Subscription Services in the Sims Yes or No?
Okay guys. It's time for this poll. https://i.imgur.com/byvJYh4.png According to new job listings and several hints from the team, it could be that the next Sims games will use subscriptions as a...
Forum Discussion
This is an absolute hard no from me.
Major AAA developers are so headlong caught up in revenue maximization that they are outright customer-hostile. I'm not against buying a game that relies heavily on DLC for its business model. One look at the amount of money I've spent on American Truck Simulator and will continue to spend for as long as SCS Software keeps putting out content for the game proves that (for a game I paid $5 for on sale, I've now put over $100 into it on DLC and anything they release, I'll buy as soon as it's out.) Likewise, I bought 10 out of the 15 DLC packs for Crusader Kings 2 during its lifetime and will probably buy most if not all of whatever Paradox puts out for CK3. Having a fairly limited basegame that's extensible and modular, then offering interesting extensions and modules, is a perfectly good way to do business.
I'm old enough to remember model railroading, like on an actual large table in my stepfather's basement when I was a kid before the consumer Internet even existed. A lot of today's simulation games are a direct descendant of the "go to the hobby shop to buy more track or rolling stock or scale-model houses to build little villages for your train to stop at" days. Just look at...well, The Sims franchise up to this point.
But the hobby shop never said "give us money every month or we'll take your layout away", or its cousin "give us money for a 'season pass' and we'll send you new stuff every month whether you like it or not, just keep paying." (that was more the Book of the Month Club's job, but I digress.)
Subscription models and season passes are for money-hungry companies that don't trust their audience or don't have the ability to cultivate a loyal, passionate fanbase that starts posting Futurama "Shut up and take my money" GIFs on the dev's social media pages the hot second a new DLC is announced, never mind released.
I have other games. EA is going to have to do better to earn my money if they want me to buy Sims 5.
Major AAA developers are so headlong caught up in revenue maximization that they are outright customer-hostile. I'm not against buying a game that relies heavily on DLC for its business model. One look at the amount of money I've spent on American Truck Simulator and will continue to spend for as long as SCS Software keeps putting out content for the game proves that (for a game I paid $5 for on sale, I've now put over $100 into it on DLC and anything they release, I'll buy as soon as it's out.) Likewise, I bought 10 out of the 15 DLC packs for Crusader Kings 2 during its lifetime and will probably buy most if not all of whatever Paradox puts out for CK3. Having a fairly limited basegame that's extensible and modular, then offering interesting extensions and modules, is a perfectly good way to do business.
I'm old enough to remember model railroading, like on an actual large table in my stepfather's basement when I was a kid before the consumer Internet even existed. A lot of today's simulation games are a direct descendant of the "go to the hobby shop to buy more track or rolling stock or scale-model houses to build little villages for your train to stop at" days. Just look at...well, The Sims franchise up to this point.
But the hobby shop never said "give us money every month or we'll take your layout away", or its cousin "give us money for a 'season pass' and we'll send you new stuff every month whether you like it or not, just keep paying." (that was more the Book of the Month Club's job, but I digress.)
Subscription models and season passes are for money-hungry companies that don't trust their audience or don't have the ability to cultivate a loyal, passionate fanbase that starts posting Futurama "Shut up and take my money" GIFs on the dev's social media pages the hot second a new DLC is announced, never mind released.
I have other games. EA is going to have to do better to earn my money if they want me to buy Sims 5.
