Yikes .... The Game Pack Trailer has more dislikes than likes

"logion;c-17636202" wrote:

"LiELF;c-17636175" wrote:
There's some very important factors to consider here, if we're trying to speak "facts" and truth. And people aren't going to like this, so if you're not someone who can handle harsh reality, then move along, move along, and skip my post.

EA is a mult-billion dollar corporation. At their disposal, they have tons and tons of data, research, and analytics to make any major money-making decisions. They invest in this information on a regular basis, because they have shareholders to answer to. So.

The core Sims community's unrest with this pack was not unanticipated. They very well knew the family players, realistic players, the "old school" Sims players, would have a cow over this. They knew. And they did it anyway. Why? Because they don't care anymore to cater to those players. They really don't. The CEO has been saying all along that they are chasing new trends, year after year. They have confirmed to be aiming at the new, younger gaming audience and building the player base. They have studied their statistical analysis and concluded that catering to the "old" isn't as lucrative as pandering to the "new". Therefore...

They already knew there would be an outcry against this pack. They already knew they would lose some players over it. But statistically, it doesn't matter (to them). Because those Simmers on social media only make up a small percentage of the worldwide player community (25 million active players, as last revealed) and the potential for reaching new players, Star Wars fanatics, and trend followers, is much much more profitable. They even stated in a recent article in the Washington Post that from here on out, they will be focusing more actively on the trends and hype of young people, ranging from fashion to TV. So this is only the beginning.

The only way...the only way they would bother to change direction, and it's a long shot, is if the sales of the Star Wars pack took a huge dive, and it would have to be significant enough to be a substantial monetary loss. Because they don't care how upset players are on social media, or how many downvotes the trailer gets. That's only in the thousands. The player base is millions and the Star Wars franchise is legendary. People everywhere, all over the internet are taking notice of the fabled "Sims Star Wars Pack". People who have never played a Sims game in their lives. Remember, they now also have the power of Disney backing them up. If there's one company I'd predict to take over the world one day, it would be Disney.

I'm honestly very interested to see how this pack sells on release day because I feel like this is going to be the big test of the new direction for cross-marketing on a larger scale. I just wish they shared their numbers publicly. But I'll be keeping an eye out for that quarterly report after September to see if there's any mention of it. Because this move is going to change the franchise forever. Life simulator? hardly. Adventure simulator? Maybe. Trend simulator? You bet.

It feels like they have tried to make this a trend simulator for a while. I wish them good luck with this attempt. I'm not sure how many more new players this will draw in, they will probably buy the base game and this pack and then play it for a couple of hours, and the majority of people that don't engage with the community will probably buy it anyway.

I would be fine with them chasing trends if the game felt more complete, but it isn't. Six years of game development and my babies are objects and my families can't save up money for a car, but they can fly a spaceship.

Yeah, I totally get it. I've been rallying for Fear, better personalities and deeper romantic preferences and interactions and I've been doing it since at least 2015, lol. I think some things are too difficult to implement and some are just not profitable enough for the funding. It's unfortunate, because if the base game had just been allowed more time to be developed, we might have had more of these things in it. But then again, judging by the patches we've gotten, maybe not.

The Sims 4 is just a different animal than the previous games. It has metamorphosed into something new and it looks like EA is keeping it that way.

@LiELF Your analysis is very good, but I still think that EA is making a mistake.

The Sims is one of very few mega-successful decades-long entertainment franchises for all age groups, comparable to Harry Potter, Dr. Who in the UK or the detective series The Three Investigators (Die drei ???) in Germany. The success recipe of these franchises is that they never, never abandon their big aging fanbases. Instead the products become more mature with the audience. Acquiring young new fans is done via spin-offs for kids (the German series is a masterpiece in this respect, and also The Sims does this with the mobile phone games).

If TS4 becomes a trendy game for teenagers only, they will loose their fans every 5 years and can start at zero. Sadly I think this is what happens.

"luxsylvan;c-17636126" wrote:

Moschino and Baby Ariel in TS4 had their uproar too (though it seems minimal in comparison to this).

Moschino was one of the better brand packs because it was a fashion and photography pack first, and barely had any Moschino stuff in it. You could easily ignore the brand deal outside of a few CAS items, which IIRC couldn't spawn on townies.

"LiELF;c-17636223" wrote:

The Sims 4 is just a different animal than the previous games. It has metamorphosed into something new and it looks like EA is keeping it that way.

If the Sims 4 is an animal, I would describe it as that human/dog chimera from Full-Metal Alchemist that was suffering and had to be put down.

"Gordy;c-17636260" wrote:

"luxsylvan;c-17636126" wrote:

Moschino and Baby Ariel in TS4 had their uproar too (though it seems minimal in comparison to this).

Moschino was one of the better brand packs because it was a fashion and photography pack first, and barely had any Moschino stuff in it. You could easily ignore the brand deal outside of a few CAS items, which IIRC couldn't spawn on townies.

