Sims: NEW Monetization Planned
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- The latest sims 4 update brought with it time limited events- offering new build buy (bb) or create a sim (cas) items- many from other dlc packs. Now, fears about sims 4 monetizing grow, as new job postings reveal plans for the sims to add in new ways to get your money. While I'm not sure if it's microtrasnactions like a mobile game, I'm worried.
Here's my analysis of how this could impact both sims 4 and project rene/ sims 5.
Stay tuned for sims, paralives, life by you, inzoi and other simulation game news, reviews, commentary, updates and more.
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Sources/ Credits
simscommunity.info/2024/05/28...
www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the...
www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=704...
www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=f7d...
1100-6517663
simscommunity.info/2023/06/28...
Andrew Wilson Interview: • Andrew Wilson: Studio ... - Hry
I don't think you are negative. I think you are a realist.
People often think black/ white so I like to explain my approach ha but yes I hope to mostly come across, when possible, as a realist
Yeah she gives her thoughts. There's people who'd report the Sims news like this but most of the video would be a rant about how everyone needs to stop playing Sims forever. The franchise needs to die. Go support one of the other games. The argument about who's negative or has no idea is annoying. You're basically expected to want the franchise to die or you're an idiot.
This. Just a mature, thoughtful adult response
"Innovate" and "monetization" are never words you want to see a company use together.
INDEED
EA’s motto “It’s all about getting their money”
afraid when you have to/ try to please stakeholders too much a lot of integrity goes out the window
yes. 🤑🤑🤑💯
This isn't isolated to EA/the sims. This is happening in all areas of gaming. Unless we collectively stop buying poor quality products this is going to keep happening. Profits must go up!
yes, indeed, I mention towards the end that sadly this is not unique to sims
this is a huge, huge mindset issue that impacts consumers and workers alike
Well... There are still some company like EA that are worst^^'
I've been saying this forever, and people want to defend EA - the devs are worth defending, but the company is not! Game devs, and tech/coding jobs in general? Everyone in this kind of field is overworked and underpaid! My partner works in coding, and lost his job earlier this year, and I'm starting to get scared, because he's the only source of income for us, and it's ridiculous how hard it is for him to find a job, all of a sudden - and how LITTLE companies want to pay for someone who has as much experience as him! They lowball and lowball, despite inflation, and outright told him that a work from home position would be paid less...since it's WFH??? As if you deserve less money for doing the same work, just...because you work from home. The whole industry is so screwed up... and the higher ups will keep cutting costs, and pushing crappier products to maximize their gains.
I wish players understood that what this means is that : EVERY BIT OF ENGAGEMENT IS A METRIC. Whether you have played the game despite its bugs or merely opened it to collect a reward, EA has all the data on that, and if enough players provide the same kind of data relative to one feature (be it the start screen or whatever), EA will go all foot-in-the-door about it and try to push for monetization as much as it can on that specific corner of the game. It was true before, and it's clearly the intention to be even truer now.
EA sees you as a lemon is and is ready to press you until you produce a whole lot of lemonade, until your very last drop.
Good God Para-"no paid DLC"-lives can't come too soon.
Look everyone is just hanging on until they can find a way to leave. Whether they’re fleeing to strawdew valley or animal crossing or any of the soon to be released life simulators. But for now, people have spent 600-1k on this game and you can’t blame them for wanting to use the product they bought and spent so much money on. Not everyone is as high minded and pure as YOU
I haven't purchased any pack since 2020 and will continue to play until I get my moneys worth. They can try and squeeze this lemon as much as they like but they are not getting any more money from me. I don't care how good Project Rene turns out to be. I will not buy it out of principle.
@@rose13redfor me, I always go back to the Sims 3. Played it all my childhood and plan to play it more in adulthood along with Paralives and Inzoi
@@rose13red I’ve fled to the library and left the Sims in favor of free reading as a hobby outta spite
I honestly don't care if Paralives has paid DLC as long as it greatly enhances the game and isn't a basic feature like weather. I can understand if they couldn't add university or vacations at first because of their indie budget and wouldn't mind supporting them further to provide fully fleshed out packs like back in the days of Sims 1, 2 & 3.
I have zero interest in Renee and the more I hear about the direction the Sims seems to be going in, which I get, they are a company that exists to make money not a charity, the less interest I have in buying new packs. I already dislike that I can't play Sims 4 without being tracked/online. I just want to play in my fun digital dollhouse that I have paid for without some millionaires trying to find ways to get more money out of me. And let's face it, it's the high salaried execs making these decisions, not the creators of the game.
It will be very interesting to see what happens when the competition starts being available to the masses. When Sims was really the only game in town they might have gotten away with this microscamming but with new options on the horizon they might be driving a lot of customers away.
rene has been quiet for so long, and a main producer left (to make their own game) so it's very uncertain, problem is the other upcoming games have a lot of uncertainties too and one appears to be delayed indefinitely, inzoi we have no idea hat the monetization is
As far as I'm aware the Sims 3 was the last real Sims game.
Amazing to get paid 175k to just be like “give them less features for more money and add more micro transactions.”
I'm betting they pay actually the lowest bit- not the highest end. if they live in redwood or a few of those area,s it's not nearly as much as it sounds cause it's crazy expensive. But honestly, it's an upper management job (THOUGH I DON"T CARE FOR IT) and sadly most people working for EA aren''t likely getting paid all that well
And it's harder and harder to get coding work that pays decently at all! The whole industry is trying to get away with paying devs of any kind less, and pushing more work out of them, while taking away work-from-home... or paying you less for WFH jobs. It's gross. Most of these devs deserve more than 175k a year, too, given their skillset and experience and inflation. EA is just...scummy.
They want more monetization because people pirate the game a lot. And people pirate the game because they don't wanna pay for an overpriced buggy mess. I don't understand what's not clicking for them. Fix the game. It can't be that hard.
I don't know how I'd be able to respond to that- cause there's not a way to know meaningfully ho much is "a lot". I do think they have done a number of things to reduce that.
