STORY UPDATE: The Sims Team acknowledged the mistake and promised to deliver the window from the promotional graphic in the “upcoming patch update”.
This cinematic visual was intended to get players excited about the Industrial Loft Kit. Despite some minor – & slightly paneful – hold-ups, we’re happy to share that the window will arrive to the Kit in an upcoming patch update.
— The Sims (@TheSims) August 26, 2021
Usually when a company does artwork and promotional material for a video game you’d expect that the objects and surroundings promoted in said graphics are included in the Game / DLC. This is especially noticeable when the DLC is small – in this example it’s the $4.99 Industrial Loft Kit for The Sims 4 – where every object matters for the value of the Kit.
Unfortunately The Sims 4’s Marketing Team missed the mark and falsely advertised the Industrial Loft Kit. Their announcement of The Sims 4 Industrial Loft Kit featured a 10-second animated graphic highlighting some of the main objects coming with the Kit.
Are you ready to become a true Brooklynite Simmers? 🌆🗽 Design the loft of your dreams with the new The Sims 4 #IndustrialLoftKit ✨🥳
Available August 26th on PC/Mac & Console pic.twitter.com/9tGkrxL36b
— The Sims (@TheSims) August 24, 2021
You’d expect that the new window they placed in the center of the promotional graphic would mean that the said window would also come with the $5 Kit. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all.
I got a copy of the Industrial Loft Kit from the EA Game Changers Program to test it out. After checking out the catalogue of all the windows that come with this Kit it turns out that only one window comes with this Kit – the Phoenix Ironworks Window – which isn’t even close to the open-window concept that was teased with the window in the promotional graphic.
To make the case even worse – it seems that The Sims 4 Marketing Team was promoting an edited combination of three different windows – that come from a whole different $9.99 Stuff Pack – The Sims 4 Moschino Stuff.
Since we’re talking about an official Kit for The Sims 4 it’s important to note once again that every object matters in making a decision when getting a kit. Many fans were excited to get the window with the Industrial Loft Kit – that was literally promoted by The Sims Team, only to be left disappointed after purchasing the Kit and noticing that the window they promoted isn’t there at all.
I was lucky enough to get a code from EA to test out the Kit and we’ll definitely bring you a full overview of the Kit very soon. However, I thought it was important to let our readers know that what was officially promoted for Industrial Loft Kit unfortunately just doesn’t come with the Kit.
So much outrage over a WINDOW is ridiculous. lol
I don’t think its necessarily about the window, it’s about advertising something that you don’t get. People bought the pack and expected to get what it was advertised and instead they didn’t. I would be frustrated too if I spent money on something and didn’t get an aspect of it that I was expecting.
People were flipping out before they even bought the pack. It is stated no where that people would receive everything in the image.
Okay but why advertise something that doesn’t come with the pack? Why would they not just put the window that comes with the pack into the clip? So yeah, that is false advertising.
It’s not outrage – it’s a fair warning for people who want to get the Kit that what is advertised simply isn’t there. Since this is a $5 Kit with 20+ objects every little thing matters – including something as big as the window in the center of the promotional graphic.
I mean really, it is not false advertising unless it was stated anyplace that people will receive everything on the image.
I don’t mean this rudely and I do believe some people are overreacting about this and misconstruing it, but at the same time this… isn’t a nonissue. It may seem stupid but sometimes a singular item is going to be what pushes someone to make the decision to buy a kit. Furthermore, it might be a small thing and was probably just a simple mistake, but it can’t be just brushed off and considered acceptable otherwise that sets a certain precedent. At the end of the day they are selling us a product and we are consumers and certain standards need to be in place, otherwise things can quickly get out of hand.
Think about it like this: Going by your logic of “It’s not false advertising if they show us something unless they state that we’ll receive everything we see” – How would you feel if they clearly showed off a gameplay feature you were really excited about and longing for in an advertisement like this but then it was just nowhere to be found after you spent your money, with no mention of it anywhere? Calling out things like this prevents disappointments like that in the future and encourages them to be more mindful about what they’re sharing, which any PR and marketing team /needs/ to be.
It also encourages them to check their quality control and workflow. I could be wrong but considering how quickly they said we’d get the window, I’m going to assume it’s possible they’re not just creating something entirely from scratch after backlash. It could have been either accidentally left out or maybe part of a future patch/pack or just concept art and accidentally included despite that. Either way, if a mistake was made somewhere, the issue will now hopefully be corrected with more effort and haste than there might have been otherwise.
Again, not meaning this rudely or trying to be argumentative. I can agree to disagree. Just trying to explain where some people are coming from and why I think it’s important to call it out even if it’s not the world’s biggest deal. Hope you have a good weekend though and enjoy the pack if you have or plan to get it!
I agree mentioning something that could be an over sight is totally fine but saying ti is false advertising and some of the other stuff I have read over the last few days, over a single window that for all we know could have been just a simple over sight, is too much and a ridiculous. That is what my comment was about, not that they should not be called but that the outrage is ridiculous. Criticizing is fine if it is done respectfully, and is constructive, but accusations, and tantrums (and I have seen some people have melt downs over this window) is ridiculous.
Misleading illustrations is considered a form of false advertising. They would face lawsuits if they dare not to include it in a later update
saying “marketing team falsely advetised their latest kit” is borderline clickbait. but hey, get your clicks i guess.
I’m not majorly disappointed because I wasn’t going to buy it anyway (like I like the concept of Industrial Loft I just think Kits are a bit overpriced for what you get), but that is pretty skeevy and I did think it was quite a pretty window (but it does explain why it reminded me of the Moshchino Stuff ones)
I bought it
/the lkast I bought was Bust the dust, and before it, Eco Living
You mean. Dust the bust
I’m glad I switched to pirating The Sims 4 anyway, lol
Lol..the only reason why they are releasing this window is because a lot of ppl made a big fuss about it.. apparently it was only for cinematic effect and was never supposed to be released.. you think you can get anything past the sims community… Lol nope