either. You're mistaken if you believe it will happen if you shout loud enough.
I sort of thought they would do better (because yes, I raved on TS3, too) when Andrew Wilson promised they would but I guess that doesn't apply to The Sims Studio under the guise of being called Maxis.
I would think that pointing out EA's disappointing history would be an obvious thing, and certainly not an insult. You don't "win" the Worst Company in America tournament for 2 straight years for being great.
I'm not defending, I'm explaining, on particular things. I look stuff like the regulations up because I'm personally curious about stuff like that and enjoy learning it. The business world, economics, law, and data stuff generally intrigue me, have for years now - if I weren't deep into a second career already and paying my kids' tuition, I'd be back in school, though more likely for economics or stats than law (a friend my age went back for law - it's tough to get started as a new lawyer no matter how much other experience you have). It really does not take hours if you spend enough time doing it anyway (which I do, sometimes for work, sometimes just because it's lunch, which I save the business section of paper for). Mostly, I've answered to stuff about this particular regulation lately because I've been asked to, after having gotten my head around it out of curiosity in the first place.
You know, you could have phrased that question more nicely. How about you just put me on Ignore, since you are so offended by the fact that I choose to acquire and share this particular area of knowledge? Other people seem to have appreciated that someone chose to make the effort so they didn't have to.
Who won the award last year though?
You know what happens when you get a new boss. They go "Yes, we shall fix all that the old boss did wrong. We have learned our lesson. It won't happen again". It doesn't happen. It's just words. It makes you nod and buy things, basically, and makes the new boss sound good.
"Not last place" is a shallow victory.
I don't want to put you on ignore I would have months ago. I like to listen to everyone even if I may never agree with them. That is the sort of person I am even if it doesn't appear to be so, here. I don't need a 'safe space' I like to engage in discussions and good, healthy debates, and sometimes yes, those can get heated but everyone deserves to be heard in my book. And I was just curious and I may have pointed out you do enter threads and do defend some things, but I suppose that is your freedom to do that. Just as much as it is mine to explain for the hundredth time how they could make this game better. And from the bottom of my heart, I hope you do go back to school and make your dreams come true.