I don't think the monetization ahs anything to do with pirating - EA is jsut...like this, and has been for years. More and more AAA game companies are ending up like this, and there's videos that talk about the declining quality (and increasing prices) of games out there that talk about how these people in charge go to conventions just for people who work in the gaming industry, and I saw a guy giving a speech in one video talking about how they DO NOT want devs putting too much into a game! They said that creates certain expectations (you know, that you get a good product, lmao). So they're intentionally putting less and less things in the 'base game' of MOST games now, and selling things that should be baseline...as DLC. It's not just The Sims, and it has nothing to do with piracy, and everything to do with chopping up a game into as many tiny pieces as they can to sell each piece for more money.
tl;dr - imagine you order a cheeseburger with all the fixins... but you get just a bun, because the execs see more profit in selling you each piece of a burger...so you have to pay another $2 for pickles, and another $2 for ketchup, $2 for mustard, $2 for onions, $5 for a patty, and so on. This is what the gaming world has come to - they saw gaming was popular and not just for kids, and immediately tore the gaming industry to pieces. Something has to give, eventually, or this will only get worse.
I keep hearing rumours that They are going to make the Sims a live service that you have to pay monthly for. If they do that I will become one of the pirates and I don't think I'm alone.
Free is never "free". There's always a catch, its just a question of finding what the catch is.
I was intentionally avoiding this update, but it was forced upon me as I literally opened my computer (not the EA app, just my computer) and the EA app opened itself and the game started auto updating and I have auto updates OFF. Things seem to be running fine and I checked most of my major script mods and they seem find in game, but I can't avoid the stupid rewards screen it just pops up in your face the second you open the game and yeah, right now it's whatever "free stuff". But how long until a little dollar sign is there.
It was just too easy to ignore the shopping cart in game and, this seems like something far more "notice me before you go in game" aggressive in tactic. And they knew they couldn't start something this aggressive with $$ attached to it, but off course that's what they want to get to. That's how I feel.
it kind feels like they are ramping up their ideas, incrementally
Whenever I hear about a new sims update I put my entire computer into airplane mode, it's the only I'm able to avoid an update being forced upon me. A suggestion is make a separate user account (if you can) on your computer and have it just for the sims, I was forced to do that recently because my Microsoft account wouldn't let me open the sims and it's actually improved my experience
I was hoping they'd do like 4. BG has been free but you need the dlc which we're all used to. Well except for kits. They say there's going to be an online and offline mode so I'm wondering if it'll be like GTA V online. I know there's a currency and shop but it's optional, or like ts3 store. Which I see more saying it was fine. So here's 3 potions that are likely to anger few players but we can ignore vs the other ways out there. Oh well 4 if we add tined events which it's interesting now people talk about fomo. Just don't be like DDLV. I hear the free stuff you can get from doing the path eventually is in the shop. Idk if it's game money or real money, but either way, not great.
That happened to me, too, so now I always turn off Wi-Fi before shutting my laptop down so that the EA won’t be able to auto-connect when I open my laptop.
@@chicabear Thanks, I was actually doing mod checks so I needed to get online. And assumed the EA app would do nothing if I didn't open it.
I have a work laptop for work so when I am not playing games, I am not on that computer. It's just a gaming computer basically. Not expensive either, $400 AMD Ryzen mini PC, hooked to a TV. Serves my gaming great.
So glad they ONLY fooled me once on launch day. The Sims 4 was EMPTY and I can't even imagine how empty will the next one be to be rolled out for free... LOL.
"oh, so you'd like to have a new hairstyle on your sim? Just go to the barbershop and ACTUALLY BUY a new haircut"... They will give you a whole new level of "REALISM".
sims 4 imho has improved a lot from its launch, but also has substantial lingering issues too
@@SimmerErin Well, for a total amount of 1000$+ to have the full game.. it better be improved! I gave it a couple try with *unofficial* versions after toddlers and pets came out: you can add a gazillion DLCs and stuff, and whatever.. but at the end of the day you end up doing what was in the basegame which was not enough to make it enjoyable. And I won't even talk about the bug-fest it became layers after layers. LOL.
I just forgot and ignored this game after that, but I'm still pissed they blew up one of my favorite games.
Annulla
Rispondi
"Incremental revenue" is DEFINITELY micotransactions of some sort for sure...
Edit: commented this while watching. From the second job ad, it sounds likely they want a model for Renee where creators upload custom content to a central in-game gallery and players can pay for it alongside official Maxis content?!
In the last couple of days, I made a somewhat jokey but also serious comment about EA charging to access 'premium' gallery items. I definitely see it as something Rene will implement and it won't be the worst thing.
So, what Minecraft: Bedrock edition is doing.
@@LunaWitcherArtyeah but Minecraft doesn’t have 1000usd DLCs and it’s a complete amazing game on its own and there is still the Java edition!
Yes, a marketplace with UGC. someone said it sounded kinda like Roblox
I did a survey earlier in the sims (via my ps5) and it was all about these timed events.
OOOOHH I wish I'd seen that
yeah same
i basically gave the lowest opinion of it i could and when it asked why, just said it should have been a free update
My theory is if the new daily log in stuff doesn't take enough heat eventually they will tie in some the rewards with task or stuff you need to grab DLC for, so if you want something really badly from daily log in you'd need that pack to farm it. I don't think its a far fetch to believe they may go that direction given what we already seen with the ingame store icon blinking and other things flashed in front of you to strong arm into buying more on the cash shop.
that's a solid theory, honestly
We appreciate this investigative work, hehe Unfortunately I think you're exactly right with this. :(
oh, it's always interesting. it'd be nice to dig up something positive occasionally too ha
Disgusting but not surprising.
yeah it didn't surprise me per say. what I wish is it'd brought more details as to what they are planning..
@@SimmerErinI'm sure they will keep it quiet and just force it on us in a few months when they think we have forgotten about it
yes.
"...while Andrew Wilson, CEO, continues to spew out really great ideas for the franchise..."
Spit-take - me, literally with coffee in my mouth, having to take a hurried gulp before the uncontrollable laugh forced it onto my keyboard 😂 I love Sarcastic-Erin so much
😆 that sounds so painful though especially if it was hot ha
@@SimmerErin Just warm so no pain involved at all 😁The uproariously laugh was worth that micro-second of worry that the liquid was gonna go out instead of down 😂
Ooh no not again 😭❗️ waiting sooooo patiently for literally any other life sim to come out please and thank you 🥹💕 I’m ready to run but until then I’m playing the sims 2 and 3 LOL
I have 2, 3, and 4 installed, keeps things fresh ha
@@SimmerErin omg yes I understand LOL I have four installed bc I still have a bunch of packs but I don’t really touch it till we get more patches 🥹💕
I appreciate your realist approach.
