Why do people get so angry about new Sims 4 content?

There are tons of factors, but I think one of the main ones is that Sims may be the only video game some people play. If a pack comes out that they're not interested in, they realize they may have to wait months (or more) for another pack to be released, and they can get rather...upset. :#

Some people can be very nasty and immature, but I'd like to think the majority of the fanbase is pretty reasonable.

I think it has a lot to do with passion. Whatever else we, as a community are, we are passionate about our little sims' lives and how their short hours are spent, so when the game goes in a direction that we do not enjoy or are afraid we won't enjoy, it can be upsetting.

I think in many cases, people feed their own negative thoughts with other people's negative thoughts and two people who were mildly irked become down right angry. The original 'problem' isn't any worse, but in their minds, now its monumental! I've fallen into that trap a few times. Can't blame anyone but myself for it. It happens. Now days, I just try to remind myself that someone out there is over-the-moon-happy with that piece of content I don't like. That makes it much better. Knowing someone else who maybe was disappointed last content update is excited over the new one helps a bunch.

"HowGreatThouArt;c-16984802" wrote:
There are tons of factors, but I think one of the main ones is that Sims may be the only video game some people play. If a pack comes out that they're not interested in, they realize they may have to wait months (or more) for another pack to be released, and they can get rather...upset. :#

Some people can be very nasty and immature, but I'd like to think the majority of the fanbase is pretty reasonable.

You hit the nail in the head, at least this is how I feel. I’m never upset, but I do get disappointed and it’s only ever happened with this iteration for the reason you stated. Content for 4 comes sporadically and there are long months between releases.

In the past when something came out that was not to my liking, like supernaturals, I was happy for the folks that would enjoy it and I’d sit tight knowing it wouldn’t be too long until we’d hear about what was next. Also the store helped quench my thirst for new content in between.

It does happen with other games. I play Civilization, and mostly you only hear from people who think Civ V was better than Civ VI, and the latest expansion was over-priced, buggy, and disappointing.

Actually, the Sims is the only game I know of where people come on the forum to talk about how much they're enjoying the game and what they love about the latest DLC.

I guess I get what you're saying, this does make sense to me. I still find it a bit unfair/unreasonable considering we do get a lot of free new content and bug fixes kinda regularly.

Though I have to say I experience this phenomenon a lot more severe in the Sims 4 facebook groups I'm in.

"Catlady;c-16984838" wrote:
I guess I get what you're saying, this does make sense to me. I still find it a bit unfair/unreasonable considering we do get a lot of free new content and bug fixes kinda regularly.

Though I have to say I experience this phenomenon a lot more severe in the Sims 4 facebook groups I'm in.

I believe you. I only come here from time to time. I generally avoid other groups/forums. I’ve seen how much of a cesspool it’s become and I rather avoid it all together.

There’s so many reasons for this to happen, but I think a lot of it is people getting their hopes up, only to be let down because something isn’t what they want or even just slightly different.

The University EP is such a good example for this, honestly. You find so many people who want a University EP and keep asking for it no matter what, because surely a huge group of people asking for the same thing is going to get noticed pretty quickly by the developers, right?

Meanwhile the game developers have their own ideas on what they want to do (and in what order, too) and have been working on their own thing (such as Strangerville and Get Famous). They’re aware many people are asking for (basically demanding at this point) a University EP but have something else planned for now so they may discuss it or do it later.

Fast forward to the day they decide to announce their new project, said people are expecting the University EP because of how much they’ve been asking for it, even if the developers are hinting at something else, but then it ends up being something different and they get disappointed because they got their hopes up, sometimes without too much evidence it could even be that.

It’s a sad circle some people get themselves into, and it’s completely preventable. (I’m not saying people shouldn’t ask for things, just that if something’s not exactly what you want to stay positive. Who knows; they could do your thing next time!) The game developers clearly work so hard on everything they do, so I can imagine how upsetting it can get when some people aren’t appreciative of their hard work. This is just how I see it anyway.

That took half an hour to type up, y’all. A new record for me!

@AriaMad2 It was worth the 30 minutes though. Well worded and well thought-out. :)

I get the frustration. The game has been out for four years, and it's missing a ton of beloved content from other games. (I know a lot of people stopped playing because the game is so bereft of long-lasting content, there's nothing to do.) This is especially true for us occult fans - instead of getting new life states almost every EP, we've gotten two permanent states over the past four years, and neither of them are the highly-requested witches. We didn't get toddlers for three years. It feels like the devs aren't listening to what fans want.

When we get a new pack announcement and see that it isn't what we want, it means that we have to wait several months for the next pack, in the hopes that we might get what we want. It's even worse when the pack is something you have no interest in, and adds no value to you personally. All you can do is skip the pack and not have any new Sims content for a few months. (I kind of like RPG stories like StrangerVille, even if I didn't like SV's story. I'd be fine with more packs like it, but I can understand the myriad of reasons why people are against this pack.) It's a constant cycle of waiting and waiting, only to be disappointed, that's been going on for years. It's hard to stay positive after so long.

That said, negativity doesn't justify lashing out at the devs, or at those who are happy with what they have. (Luckily though, this fandom seems to be above that for the most part.) I can also get how it can be when you just want to enjoy something, but everyone around you is insulting it constantly - believe me, I've had to put up with that for years, multiple times. But I completely understand why people are frustrated, and I don't think it's fair to paint the complainers as this ungrateful group of angry people. But then again, I haven't seen these groups personally; for all I know, they could literally be hanging from their chandeliers and screaming whenever they look at their computer screens.

"Catlady;c-16984838" wrote:
I guess I get what you're saying, this does make sense to me. I still find it a bit unfair/unreasonable considering we do get a lot of free new content and bug fixes kinda regularly.

Thing is, free stuff doesn't negate everything else. A free t-shirt and a necklace now and again won't make up for the lack of something REALLY want. Besides, fixing bugs is what they're supposed to do, and I don't think EAxis is giving out free items purely out of the goodness of their hearts. You can appreciate what they do, but they'll do it regardless of how you feel because they're getting paid for it.