Since when do we have ANY information on exactly what comes with the premium membership? We don't do we? Or am I missing some information?

No, there hasn't been any information. Other than a little banner with the words Premium Membership during the gameplay video. That's pretty much why I'm scratching my head at people and their SUPARRRR RAAAAGE.

Edit: As much as I would like another Honorary Badge of Disagreement, again NOT defending EA. We're just getting all of our undies in twists when prices and information haven't popped up yet. Let's raise our pitchforks when information is actually available, guys.

Edit 2: 30 disagrees on a post, I'd dare say that deserves a Bronze Badge of Disagreement.

You have to make ritual denunciations of witchcraft EA with every post or the puritanical townsfolk less-than-enamored-of-EA among us will pepper you with disagrees. I'm sure they mean it with love.

But no, nothing has been confirmed. I don't mean, no prices have been confirmed. I mean no premium subscription model has been confirmed, period. I don't think anyone is discussion the notion of a forced subscription to play the game since it's offline, so all the hysteria about being "forced" to pay is just that.

Actually, making a game moddable is a smart idea and the backbone of what makes certain great games like Skyrim and Mount&Blade:Warband some of the best games of all time. It's impossible to please everyone, think of pizza toppings, get 4 people together and there's no way that you'll all be able to agree. The best you'll be able to do is compromise and go with the basics, like pepperoni--unless you have a vegetarian, which then you might have to forgo all toppings except for cheese. The point is that mods allow people with different tastes to customize the game to their own wants.

However all the great games where modding is important have at their heart, a great base game for the modding to be built upon. With pizza, you still need a great dough and sauce or else the toppings won't make much of a difference. EA has done worse and worse with the base of their games, taking out too many features and making their games less flexible in terms of what you could do with gameplay. That's my gripe with EA.

I have no problem with EA charging whatever they want for any product. They are free to do so and I am free not to buy. What people don't seem to understand is that there is nothing wrong with "greed" as it is being used here. We are all greedy. We all want the most money we can get from our bosses, or our customers, or want to pay the least we can for a product. However a business or corporation CANNOT make money by ripping off customers and continuously offering a bad product. You can fool customers once, but twice is very hard. Think of a restaurant, you might go in to find that the food is absolutely crap and spoiled, but would you go back? Do you think a restaurant could make money offering customers spoiled food they found in garbage bins and charging $20 per entree for that? No, they would go out of business very quickly. This is the same idea for all corporations and businesses. They want to make money, but they can only make money by offering a product that people want and that is better than alternatives. If I am bored, I have a choice of paying $50 for a game that will entertain me for hours, IF the game will actually entertain me. That is my choice and if I choose to pay, then it's a fair price. If I were to create my own game, it would cost more than $50.

I think the special problem I have with the charging model for The Sims 4 is that it's quite unusual to pay so much for a basegame and then be offered quite expensive add-ons every month also, as well as expensive game-changing add-ons (EPs) every 6 months. SimCity5 was about the same price, but the difference there is that the dlc is mainly cosmetic, and game-changing enhancements have been released in free updates. Ie your initial payment did actually buy you the whole game. Other games have a regular pay dlc component but are either free or cheap to play the initial basic game. I would say that anyone who bought all dlc for The Sims 3 or 4 will have ended up paying WAY over what you'd pay for any other popular game I can think of (not counting specialist simulators etc)

I'll give my few scents

I despised the Sims 3 Store, it was fine up until they started to release Premium Content

But you got to remember that since The Sims begun we always had expansion packs that were.. pricey

Yes, EA is an atrocious company with terrible reputation and while I get where most people come from regarding the whole "milking us like cows". We need to remember they are a company and a business that makes money either way.

Now, do I agree with most the things they do? No, I am very anxious about the content of the premium membership, will I buy it? DEPENDs on what it offers, if it's actually something that ends up in good value then why not? I can afford it for now.

Bottom line is, if you don't like the product, don't buy it.. simple, Iknow that's a rude way to go about it but no one is forcing you to buy Sims 4. If you have a problem with the game then just don't buy it, buy someone else. The whole "removal of toddlers and pools" yes, they were huge features but quite frankly i could care less, the way they are descirbing the games through their tweets suggests there's a lot of tinier features that are more fun, Sad sims can cry under the sheets.. how amazing is that? Sad, but intriguing to see this. The Sims 4 trailers focus on THREE main things : Emotional Gameplay, New Build Mode, New Create A Mod..............just the same way as Sims 3 focused on Open World, and Create A Style......and Sims 2 on the 3D Engine, Aspirations system, etc...

