Two steps forward, one step back with the Sims 4

So not that long ago, we celebrated the Sims 18th anniversary and that article left me rather wishfully hoping to see more of the Sims team listening and communicating to the Sims community. The Laundry stuff pack seemed a good sign of stuff to come, the pack was created by popular vote so it was shaped by the community. I can admire that despite the fact the Laundry day pack wasn’t for me as I am someone who despises laundry IRL. I appreciated it for the value it brought to fellow Simmers and that the Sims team was addressing the needs of those players. That is how it should be, as the core purpose of the stuff packs is to create content for more targeted markets. Here is how Simguru Graham described their purpose

Our philosophy for stuff packs is to add meaningful new content to the game that adds new game play that you can’t get elsewhere. The new features that stuff packs introduce should feel comprehensive and self-contained. Sometimes we focus on niche themes that we don’t think would fit in a larger pack, and sometimes we use it as a platform to bring frequently requested content to the game sooner than it might otherwise find a place to slot in.

Comprehensive and self contained, two words I cannot describe the First pet stuff expansion with. I think that is how the Sims team has again found themselves with discontent fans because the content could have found its home in the Cats and Dogs expansion but didn’t. Most of the items and clothing included in the pack are geared towards cats and dogs, with only the special items being about the new content. This is why The first pet stuff pack relies players to have the Cats and Dogs expansion in order to fully enjoy it. This pack comes only two months after the expansion, which is why it feels like an oversight rather than a niche product.

Sims 3 & 4 hedgehog design

While I understand the frustrations of fellow simmers at this feeling like a ‘tack on’ product, I am more frustrated that this is a poorly done ‘tack on’ than a proper niche pack. I would be apart of the target market for this pack if it was done properly. I am a proud owner of both a hedgehog and a dwarf hamster (see more of them here!) and was thrilled when I first saw the trailer included both hamsters and hedgehogs. Now that simmers have been shown closer look at the content that is where my excitement soured.

The big ticket item, a small pet cage is made especially for hamsters. It includes sand baths and tubing components which are both specific to hamsters. Anyone who has ever been to the pet store will be able to see that. Cages including tubing are targeted to that critter, for a good reason as hamsters are pretty good climbers. Also depending on the hamster breed they are usually small enough that they are less likely to get stuck or hurt themselves going through tunnels like that. I think the cage is pretty nice when it comes to being for a hamster or a bubalus. The bubalus is rather funny, a purple platypus/ram looking creature that is a lovely bit of fiction. What I dislike is that the hedgehog and rat/mouse are basically just reskins of the hamster and given the same enclosure. I can’t really speak for a mouse or a rat, but to put things simply, hedgehogs have different needs than hamsters. They are nearsighted and due to that most hedgie moms choose not to have levels. If they do have levels, they have to be walled in very high, as hedgies are tiny angry rebels that can and will hurt themselves if given the chance. Now I don’t expect the Sims team to be perfect, but their last ‘rodent’ cage in the Sims 3 was a lot more universal for small critters, it simply had a wheel, food, water and a hide, all on the ground floor. It also came as a small addition to the Sims 3 pets, rather than its own pack.

If the Sims team had come out with a pack that wasn’t an add on to cats and dogs and really did focus on the ‘first pet’ experience, we could have seen a more inclusive variety of small pets, the enclosures could have been more diverse and we could have had themed clothing that was a better celebration of that first time experience. I think having this pack be a DLC of a DLC was a mistake and there was a missed opportunity for this to be a better product. The Sims team could have made a small pet pack that didn’t need the Cat and Dog expansion, and while it wouldn’t have been for everyone it could have been comprehensive and self contained. For these reasons, I won’t be picking up the First pet stuff pack. Your money is another way to vote for or against a product and I will be voting against this one as I feel it missed the mark.