They could learn through their analytics that certain types of monetization have a negative effect.
Some things we can do are to praise when we see things we like (such as the improvements in the QA team) and speak up (in a constructive way rather than as a generic "complaint" type) when we see things we don't like. All too often, people only complain. And when they do, it's not constructive but is more like a tantrum. We need to follow what I used to tell parents: "Catch them being good" which means that when they do things we like, tell them how much we appreciate those things and how it motivates us to want to see more of what they can bring us.
yes, it would be better if they could to track how people respond to things- not just temp sales or spikes in engagement. Why not further examine what players really love? If they love something, they are more likely to play it longer and spend more I'd think? It sounds so simple
Well, when that analytics expert discovers that stuff packs are more popular than kits, that bug fixes help the game and that thoughtful content creates greater interest, that wouldn't be bad. 😇 Probably not, but one can dream.
I can't sale, what does best in terms of sales, without knowing the data. But even say if it is true that people buy kits more or something, correlation isn't causation; if people build more than play, that doesn't inherently mean they want or value building more, but instead may feel frustrated with live mode and so on. Thus, sales alone can only tell us so much
Products can be somewhat of a vague term. My current job it refers to the entire application, but I have worked at places where products refer to specific features. For example an in-game store can be a product, it depends on how the team breaks down the work. But from the description it sounds like monetizing products will be either ways to get people to spend money or ways to direct people / advertise people to spend money.
yes, precisely. Thank you for providing your insight and examples. It to me certainly feels, give context clues it is was you say
I just can't fathom how they feel the need to keep pushing so much for money. Are they bad at managing it and hemorrhaging it? I feel like a good number of sims players like me have hit the $1000 in packs, and those that haven't still probably buy something once a year. I don't get the impression gamers have a lot of game company loyalty to where they are spending that much money at one company every year (except maybe Nintendo). So why is EA scrambling for all these micro transactions when they could just release things at high quality and the fans would buy a good number of them? That sounds stable to me.
I feel like I pop into your videos to complain a lot about how I'm engaging with the sims, so my update is I bought the sims 3 on steam and don't plan to open the EA app or touch sims 4 for a looooong time. Maybe that'll rebuild some love for the sims for me.
Honestly, idk. Is it truly doing badly, or are they simply demanding more more more and having unrealistic expectations> I think that is also a possibility. lot of times higher ups set standards that devs know are not realistic - and this is true in a lot of industries
I love hearing updates on what people are up to and playing honestly! I adore sims 3 as you may know and hope you have a fantastic time
Cuz their bottom line is money by any means necessary NOT sustainability...which is extremely short-sighted and stupid for ANY company to do.
@@SimmerErin I kind of wonder if it's somewhere in the middle. I'm guessing they want more profit each year, which yeah, I've worked for companies that think that way too. If the gamer base hadn't changed recently I would just assume they're scrambling because they hit their ceiling. But with making the Sims 4 free...? Idk. There's a lot of factors at play, not including all of the other games they make. I just suspect on some level they are not managing their money well on top of being money hungry.
Okay glad it's not annoying! I actually was a console player for Sims 3 on the Xbox, and I really loved it at the time but it was a family Xbox so I don't have it anymore. I technically bought it on the EA app too, but I got it as a package one of the DLC was making the game struggle to open after my first day playing it. End of the day, worth buying it again to move it to steam.
@@TheOG-GG 100% agree. I'm just baffled at how a company with such an involved gamer base doesn't see other avenues that are actually intentionally thought out and work well.
Because 'beating last year'bis what keeps shareholders happy. Even if you are making enough money, every year its still 'but how can we make MORE money'.
Brace yourself for micro transactions out the wazoo. Expect a battle pass like system for expansion packs/kits.
Renee is confirmed to not require energy points or a subscription, so those two tactics likely would not be used in sims 4. However, there could be other nefarious forms of monetization
@@SimmerErin they will use the predatory FOMO tactics of making certain packs only available to purchase within a specific timeframe, and if you miss the window then you’ll have to wait for it to randomly show up in the game store
@@greatnessinc I think that's possible
EA's playlist - ABBA: Money, Money, Money, Dire Straits: Money For Nothing, ZZTop: Gimme All Your Money, Pet Shop Boys: Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money), Simply Red: Money's Our Right (Don't Mention It)
Also - REM: It's The End Of The Sims As We Know It (And EA Feel Fine)
Sometimes it doesn't feel great to have predicted the future a long while back and have it proven correct.
Loved the sarcasm at the end, please do more of it. :-)
okay, but what if someone got that trending on twitter lol
@@SimmerErin Your sarcastic comment? Could it really make things worse than where they appear to be heading?
They aren't just evil but EA-VIL! Thanks again for your wonderful research and reporting Erin! ^__^ I'd rather monetarily support YOU than EA. How can I do that? :)
Thank you, that's very kind! You help just by commenting or sharing my content. I don't make very much from this- I do it because I love doing it :) and at a time when so many are struggling, I just want people to be okay
@@SimmerErin Aww Thanks so much for thinking us of Erin. If you ever do open up monetization, please let us know! ^__^
"EA Games: Charge for Everything"
I’ve just quit TS4 entirely and returned to TS2. God it’s so much better, even though it’s hard to find mods. At least the mods I’m looking for are all decorative objects just so I can build more community lots and not mods to attempt to make the game interesting.
I enjoy something from all the sims games I have (2-4) and rotating keeps things fresh
it's great to see an active modding community for the different games, and I always enjoy hearing what people are up to in sims 2/ 3 etc
I haven't bought a single pack or kit from them since they put that annoying shopping cart in Live Mode.
Anymore of this, or the first decent competitor launches a game focused on creating great game play instead of milking us for money, will see the EA App removed from my computer.
The audacity to put a BUGGED shopping cart INSIDE THE GAME is baffling to me. It shouldn't even be like that, glowing all the time on loop.
Goodness am I imagining thing are that posting was a long time ago? I remember seeing that in your other video, and thought that was for Project Rene or something.