At the end of the day is, I never bought or spent a cent on the Store (although I was tempted).

But we gotta remember that as far as I recall The Sims was managed differently between The Sims 2 Bon Voyage to The Sims 3 Supernatural/Seasons, Maxis was "absent" for that period and we had the whole "The Sims Studio".

And regarding not buying it, you don't go to a shop and complain that the new pepporni pizza is lacking the cheese, you just don't buy it. Except, EA does have the whole life simulation pretty much monopoloized.

I want the game badly, and I don't want it to be delayed just so they can add something. The membership isn't forced upon us, it's optional.

Sorry I just like rambled on not even about the Premium Membership.

"Pay €100 get premium content free!"
No.
You are not getting it for "free", you are paying around €100 dollars every year for surprise store content that doesn't even work.
I would never do this, because I don't trust EA.
On my birthday, my friend gifted me €20 worth of Simpoints. I never got them. The store glitched and didn't allow me to claim them, saying my friend and I lived in different countries.
Think I'm going to pay €100 for store content? Think again EA.

Think again.

To think again they'd have to, yanno, think to begin with. I don't think they do.

Exactly this! If they weren't charging so much for the base game itself, I would make less of a stink about how they plan to set this up. Right now, it looks like very expensive Facebook game.

I still think their marketing is going at this the wrong way entirely. Their "premium" branding (as used in the Battlefield games) suggests a two-class system that divides the community and leaves those foregoing it worse off. They should just call this a "season pass" and make it a summarized collection of all expansions. I would be okay with that.

i think it is a very good thing

It was the original idea at the beginning, the first name of TS2 Store was The Sims 2 Club.

Get all content of The Sims 3 Store cost me 1500€.



100€ by year is nothing, this time I will save 1000€. Sure, it is a very good thing

Overreaction much?

I responded to a comment, with what I thought was a rational statement, and offered my opinion... about only paying for things I have interest in.

There was no comment, or even implication of being "forced" to do anything. Care to elucidate on your reasoning for such a sarcastic response?

I was (and am) okay with EPs. I had no problem with them and looked forward to the EPs when they would be released for Sims 1.

I also looked forward to Sims 2 EPs. Maxis/EA would also hold live Q&A sessions where simmers could ask questions about the EP before it was released. You could ask a question. Sometimes the Gurus would give a straight answer (like, plantsims being the supernatural creature), sometimes they would hint at enjoyable things and secrets in the game, but of course there were some things they wouldn't comment on. For me, it built anticipation and I loved it (don't you all miss the marketing where information is actually, for the most part, given?). But I remember reading on the forum after those sessions and people would be upset, thinking the EPs held less content, wouldn't be up to par, etc. (And Sims 2 as a whole is a popular game still). People also didn't like stuff packs. I didn't mind them, but I never purchased any right away, either. The Store was also introduced near the end of it's cycle.

For the Sims 3, you had EPs, Stuff Packs, and the Store. I never bought a stuff pack, but I probably would have if I played the Sims 3 more. Never bought from the Store (and from what I've read, many sets and objects were broken anyway - which is just inexcusable not to fix). I didn't support the Store, but hey, if others want to spend their money on it, then they can (how else would I know not to spend my money?)

But I WAS utterly disgusted to read about Day 1 DLC, or the special, limited editions for Sims 4 depending on the edition you'd buy. I can understand Special Editions, I really do, but other companies that produce games seem to either wait a while, or, if it's on Day 1, have some really nice extras, and sometimes those extras weren't really related to the gameplay (talking older games here - maps, guides, a figurine, etc.) and usually that was for an established fanbase. While The Sims does have an extremely established fanbase, I just don't understand why EA is choosing to do this, except for money. At the very least, WHY would you promote the extra objects before you even PROMOTE THE GAME (to a level that is satisfactory)? Why should I feel the need to register my Sims 3 games over Origin for some items when I don't even know, a little over a month from release, how the game plays? Honestly, I'm past the being surprised/shocked stage. EA offering "premium membership" is just lumped up here with my thoughts on Day 1 DLC and the special editions. I'm just past the point of caring, which is actually a little sad.

