The debate among the fans of the Sims has reached a level of a massive exodus. Basically, it appears that the EA Creator Network is actually in a very difficult position losing extensively Sims creators and the situation eventually taking a toll on the Sims franchise as a whole. There is a lot of news that is happening in the realm of the virtual world of house building and killer Sims who die by accident in pools.
The entire matter is not so complicated but still messy at the same time. A certain group of Simers have made the decision to no longer be part of the EA Creator Network. They are literally expressing that they are “okay, bye” to the owner of the franchise Sims. And the problem is not with only one or two creators, there are a lot of them quitting at the same time. It is a sort of series happening as if one line after another of creators is collapsing, but the emotional involvement is even more than virtual people.
The overview for the people who are only looking for the facts is that the EA Creator Network has seen several departures of Sims content creators as a way of protest which they attributed to various issues with EA’s business practices and the status of The Sims franchise. On the one hand, this mass exit is an indicator of discontent that is spreading in the Sims community and on the other hand, it might result in a negative impact on EA’s relationship with the content creators in the future.
Let’s return to the drama. The comments to the initial tweet seem to be the most entertaining reality TV show. There is a real split among the players, and they are very passionate; and to be honest? Some of them are just worn out.
One of the members from the community, BWorthTownFM, brought to light a very hard fact about the future of this situation: it will affect Maxis and the Sims Team more than it will affect EA. This user was very perceptive and maybe EA will not be so affected because it has other franchises which are more profitable such as EA FC and Battlefield. Ouch. But on the other hand, this commentator also suggested that perhaps The Sims ought to be bought by a company like THQ Nordic or revert to being an indie developer. The Simmers are putting it as dark times indeed.
This raises the question of ethics. Several creators have stated that their departure was based on their values. One person, cebear, firmly stated that the moral compass said it was time to go, and they even withdrew as a tester of EA Play. That is a very strong conviction, for sure.
Nevertheless, not all gamers are willing to accompany the mass of creators in their exodus. CozyGmom was like “ok bye” and said they would keep unfollowing creators who leave, claiming that most of them are just doing it for popularity. Besides, Slothnewbie pointed out the “trend-following” aspect too, saying that people are scared of being bullied if they do not join the protest. The drama is real, folks!
The root cause of the issues seems to be quite intricate. Dingaling_ling lamented the Sims going stale and how one has to pay for everything now. They drew an analogy between the DLC for the Sims 2 and 3 and the current day DLC in which one just gets single features for much higher prices. FurSnake90 was in full agreement with Dingaling and said that EA had “nickle and dimed the game into being a clunky mess”.
Excuse me, but what was I discussing? Oh, yes, the money issue. The players’ anger towards EA on their monetization strategy with The Sims 4 is very clear. The issue is not only limited to creator networks – unhappy with the overall game experience becoming less so and more costly is the main cause.
The comments were very… thought-provoking. Richards45Mark called The Sims “one of the most degenerate, woke, gay, child grooming games” which is… definitely a take, I suppose? At the same time, MisterPandaBoom was wondering if AI would eventually take over the development of Sims 5. This is a pretty intriguing idea and not the wildest one I have heard today.
The community appears to be split between those who think this protest will really lead to change and those who consider it a mere spectacle. SimmieBella even suggested that if both creators and consumers follow the “right” path, the franchise might get saved and sold to another company. That is some really optimistic thinking right there!
What is really amazing is that the entire saga is a clear demonstration of larger trends in gaming. Gamers are becoming more and more aware of the money they are spending and who they are backing. The fact that so many creators are prepared to give up official partnerships signifies that sometimes principles outweigh monetary commitments.
And let’s face it, the Sims fanbase has ever been extremely enthusiastic, to say the least. I mean these are the ones who play on PlayStation and Xbox.