Then again if whatever new monetization model is coming for Sims 4 isn't too surprising since they are planning to run alongside Rene. Get your wallets ready, Sims 4 players!
the rene was a bit ago! these I filtered by the last 30 days! It is always possible something was reposted of course, indeed is fun that way
They need to fix their shoddy game and stop being greedy.
we just got some substantial fixes; I'd like to see them tackle for rent next, then move onto grading and continue to try to improve console stability.
I love these videos from you where you dig into job postings and speculate!
thanks so much, I really appreciate you!
I love looking for job postings, articles etc- especially if I can piece things together
I'm so, so glad I just play Stardew Valley now! You get so much more for your money's worth and it's amazing! :D On the other hand, I haven't felt compelled to even open TS4 in the last months and finally deleted it off my computer yesterday, since I don't want to give EA any metrics anyway. I'm just here to watch the ship burn, tbh...
Anyways, thanks for the interesting video! :)
Stardew is very different, but I much respect its long lived good reputation and how it was made
Not surprised because the signs were there for future monetization plans. But I don't understand these extreme greed even to pleased shareholders/investors up to deliver mediocre games on a mediocre platform (hey EA App) and i can see this pattern continue with project renee and the sims 5 or 6 ( i'm convinced Renee is a spin off or semi-sims 5) like people forget EA is a billionaire company with a board made of multi-millionaines and more. Like they made 7billions on their soccer games last year even with the end of their FIFA collab, funds to be invested in game and their platforms is more than possible, (yes, i know how a company works but it should still possible to make at least everything playable with these yearly insane profits, which is not the case rn)
it's a larger corporate structure problem with AAA games, really. The issue, I hazard a guess, is the focus on metrics and numbers without truly understanding gaming communities. And I also hazard that those engagement goals may not frankly be realistic
When you said in game market, I am feeling like they are going to Roblox route which doesn't sound very good. Roblox is horrible in monetization, child safety and moderation.
oh honestly I feel it sounds likely, ngl. They have mentioned Roblox in an earnings call before
@@SimmerErin Oh no. They are gonna have a massive downfall if they don't pay attention to moderation and child safety. Plus free to enter is probably be an online experience.
I'm happily playing Sims 3 until there is another life sim. Haven't touched Sims 4 in a year cuz off ea's constant fuck ups.
sims 3 is loads of fun, however imperfect. I enjoy sims 2 from time to time and mixing it up
i love your critical analysis combined with your candid delivery simmer erin thanks for all you do
thank you, appreciated!
EA and their money grubbing ways are the worst thing to happen to gaming ever.
sadly, there have been a lot of terrible things in the gaming industry.. and I can't say I'd say this is the worst
@@SimmerErin You have to take into consideration how long EA has been screwing over players and small game companies. The stuff lately is just the tip.
So I guess we should be saying they came up with the ideas other companies are doing? Or just how only EA screws people? Other companies can do the same and it's no problem?
@@aeli999 I'm thinking about some very serious things, too- beyond monetization. s- assault, workplace harass, and more
I do think, now that you've made an initial video, it would be good to unpack more meticulously what a lot of these term and practices actually could mean (I don't play mobile games). The corporate speak of the job listings needs to be translated into examples of possible implementation- all I heard really was possibly in game store for content and that's always been an option. What do other games do? I don't tend to play games that have in game monetization- so what could this look like?
for sure! I have done a video here and there about AAA gaming trends and also layoffs, but I haven't dug deep into monetization yet
@@SimmerErin You're the person to do it well!
I understand the business point of view and I think it's not always easy to provide in a creative way when the top guys are money orientated. Sims team really do try to listen and I appreciate it
yeah, the gurus are not likely in charge of a lot of those decisions. I presume they have autonomy to come up with the concepts of course of packs- but monetization strategies, what engagement measures they have to hit... I highly doubt the blame lies on them. It's sad, cause I actually do think a fair few on the team care a lot about what they do. They also become accessible social media targets- because it's easier to get angry with an individual vs communicate it to a big company
Remember that EA is working on Project Rene right now. It’s possible that they’re going to use the Sims 4 as a testing ground for the monetization practices of the next game
I talk about rene in the last half of the video, so I think there certainly could be connections, for sure. While as I mention we know pearson at one point said no to forced subscriptions and energy points, there's a job posting I show that indicates a marketplace of sorts. It'll be interesting to see how this all may connect
Hi Erin. Great report. Depending on how it's presented this could be a good thing. At the end of the day, EA is a business, and they want to sell their products, but it depends on how they present it. Let's say they launch a pack, but you don't like one of the features of said pack. Maybe you could buy the features you like and ignore the features you don't like. If it was something like that, I could be on board. But we will see. For instance, I love the Vampires pack build buy but in general I dislike vampires.
It does show they are not keen to drop the sims franchise any time soon. I recall years ago even people saying sims is going to be dumped, and honestly I don't see that happening anytime soon
@@SimmerErin no I don't think they will either for a long, long time. I can see them keeping it in a standby mode until they're sure Project Rene is a hit.
wonderful video friend
thank you
@@SimmerErin yqw friend
5:00 This!
I noticed for quite a while now that things/interacations that came with base game Sims 2, they now put everything now behind a paywall for Sims 4. I'm surprised they haven't made us pay for our sims to take a crap. I probably shouldn't give them any ideas.
it's a complicated comparison but an interesting one. And one would also have to look at sims 3- the game that came of course in between- to understand different levels of progression and strategy
Completely agree. I haven’t played TS4 in over a year due to issues on console. Still get replies on a thread I started on answers HQ in March 2020 of people having their entire library wiped and no response from EA. So many problems with this game, especially on console and the way EA ignores it and just continues to pump out more content to buy is just gross. It’s the EA way.. I see it on Battlefield 2042 as well, the coin packs and battle pass are ridiculous $$. Sadly it’s looking like more of the same for Project Renee and micro transactions are a hard no for me. As always thanks for the update Erin, your honest and unbiased reviews keep me watching. You’re awesome 😊
I feel console has been especially neglected, and that's honestly silly. console games are generally so big in AAA games, and they could be cutting their profits actually short eventually from neglect.
I don't know exactly what rene is going for.. while I am encouraged to hear no subscription or energy points, I do think it's notable that a) there's apparently a marketplace planned and b) energy is only one form of nefarious monetization efforts
Thank you :)
Who's shocked? Not I. Been waiting for them to make their next desperate attempt to fleece the community.
not shocked, just wanting to stay on top of things that are happening in the AAA gaming industry
Is EA being deliberately obtuse or can they not figure out delivering a good game in working condition can make them as much money if not more?!