I am not against microtransactions or monthly fees for extra content (I couldn't afford them anyway on top of EPs, but that's a different story) but I don't think that should be the direction the Sims 4 goes. Honestly, and perhaps this is paranoid, but I feel like this is a huge social experiment. With hardly seeing anything of the game (that seems worth it), how much can we (talking as EA) get away with charging our customers? Especially by setting up these options before the game is released? Especially since they've seen us take out things they like (todders, pools, more advanced build tools, open world, what have you), and have yet to show anything of significant value to make up for that? How much can we charge for so little? I don't know, it just feels weird to me. Convince me on the game before you talk about "premium content" or DLC (which I'm not going to trust from Sims 3). Get the fan-base excited on the game first. I think that's what they should focus on (or should have).

I'm just a little sad at the direction everything's going......

My point is, all of the money-making tactics have worked in the past, so this may, as well. EA will probably bring in a ton of money with all of this, and that's what matters most in the business.

Sorry for the long, rambling post that sometimes got off-topic in places.

Noa, if you really want to see the extent some 'special editions' go to, check out Watch Dogs. 11 editions, plus season pass, geographically limited, one item console specific (playstation). If you're careful and clever you could get everything but it would require you to buy: 1) Gold Edition (Playstation Store), 2) Dedsec edition (Europe, Middle East, Asia, Australia), 3) Vigilante Edition (Europe, Middle East, Asia, Australia), 4) ANZ Special Edition (Australia, New Zealand).

Oh, sure, you can get by without any of the additional content (some of which you can get if you buy a DLC pack) or the feelies, but really? Eleven editions for one game.

The Sims 3 store got out of control with LOTS of items, worlds, lots and so on that had new, unique interactions, changes to the gameplay and so on. And that makes me mad! For me the store should be only for CC like clothes, furniture and other "esthetic" items. Things that enhance gameplay or have new ways to play should be in the EP's. They deliberately kept them out of the EP's. I very very pessimistic with the way Sims 4 store + oficial CC will be managed.

Yes, although I swore at the beginning I would stay away from the store, I did break down over the years to get some of the premium content.

I think even if TS4 hadn't turned out to be such a limited game (from what I can tell at the moment), I probably wouldn't have bought it anyway simply because of all the stuff I'm supposed to buy extra to have a decent game. It's not that I can't afford it, it's that I feel like I'm paying a lot of money for nothing and hot air. Generally, I prefer my hot air free.

TS3 cost me overall with all the expansions (most of them bought on sale) and three stuff packs and some store content about 400$ overall, I think, maybe a bit more.

Not to count the computer upgrades.

The way things are going, I think the premium membership alone if it's 50$ per year is about 250$ alone if the game runs 5 years. Plus the game, plus possibly 10 expansions, plus possibly 5 stuff packs, 60$ each. Let's assume 50$ on average for expansions and stuff packs, that makes about 800$ plus 250$ for the premium membership.

I've never been more than a very casual gamer and this is just not acceptable for me. I love TS3, I still like TS2 and I simply don't have the time for another game anyway.

There was just a big splash about the "new" EA access for Xbox One. Essentially, rent-a-game. Which is something the big companies, and not just EA, have wanted to do for quite some time. While the "premium" membership is not quite the same, it is in the same spirit of guaranteeing a steady revenue stream, while adding additional controls over pirating and secondary markets for their software.

126 norwegian kroner pr month, they really have to work hard to give me value for money, and somehow I don't think it will.

What would happen if I bought the game in a physical shop and wanted a refund because it was crap. Much easier being an online shop, what country do you belong to and how much effort does the consumers do to get their money back anyway.

A SP is also content kept out of the EP. and an EP is content kept out of the basegame.

The Sims is the first partial game done. The DLC system of other games is based on this system.

From the beginning, The Sims is a huge scam that's why EA love it.

Wow, that's a lot. Maybe it is a trend with some companies, and I just don't agree with it to such an extent (like, for example, I was okay with EPs for the Sims, Heroes of Might and Magic, Age of Empires, etc.). It's been a while since I've purchased recent games (The Sims series being the exception) so I will admit to being out of the loop when it comes to the greater gaming industry and it's practices. And I can't recall downloading official DLC unless it was offered for free (there were some programs for the Sims 1 I dabbled in, if that counts as an example).

But, dang, 11 varying editions + extra! That is crazy!

We still don't know how much this is going to be or what it entails. Yes, i know, it's EA Games... but if its' worth it I am so buying it #moo