People can on steam, but I would say that steam is an exception because they are a company who has more money than they know what to do with so that's probably one reason why they allow it. Consumer rights when it comes to video games are progressing very slow (there is a movement going on right now about stopping companies from taking games that they bought offline) and companies like EA don't have any obligation (for now) to provide any review system in their client.
I would not say that it's predatory, we can still discuss and criticize their packs online, but if you feel that way then my advice to you is to stop buying sims 4 packs at release. That way you don't fall into their marketing or buy something that you will regret buying.
Yeah, none of that helps future players. They need to know that they have 30 days from the moment that they sign the EULA to send a letter to opt out of the arbitration only clause... so that they can file a class action lawsuit against EA. They need to know which packs (that are still for sale) that don't work and break your game. They need to know that what WE know. And if there is no up front system on EA, they won't know. It's not good enough to tell people who already know they are being victimized to stop letting themselves be victimized. It only works if we stop them from victimizing further.
onyx779 there is a list of pack bugs here in the Bug Reports section. We often direct players there if they want to know which packs have problems and how new packs might impact their game. Players can also join in and report their own issues.
[READ FIRST] Compiled list of reported Issues | EA Forums - 5052943
That doesn't help though. People only join EA forums after having been in the community for a while or for needing help with bugs. I need new players who don't know they are being preyed upon to be able to read that my wedding stories and dine out don't work BEFORE buying it, and WITHOUT having to watch a youtube creator tell them it doesn't work. Especially because EA will always continue to sell broken DLC. There is no transparency. The arbitration clause in the EULA makes it impossible to hold them accountable legally. But nobody knows they have 30 days to opt out of the clause because nobody reads those agreements. I don't know why I asked. It's absolutely predatory. For every reason I listed and then some. I just want new players to go in with open eyes so they don't end up with corrupted save files that ruined the culmination of years worth of gameplay, broken game syndrome where the thing they paid for will never work unless they download mods to fix it. With no ability to file a class action lawsuit, no ability to warn new players before they join. No tiered rating system on the product page. It's not about me, I've already been screwed over... how do we protect other people?
onyx779 I think that's what web searches are for. Personally, knowing a lot of gamers and Sims players myself I find we're a community that generally likes to do it's homework. Players experiences are easy to find on Discord too as well as other Social Media. I don't use YouTube or Social Media except this and occasionally Discord. We all get our information in different ways. Just a quick web search on a pack title will bring up reviews, recommendations and problems. Some of those are EA sources like this one. I linked to the Bug Forum as it's public engagement with the EA, it's not hidden away and it's where we report our problems and give our system info and experience to help replicate and then hopefully fix bugs. This is the first port of call especially if you buy a pack on the day of release and weren't aware of any bugs as it's too early, perhaps you bought it quickly for the bonus items and find you've got some issues. You might not have watched official play throughs or read reviews from Simmers who were given advanced copies. But a web search will tell you where to report your problems, that's here. In my experience it's common to get a message from the team acknowledging a problem, like a recent issue with Sims pregnancy for example. There was a notice put out saying the team were aware and working on it. That came from player participation here. New packs often get priority fixes.
In terms of actual ratings, other retailers do have those and some have detailed reviews. They can easily be found, I've just looked at 2 different retailers and found them. So other players can do their due diligence and do the same. You might not be buying it from that source but you can still read their reviews and check star ratings. Even a web search to buy the content will also bring up some comments and reviews in the search results. For example as a test I just searched for My Wedding Stories and saw where to buy it plus social media comments and Steam star ratings.
I'm sorry you're having issues with your game, I know that's frustrating. I'd report those issues in Bug Reports if you haven't already. Looking at reports from players can reveal workarounds and tips you might not have seen before and your information could help with fixes. You mentioned mods there and if you are a mod user then we have excellent mod support in our mods section, even though mods aren't the responsibility of EA.
If you were a console player I could help you avoid a corrupted game but it looks like you're not unfortunately. But there are players here who can give you advice on that if you take a look around the Sims 4 index. I've had that before and was gutted. But I actually enjoyed rebuilding my game as I'd bought new content and could build it better. Still though, it was heartbreaking at first to lose it.
