And--harsh as this may be--why should EA regard students as being exceptional over the other billions of people living with limited finances?
That's a fair question and I understand your point. I'm not suggesting that students should be treated as more important than anyone else facing financial difficulties. My intention was simply to share a student perspective as one example of a group that often has very limited disposable income while also dealing with high pressure and costs. My post wasn't meant to ask for special treatment but rather to give feedback on how accessibility such as occasional trials or community based opportunities can positively impact players who genuinely love the game but cannot always afford additional content, whether they are students or not.
The company constantly has sales. If you wait long enough, you can get some additional content for cheap. Right now, I saw some dlc for as much as 50% off. While most of the content that I don't own is only 20 to 40%, it is still cheaper. Btw, I have not bought games or dlc for full price since 2010. The base game was on sale in 2016 for $40 when I got it. A majority of the stuff packs only cost me $2.50. The game packs ranged from $10 to $15 at my time of purchase. Most expansion packs cost me between $20 to $25. All I did was wait for sales.
I'm aware of sales and I do try to wait for them whenever possible. Unfortunately at the moment even discounted prices are still out of reach for me and many people I know, as we live in a country where $20+ for a part of a game is considered very expensive. For that amount, I can buy food for five or more days. I understand that in some countries this price may seem insignificant because the monthly earnings of people there are equal to what people here earn in a few months (the average salary here is around $500 and imagine families of 4 or 5 living ononly $500 a month). Therefore we don't have the luxury of spending that much money on what is essentially just an add on to a game. That said, I completely agree that waiting for sales is the best option when finances allow it and also thank you for sharing your experience and for useful advice that you've given people here.
All I keep understanding from your responses is that you want things and can't afford it. My advice was to wait for sales. Gaming is a luxury and can be an expensive hobby. If you can't afford a hobby, it means you don't have the luxury to enjoy it.
I have been a gamer since the 1980's, gaming at that time wasn't cheap either. The orginal first iteration of The Sims game was the first game I purchased as sn adult. I saved for months to buy it with my income which at the time was just above minimum wage at about $5.50 (minimum wage was $5.15). I didn't buy many new games while in college, so I skipped Sims 2 and I was a single mom during when Sims 3 was released. I did play the first iteration until it no longer worked on Windows 10. Yes I played the first iteration for nearly 15 years before getting Sims 4.
I understand you use the game as a "creative outlet," but that means you use a luxury for that purpose. If you have the free base game, you can still be creative. Even as a Gen Xer, I don't own all the dlc. There are packs I want, but I am waiting until I have the extra funds. That is called adulting.
