Are Game Packs Dead?

"Eleri;c-18311815" wrote:

"GrumpyGlowfish;c-18311689" wrote:
Oh, GPs still exist. They're just called EPs now (Growing Together, Horse Ranch).

@GrumpyGlowfish I don't agree that Growing Together is a GP. I think it's actually one of the most complex EPs we've ever had. I have a pet theory that people who think Growing Together is GP-level never played infants without it and assume that most of the infant-related game play that Growing Together added was part of the base game update. You can correct me if I'm wrong.
They had to add the infant life stage to base game, because they had promised not to release anymore DLC of DLC. If infants weren't in base game, they couldn't add additional content for them to other DLC. At the same time, base game infants are an extremely shallow feature. They don't develop skills or abilities, there are not many interactions adults can have with them other than attending to their basic needs. Aside from the crib and a few decorative items, there aren't many items specifically for them, although they can use toddler toys.
Now there's a lot of other content that comes with Growing Together, but if a person mistakenly thinks that most of the infant game play was patched into base game, it'll make that EP seem lighter weight than it really is.

Alright, let me correct you then, even if it will lead me a little bit off topic. I'm only going to speak for myself, of course, everybody else is entitled to their own opinion.

I do in fact play infants without Growing Together because I absolutely refuse to buy that pack until it’s at least 50% off. Not because it’s bad or anything, I'll get to my reasons in a second, but first of all, I think it’s the epitome of rudeness and greed on EA's part to release a feature like infants that is completely useless and, as you said, shallow without paid DLC. I don’t own the Toddler stuff pack either, but I don’t need to because that life stage is fully functional without it. Infants, not so much. Without Growing Together, all the stuff it comes with for them, and especially the milestone system, they're just smaller toddlers who can’t even learn skills.

And that leads me to the reason I don’t want to spend money on this pack. I was actually being generous when I called it a GP pretending to be an EP. In reality, I think many of its features should have come as base game updates. No, I'm not one of those people who want everything for free, but things like a compatibility system, having guests staying over for a while, and probably the only semblance of a memory system we're ever going to get in this game really shouldn’t be hidden behind a paywall. Just like infants, those are things future packs could have expanded on. You might argue that at least it also comes with a new world, but even that world looks like base game Willow Creek 2.0 and offers nothing that you can’t have or do elsewhere.

So in my mind, if I strip Growing Together of all the features that should have been free, what remains? A boring world and a midlife crisis feature. And that thought disappoints and frustrates me so much that I can’t bring myself to buy it, even though I could really use a lot of its content.