[FAQ] Sims 4 Console Mods and CC

Heyyy, I am an old PC player and I just turned to console recently. I am used to playing with mods and now it’s just not as exciting. I really really think they should add that possibility!!

@maria_grmln we see this request a lot but unfortunately it's nothing to do with EA. It's the console manufacturers responsibility and in some countries, such as the UK it's actually illegal.

So it would require a rethink on the part of the console manufacturers and even law changes in some countries.

But you can send feedback to them directly so maybe one day Sony/Microsoft will reconsider and it will become a possibility in the future.

hello, this is a suggestion, not a form of any needs of help, but if yall were to come out with a new update soon, I feel like you guys should try to get cc for console players, like make a new tab on the gallery as a way to download mods/cc in game, maybe there would be a way we could transfer from computer to game on console, or a new gallery slots, and have us download it and all the cc would be in the cc gallery slot, it would make the community very happy!

@Xoxoniaaa it's not within EA's control unfortunately so wouldn't be possible in an update. It's the console manufacturers Sony and Microsoft's decision.

Modding a console is actually illegal in some countries too.

But the console manufacturers also take feedback from players so if they hear it enough maybe things will change at some point in the future. But in some countries that will need law changes so it's not as straightforward a decision as one might expect.

I don't claim to know all the inner workings, but my educated guess for why this is impossible is that, for one, the companies that own these consoles (Microsoft and Sony) have to OK everything that is downloadable on their consoles, so that no harmful or illegal content is going through and getting them into trouble.
Therefore, every single piece of CC would have to be checked over and go through an approval process before becoming available, and with the amount of CC on the metaphorical market for Sims 4, this would never be even remotely feasible. MS and Sony don't want to be responsible for any of that, and they wouldn't allow unvetted content on their consoles that can create game-breaking bugs, glitches, crashing, etc.

Secondly, the Sims Team doesn't want to be on the hook for that either.

That's why, with mods on PC, they make it very clear that they are not official content and that any issues you introduce to your game by using mods are your responsibility.
By adding them to the gallery, they would be officially integrating mods into the game they're distributing, therefore taking responsibility for any problems they may create by being poorly made or made with malicious intent. Don't even get me started on all the mods that implement illegal and explicit content into the game, which I'm sure EA doesn't want to be in anyway officially associated with.

It could also turn into a copyright licensing nightmare, where creators would either have to sign away all rights to their work or EA could open themselves up to lawsuits.

The long and short of it is that I don't think this is ever going to happen - the closest we're going to get is when Maxis partners with CC creators to make official assets for the packs and free updates, which they've done a few times in the past.

soo, I think the sims 4 should create a cc tab in the gallery for cc & mod creators to upload in game and console players can download ( as you would with houses and sims ) and its automatically accessible in the game without console having to do anything with files, it should be something you can get in game ! 

@Xoxoniaaa if I'm understanding your suggestion correctly you can't have CC on console unfortunately. It's not possible as the console manufacturers don't allow it.

It would be nice if we could use CC on console but it's a decision taken by Microsoft and Sony.

There needs to be mod support on consoles to help with the longevity of the game. There's absolutely no excuse or reason why we don't have this in 2024 in one of the most heavily modded games to date. It is 100% possible as we've seen this with other games. It doesn't need to be a feature for the older consoles but as an added update for next gen console (current gen basically). We have games like Ark, Starfield, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Baldurs Gate 3 that have mods so why not The Sims 4. 

@XlKPandaXlK , I've heard years ago that both Sony and Microsoft have to agree to it, and for some reason one of them is dragging their feet, though I don't know why that would be if other games on their consoles can be modded. 🤷🏻‍♀️ There must be some complicated reason that all parties can't come to an agreement. 

Yes that's it exactly @PugLove888 it's a console manufacturing issue as consoles work on a closed system and copyright infringement is also a factor. After lobbying from the gaming industry it was also made illegal in practice in some countries to make it possible to mod a console. Here in the UK it was made illegal in 2003. I could understand it after hearing some horror stories locally that I won't explain in detail here.

We hear this a lot and it's something I've often wondered about as a console player myself. But I do think that EA hears the frustration from console players about the things we miss out on and that's reflected in the new Creator Kits we're going to be seeing. Clearly our feedback about CC has been heard. Since access to CC is also in the control of console manufacturers, EA have found an inventive way to make some of those creations available to us. That's really all they can do. 

But the console manufacturers do also have forums and take feedback so @XlKPandaXlK  you can also approach them directly. It would require a massive shake up in the console industry and as it's a legal grey area in some countries it would need to comply with gaming laws internationally but who knows.