More Insider Information on The Sims 4 Pack Performance & Project X Has Dropped.
With EA, Project X, and The Sims 4, it never takes long for new insider information to come out about production, development, and the inner workings of Electronic Arts and their game development.
The well-known ATRL Insider has graced us with their presence and some new inside information once more, after recently providing insights on Moola and the future of The Sims 4 Marketplace, and has brought us more inside info on how Sims 4 Expansion Packs are performing, and what that performance means for the pack and DLC Structure for Project X and its development.
Table of Contents
ATRL Insider Drops New Project X & The Sims 4 Expansion Pack Performance Info
Question #1
Question: Hi, do you have any good news for project X ? I know you said you didn't want to spoil any features so you wouldn't get into hot water.
Sims Insider: Nothing really. All I can say is that a lot of decisions have been recently evaluated, so they may change their "freemium but paid" (eg. Pay to expand the map) approach to a more traditional scope, but I don't know the results of those conversations.
All I can say that 4 has been doing even more impressive without major content than EA anticipated which has meant Maxis aren't too worried about deadlines for X because they're making the money EA wants. Ironically though, alot of it has come from recent Expansions over the Marketplace that EA thought would be the crux.
Goes to show that many people do actually want to buy packs, and the back to back releases can actually slow people's spending than increase it. Life & Death, Business& Hobby, Adventure Awaits and Royalty & Legacy are all doing exceptionally well. Especially R/L, AA and B&H. These packs seem to encourage purchases of others due to the tool systems they provide, they've seen a direct correlation to people using the custom tools, buying more packs, and then going back to the tools. So I would say for X, expect more packs that use custom tools of that nature, like the Clubs, Getaways and the like.
I'm not sure what you'd describe these tools as, but it seems these customisation options for gameplay have been huge for playtime and purchasing. I don't see EA forgetting this, however that said they did see this kind of uptick with Get Together's release but paid these kind of tools dust for what, 10 years? toofunny
That's some idea of what to expect anyway.
Statement #1
Statement: I noticed that Enchanted by Nature is missing in that recent lineup. Supernatural girlies are flopping again!
Also it's not a shocker to me that people would rather pay for gameplay DLCs than waste miney on just cosmetic DLC (that doesn't even get a good discount deal)
Insider: Yes. That pack has done okay but nothing amazing, compared to what came right before and after. I believe the team that worked on that pack were the first to move to X and are leading that games development.
Statement #2
Statement: Well at least I am happy Adventure Awaits is doing amazingly! The expansion pack with the most gameplay items clap3 I was worried that confusing concept wouldn't smash with casuals since it has a little bit of everything dumped in it Simmers that wanted playgrounds and new gym items WON
Insider: Playtime of this pack was very high apparently, so I think it was a hit not just in sales. I'm not sure about Royalty & Legacy (I haven't asked) but I know about Adventure Awaits because I heard they saw a much longer average playtime compared to Enchanted By Nature. I suppose there's not much to do if you don't like playing with Fairies, that might have been their mistake as I'm sure majority of people don't care much for Fairies maybe.
What are you expecting to see when we finally learn more about Project X? Did the performance of recent Sims 4 Expansion Packs surprise you at all? Let us know down below, and keep an eye on Sims Community for even more rumors and insider knowledge!
11 Comments
I can see the problem with Enchanted by Nature, honestly. Fairies are for a niche audience, sure. But a lot of the stuff advertised if not very active, either. You have one career that fits very specific types of sims, and the Apothecary skill is even more niche. Natural Living could already be done in the game. Luck and Balance are both more annoying ,and less flexible than the systems those other packs introducers.
It’s a pack that’s not very engaging, and the stuff that IS engaging is purposely very niche. It’d be like if Life & Death only had ghosts, the career and heirlooms.
You seem a little too gleeful about “supernatural girlies flopping”. I for one liked the fairies. Not all of us have “nooboo fever” (my tokophobia don’t want none) and care about babies/toddlers/playgrounds. Realism is definitely not my bag and I much much much prefer occult sims. Gimme wings and fangs <3.
Reply to Christy
I feel this to my core. It wasnt until I got my occult sims that I actually became interested in the ACTUAL play. No theres not always much to do specifically in Enchanted by Nature but I enjoyed it in conjunction with my other packs.
Reply to Christy
Hey Christy! This statement wasn’t written by the author, it was written by one of the members in the private ATRL forum.
Reply to Jovan Jović
I stand corrected. It was unclear from the initial article(I did read it more than once before commenting to be fair). But thanks for clearing it up, Jovan.
enchanted by nature was heavily rushed so they can get other expansions out. the cas and b&b are amazing. the gameplay on the other hand is awful the fairy council is just there and becoming a fairy takes 2 seconds. the point system for the upgrades are boring to do since it’s the same actions. they truly never gave us a true fairy like pack. i was expecting like tinker bell kind of world or something similar to fairy core.
Assuming expansions like The Sims 3’s Supernatural are off the table, where we get multiple types of supernaturals in one pack, I have to admit I actually really love Game Packs. I don’t need it to be an expansion: a narrower but very focused pack like Vampires or Werewolves? Those were great.
Also very glad to hear about Adventure Awaits; Easily one of my all-time favorite expansions… As long as that doesn’t just end up meaning they’ll keep a lot of essential systems away from the launch of X to sell it later, because AA does just feel like something that should be a core system.
I have bought every Sims pack (Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry) but not bought a single thing on the Marketplace. Honestly, my dream for X is just to get The Sims 4 again, but better. Maybe even take more time between expansions if it lets them be more ambitious and pay more attention to detail. Like, sure, making a custom rig for a dachshund or whatever takes a lot of work. But put in that work, and I’ll buy it twice.
Reply to blubh
While I’m not happy about the price point, I prefer my supernaturals separated. There is more depth to the them if they are the main focus of the pack than if they were part of a multi-pack. Fairies would have been good as game pack like the others. Though I do like the world, customization, and skill tree. The job… is so-so.
“I believe the team that worked on that pack [Enchanted by Nature] were the first to move to X and are leading that games development.”
Okay, well pack it up. The summer EP team consistently released flops, they should not be leading development of anything. The fall EP team released some of the best Sims 4 EPs. The European team was good too, but all of their releases felt the same despite having wildly different themes.
To be fair, isn’t Enchanted by nature also flopping because the ailments & the luck/balance system are deterring a lot of people? If you add that to the fact that not all of the simmers like occults, that’s a lot staked against that pack. I’m mellowing and kinda into the idea of getting fairies in my game now (I really disliked the pack when it came out), but I’m still not super into those features.
Reply to Abs
The fairies might not even be that big of a deterrent, either. Life and Death was a very spooky pack, and ghosts are featured prominently in the gameplay and world. But it sold pretty well and was one of the best-received packs for The Sims 4. I’d say the infamous luck/ailment system scared a lot of people away, and the gameplay was already stuff you could do with other packs or in the basegame. Like who was really excited to pay 40 bucks to sleep on the ground, as if your sim just can’t find a random bench in Willow Creek and nap? Who was coming in expecting to get riveting gameplay from live houseplants, when they’re functionally just regular harvestables, but useless?
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