Anyone who knows anything about the Sims series knows that EA take the absolute biscuit when it comes to DLC. They release a slimmed down base version of the game then milk the living crap out of Sims fans through DLC after DLC after DLC after…….and so on, you get the idea. For reference Sims 3 had 11 expansion packs, 9 stuff packs and 15 different game versions. As if that wasn’t enough they also offer a store for each of the games where they sell additional random items and bits of DLC for fairly hefty prices. I wouldn’t be surprised if it costs over $1000 to buy all the Sims 3 content at MSRP pricing, and I’m sure some die-hard fans have done that.

Enter Sims 4 arriving this autumn where EA is going to do it all again, except this time they are taking it even further. Instead of adding more things back into the base version of the games like fans had hoped, EA are taking more things out of the base game meaning you’ll be even more short-changed than Sims 3. EA and Maxis will be removing the toddler phase of Sim development and relocating that to some DLC and they are removing iconic elements of the house building system, such as the swimming pool.

“While we recognize that some of you will be disappointed that pools and toddlers won’t be available when The Sims 4 Base Game launches in September, you should know that we’re building an incredibly strong foundation that is capable of fulfilling every one of your desires in the years to come.” Said Maxis in a blog post.

It is fair to say Sims fans are pretty cheesed off, and rightly so. I don’t buy into the whole Sims series at all, it is way too time-demanding for my gaming style. However, I totally stand with the game fans on this one: EA are taking the biscuit and really need to listen to what fans want. You can check out the petition the fans have created to EA here, it only has 3400 signatures at the time of writing so let’s see if that can be changed!

Image courtesy of EA/Maxis