I'm not sure. top management is focusing a lot on delivering certain metrics and engagement numbers, and my guess is the targets are unrealistic anyway
3:04 It’s funny, the more heavily monetized a game I like is, the less likely I am to spend any money at all. If it has a base cost and is heavily monetized after that there is a very real possibility I will just skip the game. And if there is regular content that is no longer available after a certain amount of time, I am also likely to skip it. I do not play games to get stressed out about content availability.
Probably the most heavily monetized game I have ever played was a gatcha game. I never spent a cent on that game. It is not worth it for a digital gatcha. I have pokemon cards which are essentially a physical gatcha game, so there’s that. I did the math on the pulls and even if you got the card you wanted in one set of ten (which guaranteed a certain rank card), it wasn’t worth it. I could usually manage three to five sets for free and didn’t always get the card I wanted.
and while I do suspect that varies a lot player by player, I think the long term mistake here is that they are trying to apply a strategy that is come in free to play and often mobile games- it's actually a gamble to see how well it does imo
I was about to return to the Sims 4, but I changed my mind. I can't wait for Paralives.
I do hope paralives turns out, regardless. I know the team has put in a lot of hard work
There is an interesting question about who the monetisation comes from. If you have a cinema lot in the Sims, you could feasibly have studios pay for a Simlish version of their movie posters appear in the billboards outside, and even as downloadable items for sims to decorate their lots with. Honestly, I'm neutral on this, I'll wait and see where they go as it may be the case that they are looking for an alternative to selling big expansion packs. I'll wait to see what happens as it may be nothing like what anyone predicts, they didn't continue with the Sims store from Sims 3 for example which feels like the mobile game micro-transaction model
So you are onto something interesting about the expansions. Def check out the article below if you haven't seen it- I kinda want to do a myths about rene video because a lot of people are assuming things we know, at least as of their last statements, are not true. See, Pearson said there would be dlc, but like you mentioned, it may look different- for instance, it sounds like weather may be included in base game, but they may have a smaller packs for season based sports. Kinda interesting!
www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/behind-the-sims-episode-3
@@SimmerErin That kind of fits with what I'm thinking. Sims 3 and 4 have both been limited by people needing a particular expansion when you want to build a system on it and you get the problem of having to move certain key systems to base game to do that, as it degrades the value of a pack people have already paid for. I suspect that there may be some issues with the Romance expansion as it may either have to also include the dynamics from Growing Together, or feel incomplete if you try to play without that former pack. If you add fundamental systems to the base game (or include them with each expansion like Sims 2 did), it's easier to make stuff that expands upon them without it feeling like the pack with the small pets. I'd be curious what the community would feel about only having stuff packs or game packs going forward. I'd love to completely avoid the occults, so it would work for me! On the other hand, I'd like a pack that would let me live on a boat like Sims 3 did but I'm not sure many others would want that as I feel like most people like Isla Paradiso for the hotels gameplay which was underwhelming for me
Look!! i cannot do the update because of a download problem, which ea is aware, so when are you going to fix the error. i cant even report it, cause when i sent it to ea, it tells me a problem, i cant even add the new add-on. Please what to do!! HELP ME PLEASE.
what does the error say
Because of your community post, I went into Origin to update my game, and it finally forced me to download the EA app. EA app is downloading as I write this comment. Gosh, I am not looking forward to whatever horrors await me for EA app shenanigans.
I feel you. Mac player too?
@@SimmerErin I am a Mac user, yes.
Now that I've had the EA app for a few days and been able to poke around a little and endure an update or two, I can say pretty certainly that I really dislike it. I don't like that it tells you there's an update, you click on it, and it pops up, and then just sits there for a solid 5-10 seconds before it starts behaving like it's downloading the update. The other thing I don't like is there's no search bar so if I were to want a specific pack or kit, I have to scroll through those category things they have, and if it's not there, I just.... can't purchase it?? I realize there's a "view the EA catalog" thing at the bottom, but I don't want to have to be forced to follow an external link, open a browser, and shop in their website just to be able to find what I want. It's just very inconvenient and sort of removes the consumer's control over both how they shop and how they purchase games or DLC for games.
I suspect it's an attempt to do a subscription based play again. EA has been trying to do this since the inception of TS4 and they refuse to move away from it despite it negatively affecting the game (like trying to turn TS4 into a MMORPG).
while I def understand that concern, the second half of this video may be of interest to you, where I address that directly- based upon what a leading producer promised
You know what?
I can't wait until all the other life simulators come out, and project rene.
Why?
Because once project rene comes out, as what ever name they decide to give it, EA are in for the biggest but most disappointing release day they have ever experienced 🙂 if they think things will be tough when their competition releases their own life sims? Lol, no. The drop in revenue for the sims 4 will be pennies compared to what they are going to get for project rene.
They were warned.
we'll see. I certainly would love to see a healthier market with more options. so far, it's been a challenge
I don't find you negative. It's good that you report things. I am annoyed that quality assurance isn't a job listing. You can't focus on money when products are not tested and thus are faulty at launch.
It has been, a while ago. There was a manager of QA (or something like that title) and just the tail end of May they announced a new dedicated team. I think without that we wouldn't have even gotten the performance upgrades we got with that last patch
long overdue? absolutely.
QA in AAA games has long been neglected, and, sadly, with the layoffs of the past year or so, QA tends to be the most heavily impacted. it impacts not only players, but of course the many people who want to work in QA. And I think a lot of QA may lack job security, good pay and so forth
I wonder if these people in EA really know what the hell they are doing. Senior Product manager ( Monetization ) asking for a Bachelor's degree in quantitative discipline? Really? A Master's in Business Analytics would handle most of what is needed even straight Business modeling. Quantitative discipline is basically high end numerical number crunching modeling. For a salary range starting over $100.000... yeah. People would line up. He/she would probably be smarter than our bright boy EA CEO, - whose name mustn't be uttered. Oh what evil ..."Get thee back into... the Night’s Plutonian shore!" (Poe) ... EA! Humph... as I was saying some of these job posting may be reaching for specific people inside of EA. Their HR dept may be required to put out jobs to be within the letter of company policies. Which is why some details sounds a little too, .... hmm... specific. Whatever it is - it doesn't look good for use poor simmers. 😰😱😭
keep in mind those are the minimum requirements. most companies are likely to go for the best qualifications and pay them the least- unless ahem they do have contacts, that probably can be a factors too. It is nowhere near my area of expertise, so I can't say if I agree or not- I teach college students (humanities)
@@SimmerErin Talking about humanities, have you started your second novel yet?
