#ts4 discourse

[venriliz]

[0paline]

gonna say it now, if you support CC creators like @felixandresims, @harrie-cc, or any other perma-wall/excessive early access paywall creators you’re being taken advantage of financially. They don’t care about your game, about your hard earned money that you work a REAL job for. They don’t work for EA there is no reason they should be getting paid ~14k a month MINIMUM for sometimes RECOLORS of existing sims 4 content. And YES, Harrie’s recent “winterfest drop” is just a sims 4 seasons RECOLOR. You’re not “getting it for free” If you are a patron you are PAYING for the content at the end of the day they aren’t giving it out, if they were to get banned on patron or were told they could no longer hide behind early access paywalling they would not make content (or make their content free at all exhibit @felixandresims) They are money hungry, they are not part of your community they don’t care about you. Them and their TOU’s are an embarrassment to the sims community and i’m so glad i’m not in the s4 community. But just because i’m not doesn’t mean i’m going to let them get away with their entitlement. I hope EA comes after their asses. Thank you to the S4 Creators who don’t perma paywall and who are respectful and care about the community. I understand that making CC is time consuming but at the end of the day this community was made on the backs of people who created CC for fun not expecting pay and it’s upsetting to see how far down this community has gone, and it’s in part thanks to EA (money hungry pigs)

And blocking people is just furthering the point that all you care about is money @harrie-cc

[blueplayssims]

okay but like. locking cc away for two whole ass months

[lavenderlight]

I’ve always thought this but esp with Eco Living now... I think I’m just too old for Sims 4 and that’s why it doesn’t appeal to me. The Sims is supposed to be a life simulation game - in the other three, I love to play different types of sims with different backgrounds. One family I have on my TS2 game is an elderly couple who’ve adopted a toddler after suddenly realising they want a family. It’s a lot of fun and they’re friends with some of the younger more “traditional” families!

TS4 is just... “hope you like playing a trendy urban woke silly millennial ex-dee!!! That’s all you get! Yeah teens are indistinguishable from adults and babies are literally game objects, and elders are completely forgotten about -- but look at the gauges in this sim’s ears!!! Look, you can be a streamer now!!! You can make a cake that looks like a burger hah how random and silly!!! We’re so progressive and this absolutely won’t be dated garbage you’ll cringe at years later!” 

I’m tired.

[madsims4finds]

Reality Check for the Sims community

At this point, the conversation has died down. But I’ve been sitting on some thoughts after seeing a few… disappointing responses from creators I really liked at one point. And honestly, I’ve been avoiding saying anything because I’m just a fan of this franchise. I don’t have a platform. I have like 7 followers on here. I mean truly, who am I? Nobody knows me lol. This page used to just be reblogs. I only got vocal once I got fed up with EA and the state of The Sims 4.

But I just watched a video about Rockstar laying off a bunch of people while they were in the process of forming a union. That’s what we call union busting. I had no idea honestly. But something about that set something off in me. If you want the full context to that situation, the video is linked at the end of this post. Watch the whole thing. Depending on how that whole situation turns out, I might be boycotting GTA6 as well.

Watching that made me think: Fuck it. Tough love might be necessary at this point. And even if no one comes across this or engages with it, at least I said my piece…peace? Whatever.

If you’re someone who hates hearing critiques about Sims creators, players, or the people still in the EA Creator Network, this might trigger you. I mean, technically, it is for you and them… but I’m not dragging anybody to the table. If you’re ready for a hard truth, read on.

My frustration with The Sims has always been directed at EA, not at the individual devs. I don’t know them, I don’t follow them, I don’t interact with them. My beef has always been the corporation. But now? Now I’m frustrated with a lot of creators in this community, too. Especially the ones coming up with weird justifications and excuses for why they want to continue playing their beloved game. Granted, some have walked back on that, but others still seem to think they can sit this one out or just go about business as usual. Here’s the thing, creators: If it’s simply about loving the game, you can play it at home. Privately. Quietly. Nobody needs a Let’s Play to enjoy their save file. Not posting pack reviews shouldn’t keep you from playing your game. Enjoying the game doesn’t require publicly platforming it…

And hell, even if you continue to buy privately, that’s your business.

