NEW UPDATE?!
There's a new update? Or is Origin playing games with me?
Forum Discussion
"OEII1001;c-17392796" wrote:"LiELF;c-17392791" wrote:"OEII1001;c-17392782" wrote:"LiELF;c-17392779" wrote:
Regarding the Sims 4 as a live service....it actually is. This was clarified a few years ago by SimGuruGraham here:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained/p1
He does mention that ongoing free content is a part of that. There is even a team dedicated to it.
I know what they said, but I assume we've all been around the block to enough times to know that this isn't a live service despite those claims. You don't even need to be connected to the internet to play this game.
I mean, it's not a live service in the same way that MMOs are, certainly. But the definition of live service is changing and evolving to include more than just subscriptions and microtransactions. The Sims 4 does continuously offer new content for purchase in order to fund further development of the game. And they also offer game patches on a fairly regular, almost monthly basis. So the basic premise and reasoning for it is still applicable.
You are right, it isn't a live service in the way of an MMO. It also isn't a live service in the way of cloud gaming or season passes. It also doesn't have microtransactions, unlike it's predecessor. The only aspect that even comes close to a game as a service is if one uses EA's premium service on Origin. Otherwise, this game plays exactly like each of the previous iterations, minus the aforementioned Sims 3 microtransactions.
Another aspect is having a foundation that doesn’t fundamentally change for years and years and instead keeps building out from the edges over time with an endless stream of paid content. In this way it’s able to sustain itself indefinitely. And that’s certainly characteristic of GaaS.
One could argue that the series has used a version of the service model in its previous iterations as well.
Featured Places