We already have 4 types of dlc packs… I’m genuinely curious how they can further monetize the game without adding online features like a battle pass or a shop like in Fortnite.
it may very well be a shop format. There was a job posting for project rene that mentioned a shop- and of course, sims 3 has a store
I've been so frustrated with the decisions EA has bren making I uninstalled the game for now- when I was uninstalling it gave me a pop-up warning I might lose items. I was so pissed about it I didn't read too much into it, but I'd guess it's referencing the log-in bonuses.
Honestly the log in bonuses I can't be bothered with ha
I don't think you are negative, you just tell it like it is. Let's see where all this takes the Sims franchise.
ha thank you, I don't think I try to be, anyway. I want to analyze as I see fit, and I want to try to hold that standard for games I cover. Bias is not something one can probably avoid entirely, but I do think I want to be fair if possible
I'll be all for new ways to monetize the Sims, if one of those ways is allowing us to buy new worlds, without the need for all the other hoopla that comes with them. I just need new worlds for my ever growing City.
I wish I'd never heard of The Sims and was in a position to buy the opposition. Must admit Inzoi looked amazing.
the thing is, we don't know anything about how inzoi will monetize, either
I’m not sure how to feel or think of this news 🙄 I just want to see a game that is about having fun and have an enjoyable experience that’s not about squeezing money out of us. Hence why I stopped playing games in general. I miss the Origins app over the EA app. When I find the time I can sit and play up to 4 hours before I get burnt out 😵 I finally found a way to get the most out of my game with mods and custom added music 😃 Erin you’re being realistic not negative
Yeah, Origin is not perfect, but I do feel it's caused less problems overall. I do think they switched to an app for better data tracking
I think EA struggles to realize that their product is a “luxury” good. We’re in an economic recession and the first types of purchases people cut out of their budget is a luxury good. Even if they think micro-transactions are an affordable alternate option, no one is going to splurge what little entertainment money they have, on a bugged pack. Additionally, EA is being cheap and just releasing paywalled content as something new/exciting with different swatches. Why would anyone use their last $5 bucks on something EA will give out for free? I wish the new content was something actually new and never seen in a previous pack and I wish they would focus on fixing the game so they can maintain and/or grow their player rate.
This is sad. I mean, the way Sims 4 shipped was sad, and it's been sad consistently lol so at least the consistency is a plus...Idk, this and other recent news I've seen regarding Sims 4 has made me feel like I'm ready to ditch the game for good. I have this oc I'm really attached to though, which is the only thing making me hesitate. If the game continues to progress in this direction, however, I don't see any reason to keep bothering with it. It's already so buggy and broke, I don't understand what more they're wanting from US when we've paid so much for scraps and unplayable packs!
EA and Maxis is slowly killing the sims.
it's hard for me to say. for now, it's doing well financially for them. long term strategy I think it may depend how far they push
I really hope they don't monetize the rewards. The log in reward system is fine itself, but if they tie money to it I won't be getting it, because I already give them enough money through packs.
that would be terrible
Optimising player spend patterns. That sounds scary and very disrespectful towards players. My spend pattern is based on real money: money I need to pay bills, buy food and clothes. No optimisation from EA's part is going to magically give me more money to spend.
it is worrying and a general trend I'm seeing
Man, if only they made working games and dlc… the money that would roll in from the loyal fan base would be more than their cheap marketing schemes
Project Rene will probably have a battle pass where the only way you can progress is if you pay money
based on what Pearson officially said- no subscriptions confirmed- I actually don't think so
Ah Ea the Dreadful company of greed I figured that we were probably Using this game among others as a testing ground to what they're going to probably do next😕 hopefully by that point a new life sim would already be out and on the market so we can finally change up from this franchise🤔 thanks for going over this deep dive and always being fair when going over a lot of this stuff😣
afraid a lot of companies reduce quality in order to max profits.
Oh brother... alternative life sims couldnt arrive faster
which one do you feel hopeful about
@@SimmerErin I can't say lately I've been super thrilled about life by you given as well the Indefinite hiatus it's been put on for now... so I'd say I'm actually quite hopeful about inzoi
EA: hmmm. How can get your money this time?? 😈😁😆
Me: your NOT getting MY money anymore. What happend to TRY to FIXING this game?? Plus I feel like EA still isn't listening to us when we say we WANT certain kinds of packs. I'm still wondering if we'll EVER see a bands pack? Fairies? Or even hotels? Or ANYTHING we as the fans actually WANT for our games. Just NOT sure anymore with EA/Sims team. 🤨🤔😐
Anyways ty for posting this. Take care. Erin. 👍✌
So what I'm hearing is Project Renee is ALREADY not worth it, assuming these listings are for the future
unclear where all these games will go, lots of unknown variables
Has EA ever tried.. idk.. fixing the game to ensure it’s playable, including content for console players, and releasing packs people want/that work? People would continue playing if the game wasn’t broken, if console players didn’t feel like EA is primarily aiming for the PC simmers, and if packs/kits were aimed more toward things simmers want. Just my take.
they did just now assembly a new coordinated team for doing that, and our last patch brought a long list of fixes as well as optimization that many are reporting has improved their game. of course, this should be the start and foundation of a game, but better late than never
Honestly the average sims player would probably get better quality content by supporting a sims modder on patreon/kofi rather than giving money to a greedy corporation tbh
perhaps, but not all of us can or do use mods. and many have a limit on how many mods would be feasible to have
@@SimmerErin that is also true! I am also one of those. But speaking broadly, it's far better to support within the community than pour money into the corporations
I think it’s easy to judge from the outside but i see that as a good sign they are hiring to make more things happen monetization or not. Also EA dose want your money but do you realize they need it to continue to make DLC even if its a 10 item kit. Who cares, they need to keep things running and people paid to solve bug foxes ect. Buy it dont buy it, they have a business to run and cant keep everyone happy without disappointing a few.