That's true, I think they can be done well. It just needs to balance. Fashion packs are easier for people to get behind because they tend to be stuff packs that are "unimportant" slots of content to take. And most people welcome new CAS items. Harder when an entire game pack slot is taken by a brand deal with what appears to be very little replay value or new/interesting ideas (to me).

"Gordy;c-17636260" wrote:

"luxsylvan;c-17636126" wrote:

Moschino and Baby Ariel in TS4 had their uproar too (though it seems minimal in comparison to this).

Moschino was one of the better brand packs because it was a fashion and photography pack first, and barely had any Moschino stuff in it. You could easily ignore the brand deal outside of a few CAS items, which IIRC couldn't spawn on townies.

"LiELF;c-17636223" wrote:

The Sims 4 is just a different animal than the previous games. It has metamorphosed into something new and it looks like EA is keeping it that way.

If the Sims 4 is an animal, I would describe it as that human/dog chimera from Full-Metal Alchemist that was suffering and had to be put down.

I want to point out that I purchased the Moschino stuff pack as I wanted to enjoy the photography career. The photography career was broken on the day I purchased.

I tested this today. Its STILL BROKEN

I never experienced a broken bug that hasn't been fixed for this length of time compared to previous games. And the fact they're still selling a pack with a broken gameplay is disgusting and a scam.

"Finbar659;c-17636330" wrote:

"Gordy;c-17636260" wrote:

"luxsylvan;c-17636126" wrote:

Moschino and Baby Ariel in TS4 had their uproar too (though it seems minimal in comparison to this).

Moschino was one of the better brand packs because it was a fashion and photography pack first, and barely had any Moschino stuff in it. You could easily ignore the brand deal outside of a few CAS items, which IIRC couldn't spawn on townies.

"LiELF;c-17636223" wrote:

The Sims 4 is just a different animal than the previous games. It has metamorphosed into something new and it looks like EA is keeping it that way.

If the Sims 4 is an animal, I would describe it as that human/dog chimera from Full-Metal Alchemist that was suffering and had to be put down.

I want to point out that I purchased the Moschino stuff pack as I wanted to enjoy the photography career. The photography career was broken on the day I purchased.

I tested this today. Its STILL BROKEN

I never experienced a broken bug that hasn't been fixed for this length of time compared to previous games. And the fact they're still selling a pack with a broken gameplay is disgusting and a scam.

For real? ??‍♀️ I shouldn't even be surprised, I was hoping it was working for the people that bought it. I didn't, so I wouldn't know, but considered getting it for the career. A total bummer :/

"alanmichael1;c-17636258" wrote:
@LiELF Your analysis is very good, but I still think that EA is making a mistake.

The Sims is one of very few mega-successful decades-long entertainment franchises for all age groups, comparable to Harry Potter, Dr. Who in the UK or the detective series The Three Investigators (Die drei ???) in Germany. The success recipe of these franchises is that they never, never abandon their big aging fanbases. Instead the products become more mature with the audience. Acquiring young new fans is done via spin-offs for kids (the German series is a masterpiece in this respect, and also The Sims does this with the mobile phone games).

If TS4 becomes a trendy game for teenagers only, they will loose their fans every 5 years and can start at zero. Sadly I think this is what happens.

@alanmichael1 No, I hear you. I'm still a huge lover of Sims 2 and every single time I play Sims 4 I miss the depth of interaction and behaviors from that game. The early Sims games were very special and unique and had an extraordinary formula that worked perfectly. It's heartbreaking to see that formula washed down the drain of capitalism.

I think that if they had not named TS4 as a sequel in the franchise, but rather as a stand alone, the reception may have been very different and the expectations wouldn't have been as high. Had they developed an additional game that was truer to its predecessors and released it a few years after TS4 and named it the fourth in the series, people might have supported both games and appreciated TS4 for what it is. But, alas, that didn't happen.

Sims 4 was originally going to be an online game and its engine was built for it. Multiplayer online games usually have robust engines when performing for what they were intended. I have to wonder if this new story driven direction is a way to cater to the game's original purpose. Why fight the engine to make it something it really isn't when they could embrace it and go larger with what it's meant to do? Perhaps that's one of the reasons why they've switched direction. It doesn't mean players will like it, but it would make a little more sense as to why we're getting a pack like Star Wars.

"ryttu3k;c-17635404" wrote:
Journey to Batuu: 36k to 81k

Are you excited for The Sims 4: Journey to Batuu?

Yes: 84 / 22%
No: 296 / 77%

What do you think of Journey to Batuu?

Can't wait!: 58 / 17%
Pretty good: 25 / 7%
Okay / not really bothered: 39 / 11%
Definitely not buying: 189 / 56%
Will buy in a sale: 20 / 5%
If it has...: 4 / 1%

Journey to Baatu : new pack! Your thoughts?

I am not excited or interested. That reveal did nothing for me . I will most likely skip. 65% / 189 votes
I am vaguely interested,and i will most likely buy the Star Wars pack 12% / 37 votes
I am SUPER into the Star Wars theme and cant wait! 14% / 43 votes
I dont care for the Star Wars theme much, but im buying this for Build/Buy/CAS , etc. 6% / 20 votes

Are you looking forward to sims 4 journey to batuu

Yes: 46 / 35%
No: 84 / 64%

Thought I'd pop back two weeks on and see what's changed!

