"Writin_Reg;c-16413240" wrote:
Well then - keep in mind I would put a big hole in your theory seeing I have been here longer than most other vets in the game seeing I started with the Sims in 1999 as a tester for the game before it was ever released. On top of it one of my own family members that agree with me has also been with the game as long as I have - also having been chosen by Will Wright as a tester for the Sims as well - my oldest sons wife (it was before they were even engaged) - who by the way is also an EXTREME Gamer, a hardcore gamer who is in the league with the ladies of competitive gaming - and plays many competitions, but also loves the Sims - which does put a wrench in even some of Erpes theories on hard core gamers. Her and my son founded and runs Capclan and has run lan party extreme hard core gaming competitions since the 1990's. Doom, Half life, Counter Strike - you name it.
So trying to come up with any particular reason - like youth, inexperience, or even not being hardcore gamers as to why some of us who actually head these areas brought up, and agree more or less with how things are now going -blows a big hole in any ones theory. Fact is games are ever changing otherwise they would stagnate and fail eventually. Even if a former version was the cats pajamas - the best game ever - it is going to change or the company that makes it ceases to exists. I don't care how much someone loves pizza - eventually eating it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - month after month , year after year - sooner or later one is going to tire of that same old pizza. So eventually that pizza lover is going to try some other food at the very least but mostly maybe more variations of the pizza itself. It is human nature - and gaming works the same way - it is going to change everytime the makers of the game go back to the drawing board to refreshen the idea of that particular game. It will keep the basics of what makes it that kind of game - but often games go off in all sorts of directions - to bring something different and enticing to the game - especially if the maker hopes to attract new audiences and bring young gamers on board. The same reason advertisers have certain age people they care to base their advertisements on - even if all ages buy their products - it will be the younger people that they need to attract to stay in business - like it or not - young people is where it's at if one want selling power as the young audience having a product they like will keep that product alive in the future. That is a fact of life! Me being the age person no advertisers cares to appeal to - like it or not - am well aware this is how it works. So I either get with the flow - and put aside how it used to be for how it is now and either adjust or get left behind and have no game at all.
Being one of the oldest vets in this game does not help me at all any more than most people my age sitting around saying "Well it used to be...." kind of scenarios. One either gets with the program in the direction it goes or you get left behind. That's a fact and the way life goes.
Who has not heard the cliche - "That was then, this is now". To businesses - especially gaming that is their rule of thumb - to not only make it all about now and tomorrow - but for the product to bring with it a new appeal to the younger generation period... and what ever that takes - that is the road big business heads for period.
I don't agree with "getting with the program" simply because EA decided to move down that path.
And the fact that you were a tester picked by Will Wright should add further perspective to your decision for supporting the franchise, since Will Wright had nothing to do with TS3/TS4. I'm surprised that it doesn't turn you away from the way things are going right now.
If the direction they are headed in is predominately SP's, then I think people have a right to be taken seriously. Because EA is heading in a new direction but it doesn't mean that it is a good one for the franchise. 14 SP's, 4 EP's, 6 GP's in 4 years ... I would have preferred to see fewer SP's, more EP's and GP's. Also instead of breaking up a traditional EP into a half-baked EP, 1 GP, and 1 SP, I think they should be completing the EP's to the best of their ability while creating GP's and SP's as additional content. Truly additional content. Not content that is supposed to make up for the low-quality EP.
And yeah. They are attracting younger people to the business. So maybe The Sims really just had its life and time in the spotlight and now it's moving into being the McDonald's of gaming because EA thinks that is the direction they should be heading in. Low quality, simple, easy, and little to no value. Just something quick and easy to make a profit. If EA wants to head in that direction with The Sims, then I guess you are right. Maybe the older audience will need to detach itself from the franchise and move on to other games that may fall outside of the life simulation genre. But I think there is something to be said about the fans from TS1/2/3 sticking around for this long. If we are being phased out because we are older and are not their "target", then I guess we can let the franchise move into that space. The worse the iteration gets, the less likely their initial audience sticks around - since, like you are saying, apparently they are marketing to young people that are supposed to stick with the franchise for at least 5 yrs to buy all the expansion packs and whatnot. So an 11 yr old that gets into the game eventually becomes 16. And what happens when they start going to the other games from other developers and publishers that are better quality during those 5 yrs? Right, they give The Sims up and quite easily because the product itself is mediocre. So there goes their customer retention. Also with the pace of quality titles coming out that are F2P or are much better for the money you are spending, then it makes their decision even easier. If you are fine with letting EA do that to the franchise, I guess that's understandable. I mean, I would prefer to TRY to steer EA into the right direction. Well, what I personally consider to be the right direction ... which is less SP's, more EP's and GP's, higher quality, and the ability to have a more complex game with a ton more technical options. Not saying that anything at EA will change at all simply because I make a post on the forums ... LOL. But if I can influence our faithful Sims community, and some of those younger people that EA is targeting, then I am happy to influence them because I think my influence is more authentic than EA's influence. I want the younger people to be disillusioned and to leave the franchise if The Sims is going to go down this path. So while it IS EA's chosen direction, I will personally resist and bring as many people as possible with me. They don't have to be devs or employees at EA. They can just be the 13, 14, 15 yr old kids taking the time to read some of my posts, which gets them thinking about things, and regardless if they think I am right or not, I at least want them to make that decision for themselves, NOT because EA is feeding it to them. Maybe my efforts and everyone else like me are just wasting our time trying to make the game better or speaking critically of EA. But that's a risk that EA is gunna have to take by going in this direction. The direction of larger volumes of shallow, buggy, and glitchy DLC. I guess if the older audiences are irrelevant, then it shouldn't matter if we sit on the forums all day writing posts criticising EA's business decisions and practices.
