Electronic Arts recently released a lengthy trailer for The Sims 4, the upcoming instalment in its popular series of life-simulation games. The new video contained a surprising hint that EA might be planning a “Premium” version of the new game.
The trailer is more than 20 minutes long, and the majority of that time is spent showing new or revamped gameplay for The Sims 4:
The moment that raised some flags comes at 13:26, when this image pops up:
The text reads:
The Sims 4 Premium. Save on new packs with early access and exclusive items. Become a Premium member to get early access to three new packs, with exclusive items. Your Sims can throw a spooky costume party, camp in the great outdoors, and toast to the new year in style.
For a bit of context: this image shows up in the trailer during a discussion of the new game’s “gallery” system. Ryan Vaughan and Graham Nardone, the two producers talking through the gameplay in the video, explain that this is a new feature meant to work similarly to The Exchange, a sort of ad-hoc network that was set up for The Sims 3 that allowed players to upload stuff they’d made in that game and share it with the wider Sims community. Like many exciting features in The Sims 4, the gallery sounds like one of those things that will streamline an interesting part of gameplay and thus make it more fun.
Seeing an image that reads like an advertisement for a new “Premium” version of a game not known for such things has raised some questions, however. Some critics and Sims fans are now wondering if EA is planning to structure The Sims 4’s release similarly to how it handles the Battlefield franchise: by giving players the opportunity to spend more money to enrol in a so-called “Premium” membership that grants them early access to new updates and add-ons.
For much of its history, The Sims has released periodic expansion packs that give players new items and other goodies. But except for The Sims Online, which launched in 2002 and charged a $US9.99 monthly subscription fee, the series hasn’t changed up the way it releases new content or charges players for it in turn.
EA hasn’t said anything about a new The Sims 4 Premium version either. As of this writing, the only two versions of the game listed on its website are a $US59.99 “Limited Edition” version and a $US69.99 “Digital Deluxe” one, which has a few extra chunks of bonus content.
A representative from Electronic Arts told me the company had no comment on the matter.
To contact the author of this post, write to yannick.lejacq@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq.
Comments
15 responses to “Sims 4 Trailer Hints At New ‘Premium’ Version”
Sounds like ‘season pass’ etc to me.
All aboard the money train, all aboard!
Does it include the pool pack? Or toddler pack?
What about the toddlers drowning in the pool pack?
Too dark?
Maybe they’ll release an obnoxiously branded lighting pack to address that.
If anyone’s still buying EA products after the last few debacles then they need their heads read.
I still buy them, not because of EA but because of the developer.
Enjoy that process man. Battlefield 4 and sim city made my mind up for me.
Is that really the worst thing in the world? I mean the core concept is letting people buy a bundle of DLC up front rather than choosing between GOTY edition discounts and buying full price as each set of DLC is released (the discount isn’t as good as what you get from a GOTY edition, but it’s still better than just buying one at a time). Considering The Sims long time relationship with paid expansion content planned well in advance of core release I’m surprised they didn’t do this earlier.
I don’t believe they will structure it like BF4, In BF4 if you buy premium you know you are getting everything that will be released throughout the life of the game.
With the Sims 3 if you manually bought every single piece of content for that game it would be in the thousands so I cant see them giving it to you for a one off fee of 60 bucks.
It will most likely give you a few freebies and a discount on all the other stuff.
why are games now days talking about dlcs or expansion packs when the game is not yet out or development has not finished.
$
I think you mean §
I think that’s an ideal way to build games to be honest. If you can release a fun, playable game now and add even more content to it over the coming months (or years) then why not? Especially in a game where you’d expect people to play for months and months. It doesn’t make sense in a game you play through in a week then you’re done.
Two provisos; I don’t agree on price gouging the customers when they do it. Any DLC needs to be price appropriate, eg: a new hat costs a few cents, whole new maps a few dollars, whole expansions can cost more. Secondly, the game shouldn’t be broken when it comes out. That should be obvious, but sometimes it doesn’t work that way 🙁
At least now I know what version I will be pirating!!!1!11!!