But what people are asking for, what I’m asking for, is unity. A collective, public stance to show EA and potential investors that the community doesn’t support the direction this sale is heading. Especially when the potential buyer has a documented history of human rights violations, anti-LGBTQ+ policies, and racism. And RACISM black simmers! I might not be able to boycott gas. But I sure as hell can boycott a video game. That’s something I can control.

And please believe these people are not going to take this stuff out of the game. Of course not. They don’t care about what American citizens do. They will leave the diversity and inclusivity so that you can continue playing the game and lining their pockets so they can continue running their government the way they want to. It’s not really about them influencing us. It’s about them maintaining the power in their own country, using the money they make from EA to do it. There’s a reason why it’s become national news.

And no, saying “it might not go through, we won’t know until next year” isn’t a great reason to stay complacent. Speaking out now can influence whether it goes through or not. If people aren’t publicly playing, buying new packs, or promoting EA’s content, that affects revenue. And investors absolutely pay attention to that. So, if you were already planning to pull back if the sale happens… why not start early?

Again, I’m not saying don’t play your game. People have spent literal thousands on this franchise. It would be wild to ask anyone to uninstall that kind of investment. But maybe consider not buying or accepting any new packs. Maybe consider pivoting your public content. Get creative. Branch out. Try other games. Try other genres. The community sees what’s happening. People will support you exploring something new. And yeah, for some creators, that might be uncomfortable. For some, The Sims is their entire channel or their only hobby. But every collective action in history requires people to sit with a little discomfort. That’s kind of the assignment.

What really threw me, though, was how some creators I liked responded when people respectfully questioned their stance. Some of them gagged me, especially when they framed themselves as victims for being asked to reflect on the impact of their choices. Calling valid critiques “bullying” doesn’t help anybody.

And honestly? For creators saying “there are bigger issues in the world,” um, okay, so which ones are you fighting for, if any? Cause that reason comes across as “there’s too much wrong, so I won’t care about anything”. Is that it? Cause what we’re asking here is extremely specific and extremely doable: Don’t publicly promote the game for now. That’s it.

Not “give up your phone.”

Not “stop buying clothes.”

Not “quit Starbucks altogether,” even though… why are y’all still going to Starbucks?

Anyway. One battle at a time.

Just… pause your Sims content publicly. That’s all.

If your answer is no? Okay. Stand ten toes down on your no. Own it. Own YOUR choice. But don’t attack people for noticing what that choice communicates. Because at the end of the day, creators can still make money with other content. You can still play Sims privately. You just don’t want to change what you’re doing, whatever your reasons are. And that’s your business. But choices have optics.

Can we also keep in mind that this sale could seriously impact the actual developers? The people who more than likely have student debt that they took on to learn to build games for all of us to enjoy, the people many creators swear they want to protect. Because after watching this video about the Rockstar situation, my mind went to the Sims devs. And those devs are speaking up about the sale too because again, it’s a national conversation now. And yet, creators, some, not all but some of whom might genuinely be making more money than some devs... let that sink in, are having a hard time speaking out. 🧐

If some of these creator responses are gonne be along the lines of “I just want to keep enjoying my happy comfort game,” that’s… fine, I guess. But that's a choice. Don’t be surprised when some of us look at that choice sideways. And my personal opinion? Take a look around at the society we live in. The world we live in. You really think you can avoid being an advocate or activist for something?

So just to be clear. The ideal would be to no longer promote anything EA publicly, including the sims. Don’t buy new packs. I’m sure you can find…other ways of getting them. And do not upload Sims 4 based content publicly.

If you took the blue pill, enjoy business as usual I guess lol. What else can we say to that?

If you took the red pill, reblog this. And let’s do our part in standing up for an industry we care about and the people who make the games we love. And a world we want to see be better and do better.

#boycottEA

Rockstar Union-bust video referenced: https://youtu.be/c9nOwjeznjI?si=rHdQjmc12g5sadMh