The Sims 4 Life and Death Controversy Explained

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One of the most exciting aspects of The Sims 4 is the consistent rollout of DLC for the game. With at least one major pack released each season, Simmers are constantly fed new content to expand their gameplay. But players have been very unhappy with how The Sims 4 showing off its latest expansion pack.




The Sims 4The “Life & Death” expansion pack promises to give players all new ways to experiment with one of the game's most gruesome features – death. Descriptions of the expansion pack have confirmed that Simmers can experience a new grim reaper career, build cemeteries, host funerals and more upon purchase. Many fans have been enthusiastic about the package, proving that the content of Life & Death is not what Simmers has been questioning. Rather, The Sims 4 has been constantly inundating players with an ad for the new expansion pack.

A key image for The Sims 4 showing several custom characters

Family

The Sims 4 fans are clamoring for the return of character from older games

Fans of The Sims 4 are asking Maxis and EA to bring an iconic NPC from the series' older games back into the series' latest entry.

EA's controversial advertising strategy for The Sims 4: Life and Death


The Sims 4's macabre memories have turned out to be crazy

In recent years, The Sims 4 has promoted new DLC, particularly for larger content such as expansion packs, by offering limited-time exclusive items to players who purchase the new pack before a certain date. As for Life & Death, players who pre-order or purchase the bundle before December 12 will receive a collection of “Macabre Mementos” including a Lasting Legacy Family Portrait, a Mournful Melodies Music Box and a Plumed Elegance Mask.

Again, the controversy does not surround players who are unhappy with the exclusive items that The Sims 4 the team offers them. Instead, the culprit is a pop-up ad for the exclusive items that appear when the game is launched. An ad for the rewards is in the game's main menu, making the extra pop-up ad feel redundant. The Sims 4 has faced fan backlash in the past when it added a button to the game's user interface, leading to purchasable DLC. Pushing Macabre Mementos so hard has caused some Simmers to reconsider whether they'll even buy Life & Death, despite how influential it can be on the game, proving that this heavy-handed advertising style is still controversial within The Sims community.


Previous freebies in The Sims 4

Now that The Sims 4 is available to players for free, it makes sense that Maxis and EA constantly encourage players to purchase DLC content. Of course, this doesn't change the frustration that Simmers has, but it is a logical explanation.

Maxis has also incorporated new free-to-play missions for The Sims 4. “Happy Home” Sims 4 the reward program was a limited-time mission launched in June. Players who logged in enough times over the course of four weeks could earn eight free and unique rewards including a Bullseye Dartboard, Athleisure Wear and a Practice Makes Perfect Trait.

Given that new traits are usually only included in the game's DLC and new free furniture and Create-A-Sim items for The Sims 4 are usually only available when The Sims developers update pre-existing items in the base game, this limited time login event was a great opportunity for Simmers. Still, many players missed out on the Happy at Home rewards program despite mass promotion images and links on The Sims 4 main page during and before the event.


This could be another explanation for the mass promotion of the macabre memories. Life & Death has been advertised as a necessary expansion pack in the same vein as Seasons or Cats and Dogs. This type of expansion pack doesn't just build on pre-existing aspects of the game, it changes the way Simmers play The Sims 4 completely. With many Simmers planning to purchase the pack, The Sims teams might push them to buy the pack earlier so they don't miss out on “free” exclusive items.

Some Simmers aren't so optimistic about the motives behind these ads. EA announced in May that it is considering implementing more ads in its AAA titles, which includes The Sims 4. These ads would be inside the game itself, unlike the controversial store button.

Those who want to buy The Sims 4s latest expansion pack can pre-order it now or wait until the DLC's Halloween release. Either way, they'll get the macabre memories that Maxis and EA seem so keen to give away.


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