I do agree if one had just the base game of 1, 2, or 3, they could play it for months and not need any EP or GP etc. It's not to say people wouldn't want seasons and or pets in their games, but the gameplay is that deep they wouldn't really need much more to be able to play an open-ended series and enjoy it. TS4's base (core) was a horrible release. Think about it, in 1, 2, and 3 we had terraforming, and in 1, and 2 we were able to decorate, edit, and or add bodies of water in the hoods. (TS3 we had to wait for a hood editor). TS4 doesn't even have one six years later.
We were able to start new hoods with empty templates and worlds in all three previous games. (TS1 offered as many empty hoods as you wanted to create). TS2 offered empty templates of any type world/hood you wanted. TS3 offered a free, empty world to download on day one.
We had to beg for anything similar for months (maybe it was a year or so) to get NewCrest in TS4. Ho hum.
I could go on with how TS4 players had to beg, rant, cry to get anything added to TS4 then turn around and say oh, it must have been planned all along..no it was never 'planned' to add this or that, it was based upon heated feedback and ridicule to try to get them to even listen.
I don't think anyone would have ghosts, pools, toddlers or terraforming and or anything else they thought was missing if they had said, oh, hi, gurus, would you please add this or that someday....I think they literally had to rant to get those things, or they would not have gotten them at all with a cup of sugar.