Youtube: the reveal trailer is now on 42k likes to 107k dislikes, or 71.8% dislikes. When I last checked, it was 36k to 81k, or 69.2% dislikes. So, more people dislike it.

I linked four polls initially. Links are in the quoted section, so I'll just do these plaintext.

Are you excited for The Sims 4: Journey to Batuu?

Yes: 98 / 21%
No: 351 / 78%

Originally, No was on 77%, with 296 votes.

What do you think of Journey to Batuu?

Can't wait!: 73 / 16%
Pretty good: 28 / 6%
Okay / not really bothered: 52 / 11%
Definitely not buying: 246 / 56%
Will buy in a sale: 28 / 6%
If it has...: 7 / 1%

'Definitely not buying' has remained steady on 56%, as has 'okay' on 11% and 'if it has' on 1%. 'Can't wait!' and 'pretty good' have dropped by 1% each, 'will buy in a sale' has risen by 1%. So some of the more positive responses have tempered down to sale only.

Journey to Baatu : new pack! Your thoughts?

I am not excited or interested. That reveal did nothing for me . I will most likely skip. 209 / 64%
I am vaguely interested,and i will most likely buy the Star Wars pack 42 / 13%
I am SUPER into the Star Wars theme and cant wait! 48 / 14%
I dont care for the Star Wars theme much, but im buying this for Build/Buy/CAS , etc. 24 / 7%

The negative votes have dropped by one percent. Those who are vaguely interested and those interested in BB/CAS have risen by one percent, and those super into it have remained steady. Overall, a slight uptick in interest.

Are you looking forward to sims 4 journey to batuu

Yes: 73 / 31%
No: 158 / 68%

This ratio has changed - initially, it was 35% positive, 64% negative.

Conclusions - still very, very negative. There has been some softening of dislike in some polls, but it's risen in others. JtB has now been out for a week, and there's been essentially no change in how people see it.

The reviews for it haven't been great so really I'm not surprised that the opinion hasn't changed much since it released. I stuck to my word and didn't buy it. I've seen reviews on it and they have confirmed for me that I'm making the right decision. The game play looks actually terrible. Even if it wasn't Star Wars themed but still had this same type of game play it would be a disappointment to me. I don't want repetitive missions, rabbit holes and loading screen after loading screen type game play personally.

"LiELF;c-17636175" wrote:
There's some very important factors to consider here, if we're trying to speak "facts" and truth. And people aren't going to like this, so if you're not someone who can handle harsh reality, then move along, move along, and skip my post.

EA is a mult-billion dollar corporation. At their disposal, they have tons and tons of data, research, and analytics to make any major money-making decisions. They invest in this information on a regular basis, because they have shareholders to answer to. So.

The core Sims community's unrest with this pack was not unanticipated. They very well knew the family players, realistic players, the "old school" Sims players, would have a cow over this. They knew. And they did it anyway. Why? Because they don't care anymore to cater to those players. They really don't. The CEO has been saying all along that they are chasing new trends, year after year. They have confirmed to be aiming at the new, younger gaming audience and building the player base. They have studied their statistical analysis and concluded that catering to the "old" isn't as lucrative as pandering to the "new". Therefore...

They already knew there would be an outcry against this pack. They already knew they would lose some players over it. But statistically, it doesn't matter (to them). Because those Simmers on social media only make up a small percentage of the worldwide player community (25 million active players, as last revealed) and the potential for reaching new players, Star Wars fanatics, and trend followers, is much much more profitable. They even stated in a recent article in the Washington Post that from here on out, they will be focusing more actively on the trends and hype of young people, ranging from fashion to TV. So this is only the beginning.

The only way...the only way they would bother to change direction, and it's a long shot, is if the sales of the Star Wars pack took a huge dive, and it would have to be significant enough to be a substantial monetary loss. Because they don't care how upset players are on social media, or how many downvotes the trailer gets. That's only in the thousands. The player base is millions and the Star Wars franchise is legendary. People everywhere, all over the internet are taking notice of the fabled "Sims Star Wars Pack". People who have never played a Sims game in their lives. Remember, they now also have the power of Disney backing them up. If there's one company I'd predict to take over the world one day, it would be Disney.

I'm honestly very interested to see how this pack sells on release day because I feel like this is going to be the big test of the new direction for cross-marketing on a larger scale. I just wish they shared their numbers publicly. But I'll be keeping an eye out for that quarterly report after September to see if there's any mention of it. Because this move is going to change the franchise forever. Life simulator? hardly. Adventure simulator? Maybe. Trend simulator? You bet.

Coming in late here but remember what saved Sims 4 from being a mandatory Online Only experience? The fact that EA (and Maxis!) COMPLETELY botched the Sim City reboot to the point of a 6 person Indie Game developer from Finland beat them hands down making the best City Simulator in history.

EA is most certainly capable of misjudging things, it's just that they have a huge margin due to being very very very rich.