Things That Would Have Made My First Pet Stuff Worth The Price
Regardless of how well the pack does in sales, I think it's easily becoming the most controversial stuff pack released so far. I really waffled about buying it, because I'd love to have more pets and more stuff. In the end, I decided not to buy it for all of the reasons a lot of players have put more eloquently than I could, and I just decided that it's not worth it. But in deciding that this stuff pack isn't worth it, I've thought a lot about what would have made it worth it for me.
1. If the hamsters, bubalus, rats, and hedgehogs had different looking cages. They each get their own separate object, but all of the cages look exactly the same, and from what I've seen, the pets interact and act with it the same. If they'd at least made some aesthetic differences to the cages to differentiate the four pets, that would have made a big difference to me. Moreso than their secret lives and adventures. A hedgehog is not a hamster.
2. If the rat cage came with two rats. I'm fine with the hedgehog, hamster, and bubalus being alone, but rats need a buddy. I think having two in a cage with any of them would have made the objects much better, especially since they're big objects, but if that would have been way too difficult, I would have settled for them choosing a different animal than a rat. Another rodent that's more okay being alone. They could have just done a different kind of hamster, like a dwarf or something.
3. More Small Pet Stuff. I think it would have been a much better move not to have the Cats and Dogs stuff in this pack. Most of the objects and clothing for the cats and dogs looks pretty recycled anyway. I love a lot of the redesigns, which is why I was still tempted, but, the pack would have been more worth it to me if it leaned more heavily into the rodents premise. If they'd had more small pet related items instead of the stuff that required Cats and Dogs, I think it would have gone over a lot better. They could have given the content that requires Cats and Dogs as an update to the Cats and Dogs pack, and that would have generated a ton of positive PR instead of the negative that this pack got, and then I bet people would have been a lot more gungho about paying for the small pet pack that went more in depth with the small pets. Since most of that stuff was recolors or stuff that looked held back from Cats and Dogs, it probably wasn't as costly for them to make as the hamsters would have been, and I think the good PR would have been worth it. Plus, then the pack wouldn't have even required C&D to work.
4. If the Rabid Hamster Ghost Had Been Tweaked I love the rabid rodent disease. I love that the ghosts turn into rabid rodents. But...that you can so blatantly and obviously see the line for the mask around their neck ruins the effect for me, and was supremely disappointing. How hard would it have been to get rid of that line on the ghosts so that it looks like a rabid hamster, instead of a person in a hamster costume? If you're saying the ghost is forced to wear a hamster costume, that's fine, but...a hamster costume doesn't foam at the mouth. It's that little lack of attention to detail that really makes the pack come across as sloppy and rushed.
5. Hamster Ball. If they could make a roomba that goes room to room, why couldn't they make a hamster ball? I mean, even if the ball just ran around the perimeter of the cage, that would have been something. They have a rocket taking off out of the cage, but they couldn't give the hamster a ball? That's a huge part of the appeal of hamsters. Especially since it's one rodent per cage.
1. If the hamsters, bubalus, rats, and hedgehogs had different looking cages. They each get their own separate object, but all of the cages look exactly the same, and from what I've seen, the pets interact and act with it the same. If they'd at least made some aesthetic differences to the cages to differentiate the four pets, that would have made a big difference to me. Moreso than their secret lives and adventures. A hedgehog is not a hamster.
2. If the rat cage came with two rats. I'm fine with the hedgehog, hamster, and bubalus being alone, but rats need a buddy. I think having two in a cage with any of them would have made the objects much better, especially since they're big objects, but if that would have been way too difficult, I would have settled for them choosing a different animal than a rat. Another rodent that's more okay being alone. They could have just done a different kind of hamster, like a dwarf or something.
3. More Small Pet Stuff. I think it would have been a much better move not to have the Cats and Dogs stuff in this pack. Most of the objects and clothing for the cats and dogs looks pretty recycled anyway. I love a lot of the redesigns, which is why I was still tempted, but, the pack would have been more worth it to me if it leaned more heavily into the rodents premise. If they'd had more small pet related items instead of the stuff that required Cats and Dogs, I think it would have gone over a lot better. They could have given the content that requires Cats and Dogs as an update to the Cats and Dogs pack, and that would have generated a ton of positive PR instead of the negative that this pack got, and then I bet people would have been a lot more gungho about paying for the small pet pack that went more in depth with the small pets. Since most of that stuff was recolors or stuff that looked held back from Cats and Dogs, it probably wasn't as costly for them to make as the hamsters would have been, and I think the good PR would have been worth it. Plus, then the pack wouldn't have even required C&D to work.
4. If the Rabid Hamster Ghost Had Been Tweaked I love the rabid rodent disease. I love that the ghosts turn into rabid rodents. But...that you can so blatantly and obviously see the line for the mask around their neck ruins the effect for me, and was supremely disappointing. How hard would it have been to get rid of that line on the ghosts so that it looks like a rabid hamster, instead of a person in a hamster costume? If you're saying the ghost is forced to wear a hamster costume, that's fine, but...a hamster costume doesn't foam at the mouth. It's that little lack of attention to detail that really makes the pack come across as sloppy and rushed.
5. Hamster Ball. If they could make a roomba that goes room to room, why couldn't they make a hamster ball? I mean, even if the ball just ran around the perimeter of the cage, that would have been something. They have a rocket taking off out of the cage, but they couldn't give the hamster a ball? That's a huge part of the appeal of hamsters. Especially since it's one rodent per cage.