It does say they want to keep the sims franchise going, and it is unlikely to be dropped anytime soon. They mentioned in an earnings call they wanted to focus on their longer lived franchises. This is a focus that is becoming a trend/ pattern within the AAA industry
If they do microtransactions like in mobile games it's really disgusting, considering those kinds of games are GREAT for developing an addiction to gambling. And knowing EA, the "microtransactions" are going to be like 30$ for one item (like a wallpaper or something).
def recommend the second half of the video. It's unclear, in short. Pearson promised no energy mechanics for the next game, but a marketplace does appear to be in the works
I don't know if that's a bad thing or not. Games are getting more expensive to make. I watched this video earlier on my phone.
that would be especially true for the newest games embracing higher end graphics and updates technology
Money money money
Im probably not gonna play the sims 5. There are just so many good other life sims in development. I might even just stick to sims 4 and sims 3. I already invested so much into thr sims franchise that I dont want to invest more in another souless game.
the thing is, I honestly am feeling concerned about how all those will turn out- for now, just going to see what happens. But I have more than one sims game installed like you too (2, 3, 4 )( and yeah that def is nice to switch between
Micro transactions is a quick way to get $0 dollars from me. I don’t play Mobile games because of all the advertising and the micro transactions. They stress me out and give me so much anxiety that just avoid them altogether.
yeah not a fan either obviously
@@SimmerErin Yeah, I can’t imagine any consumers that would enjoy them. lol. It’s sad that EA doesn’t see making a better game as a way of generating revenue and engagement.
Babes, wakeup. Erin is here for a hot pipping tea
LOL unfortunately. I was causally looking and alas stumbled upon more bad news
I'm just laying on my lawnchair, popcorn and soda in my hands, wearing 3D glasses and just waiting for this update to flop in typical EA fashion.
the bug fixes and performance improvements in the last were decent , not so sure about other things
@@SimmerErin Yeah, but they still came in too little, too late.
I know this is a wild idea, but I am more likely to put my money into content that seems worth it...
I know, I know. Earning more money by puttng in more effort? Way too silly
yes, as I do think they may get their engagement spikes but I question the long term strategy here
I finally gave up on this company a year or two ago, been a fan/customer for roughly 20 years.
But the constant fumbling, lack of care, and/or lack of useful repayable content, was just a good culmination for this shitty companies downfall.
May sound cynical, but at this point I wish they went bankrupt after the super flop of SimCity (2013) and saved all of us thousands of dollars.
issue is, would you have wanted the franchise to die out entirely- or someone acquiring it?
acquisition is tricky cause there are a fair few gaming companies that have such practices
I'm just playing till the other life sims come out. I'll take free packs when they give them.
what have you been playing
Good luck getting any more of my $$!
It’s time someone gives EA a run for its money, we NEED a good Sims competitor so that we don’t keep giving our money to EA.
it's proving to be a challenge so far
(EA) Electronic Avarice
😅
At this point I see the the argument being EA is saying we accept defeat, we're going to get as much money as possible until the other three games are out. Sims will make it to 25 years then die. How EA is supposed to see the trends and think "not for us" stick to the same old model since ts2. Maybe 3. There's a mix of the store was good and bad. Even if more say the store was good, adding it to 5 will be unacceptable.
I'm already prepared to hear Sims franchise is dead and the cheering about the number of players are dropping once the other games come out. I'm just old fashioned when thinking about the definition of competition 🤷♀️ so I'll enjoy 4 for now. This YT channel might go soon since no one will watch ts4 ( or any Sims) videos, but I'm just going to have fun making videos as long as I can. I just regret my unplanned 3 year break.
that argument, with respect, doesn't ring true for me. In many earnings calls, they have signaled the opposite, and as well as cutting other games: double down and focus on franchises/ live services, cut back on single and new titles.
@@SimmerErin that's what people say it's the end. EA going with trends and trying to add them to a 24 year old franchise. EA is supposed to stick to the same business model for Sims. Rather than a business doing what they should; pay attention to trends. Of course that can be tricky. If the gallery is a live service. I'm not sure if the dedicated ts3 exchange website counts.
Honestly, Simmers have given Ea so much money already. If you bought all the packs you've already spent hundreds, possibly thousands on this game. And it seems this is still not enough. See this with other game studios as well. Think more and more ppl are getting fed up with this kind of thinking. I already see a rise in the popularity of indie games.
Indie games are interesting to study during this time, certainly. while some do employ interesting monetization tactics, they don't have to please upper management nor satisfy investors. of Cours,e Indie games face the challenge of making it so to speak, based on fan funding alone. there have been many great successes, but it is a very small percentage. it is plausible we could see changes in player support. Marketing, awareness and other metrics are also challenging
If they want to monetize more of the game, why they don't just sell world kits 😭😭
likely they are using a lot of contact and temp work for kits- just my guess. worlds take a lot more planning and resources, especially if you're re using meshes for kits. I also note that they decided not to do anymore gameplay kits, and we never get something like hairs in kits. They keep it pretty simple and low cost
@@SimmerErin Yes, unfortunately, they don't make Gameplay kits anymore. But I think it's because of the community's reaction to the bust the dust kit. Too bad. It's the only kit I bought. It's true that they work on these worlds. This is my unpopular opinion, unlike the one in TS2 and 3. The effort is made to create an illusion, to make you believe that you're really in a neighborhood and immerse you in the neighborhood. But it still something I would like to see again. it's something they used to do with the Sims 3 Store. maybe for these worlds we can pay slightly more like 8 to 10$ for these world kits.
They also give us the ability to turn off the occult like in the sims 3
I'm seeing another subscription fee to play. They'll lose so many people if it's a full P2P game.
as I mention in the last half, unless they go back on what they directly said, it's been confirmed that rene will not require a model and will not have energy mechanics
Knowing what I know, whatever they do, the Sims 4 community will jump with their walls open first, then cry about it. And then it will happen again. Its useless to try to fight, its too many people happily paying for nearly-half baked stuff.
first, keep in mind that there are many many people who play the sims- and the portion who are super vocal on social media is a tiny slice of the community
secondly, it's a larger top management issue. we see this across industries.
Ea is losing their monopoly so now they are going to get as much as they can. The sims franchise is not going to end because of one life sim bit because of the choices of EA. Remember a corporation would rather crash and burn a project, make as much money while doing rather then spend money to fix it.
it is unclear. there are many games in development but all are facing challenges
Do they realy want to make the players angry. Not foregeting. Govrements around the world are looking at Microtransactions.
it's unclear exactly what they're going to implement.,.. as far as government action, there was an FTC ruling that was big for Fortnite, but it was linked specifically to targeting minors. It was certainly a noteworthy ruling. It'd be really interesting to look into all that has been investigated
Players have been angry since 2014. With 4 not being an upgraded ts3. Bugs, and now this. Why do you think there's people saying hope one of the other games takes EA down.
Ugh this is just.....so disappointing, but not surprising at all. I'm not interested in Project Rene, and I'm not about to drop any more money on a broken ass game like ts4.
Ts2 was genuinely one of the best games I've ever played, and I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for all of the games, even ts4, but like..... I'm done with this sht. I'm gonna keep an eye out for Paralives and see how it goes.
Yeah, there are no guarantees when it comes to indie games, and Paralives might not work out, but I still got more trust in those game devs than in EA.
I'm gonna give them a chance and see what happens with them. At least THEY haven't let me down before.... 😒
what do you feel made sims 2 especially special, and how has it stood up to the test of time for you ? (curious to see various perspectives, I love the game too, and is my 2nd fav sims game
@@SimmerErin I think for me personally, the memories mechanic is what really made the sims 2 stand out among other games. Even tho the graphics are now outdated, and there isn't quite as much variety among the sims' appearances as we have in ts4, the memories mechanic allowed each sim to feel unique. You could make two sims that were identical in every way, but their experiences over time would change them. For example, if one of them witnessed the death of their spouse, then they'd continue to have random moments of crying while the symbol of that sad memory floated in the lil thought bubble throughout the rest of their life. Stuff happened to them, and they REMEMBERED it, it wasn't just a moodlet with a timer like "four hours left until you stop being sad about losing your spouse! 🙃"
It's not that I want the sims to be constantly suffering like real ppl do irl, it's just that ts2's approach of having random moments of sadness is like a tiny recreation of having sudden moments of grief irl, and it made the game a little deeper. Same with good memories, ofc! I also feel that ts2 has a quirky sense of humor that's mostly missing from ts4, it was still present in ts3 but not as much. The random drama of a sim knocking over your trashcan bc they're "furious" with you specifically, and not just from directionless anger! Or after a successful date, they leave a lil flower bouquet to show that they had a good time! Sims' autonomy actually made sense for them, like their chosen activities usually reflected their personalities. Knowledge sims would go for the telescope, pleasure sims would go play pirate in the bathtub lol. Also, even when you didn't have all the dlc, there was a lot of content you got just with the base game. I never had the Seasons expansion, but it didn't make a difference to me at all, I never felt like I was missing out bc there was plenty of gameplay in the expansion packs I DID have (even tho I did sometimes get a LITTLE bit jealous of my best friend, who had more of them! 🤣) There were tons of different interactions for the sims to have with each other, the animations for a lot of them were endearingly ridiculous, and the game as a whole just felt.....idk complete 😅
That sounds kinda dumb, but it's just how the game made me feel. I don't even know how many hours I've sunk into it. I can't play it anymore, but I have such fond memories about it that I like to watch ts2 gameplay on CZcams, I remember the soundtrack so well, and it's a lot of fun to see how other ppl play the game their way. Ts2 had its flaws, and my outlook about it might be a little rosy, but overall that's what made the game so special to me. It was quirky, it was buggy at times, but it was still a really enjoyable game that had a lot of entertaining features and the dlc actually felt like it was worth the money you paid for it! There was room for your imagination, u could orchestrate the drama or just sit back and watch it happen, and the storytelling didn't have to happen only in ur head. I don't mind telling the story to myself in ts3 and ts4, but I did like how ts2 had no problem with throwing a wrench into the works whenever it felt like it 🤣
Sorry, I wrote a damn novel in ur comments section 😅 I hope I made sense, it's been a while since I've tried to really put together what it is about ts2 that just hits different than any of the others. I'm really fond of ts3 as well, and I can still play that one! But yeah, ts2 will always be my favorite, bc its memories mechanic added an extra layer of complexity that none of the other games in the series were able to integrate so seamlessly. TL;DR I 💚 ts2!! lmao.
(Thanks for letting me vent about this btw, it felt good to get it all off my chest 😅 I really enjoyed your video, def gonna check out more of em! Take care!! ☺️🙏)
Actually I seen this by bethdesda on their Fallout 4 game.. it has both user made content and studio made content with their own currency. Fallout 76 is their mid way version of it.. and bethdesda is another bad company. Greedy and rush products
yeah, thank you for the example. some also mentioned Roblox. just goes to show these are broader trends happening right now
Toxic innovation is leading to the streaming bubble burst; it’ll happen to the gaming industry to-I just hate that lifelong sims fans are collateral damage
I'd love innovation, just not in the form of new monetization methods
@@SimmerErin that seems to be what most companies think “innovation” means-not innovation with the consumer in mind, but their pockets
I'm not even gonna bother with Sims 5. Predatory tactics like limited time events, rotating shops and stuff like this are very stressful to me, which is the opposite of what a game should do.
I won a kit on a giveaway a few days ago and I went ingame to play with it. The cart button was at the top, recommending me to buy the children kit. One of the 4 kits I don't own (I own everything else). That put a damper in my mood and I haven't logged since.
At least if they're gonna do that crap they should put some effort into it - in my 300 sims, I don't have children, why would I want to see that cart with that recommendation ever? And not only ever, forever? Dude, I paid hundreds of $, I don't want to see that crap. And what's the point anyway, see that I bought mostly everything and think "oh yeah for sure this person buys all our shit, let's be more aggressive and squeeze those extra 5$ they could spend". Makes me feel like I'm being targeted as an idiot. As a "collector" who buys everything instead of a customer who actually makes choices.
yeah I think the cart was unnecessary and I still feel that way. After all- the menu in of itself I'd say is a pretty big ad. How much more do they need
Sadly if they did monetize this game, people will still throw their money at EA "Here's our money!!!! Please keep bending us over!!!!! Omfg a new swatch!!!! Yay!"
Not directed at those of you who have their senses still.
I've been done with EA and the newer Sims community
I think we should be laying responsibility on corporate structure, monopolies, and lack of consumer protections- as opposed to consumers who exist in a world often without much choice