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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 18th May 2020 at 10:22 AM Last edited by BagelTheDog : 18th May 2020 at 10:24 AM. Reason: removed title-case
Default The Sims 3 real price of all the store content.
There has been a myth floating around the internet about The Sims 3.

According a steam post from 2013, the price of all the store content comes to around 73 thousand dollars. When I first heard this fact, I was very suspicious. I did some digging and it seems the creator of that thread took the average price of the first 50 store items and multiplied it by the amount of items on the store.
So fast forward to today, Me, the responsible person I am, decide to get the real price of all the store content instead of studying.

So ladies and gentlemen, do you want to know the real price of all the content in the Sims 3 Store?
No?
That's great, but I did it anyway!

The Price of all the Store Content is:
$1,925.19 in United States Dollars

Don't believe me? Good! You shouldn't. I haven't provided any sort of source or calculations.
Except I have!
HERE is a link to a google spreadsheet with all of my calculations and award winning notes and commentary that I have written during my 3 hour, sanity draining trek of the wild wasteland known as The Sims Store.

I even accounted for the simpoint bundles that you get from buying some of the worlds!

So, what are my personal thoughts on the store?
It's a scam. There are some cool things on it, but they tend to be buggy and are absolutely not worth the money. And then of course you have items ripped straight from The Sims 2 that you need to pay for again. Anyone can do that for free with a copy of SimPE and S3PE. I go into more detail of what sets do this in my spreadsheet. Also, the store is still full price 6 years after they stopped updating it! I'd advise you to save your money and not buy anything.
Also don't take this as condoning piracy, because I'm not.

If you are insane like me and have found any errors in my calculations, leave a comment or PM me at this webzone.

TL;DR:
The price of all the Content on the store is $1,925.19 and the price of all the expansions, stuff packs and store content is $2,595.19.
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 18th May 2020 at 12:00 PM Last edited by HugeLunatic : 18th May 2020 at 10:48 PM. Reason: no piracy
6yrs after abandoning, disavowing, disowning the Sims 3 they are still make money off it. The fact that the store is still running means people are buying from it and enough to cover the costs needed to keep it going. Don't forget the exchange is still running and people are still putting up content on it and that is on the same site. Pre 2020 I would have thought that the Sims 3 store and exchange would have been gone by now. Now I wonder how long it will be around. Conservatively I'd say it would be gone 2030 but I'd be surprised if it was there in 2025. It may all predict if there is or what it would be like: The Sims 5. If it will be able to pull Sims 3 lovers away from our game or tempt new would be S3 players to rather buying that.

I do generally like what EA has put out on the store. Some of my favorite worlds are from there but they have bugs and amateur mistakes them that the content shouldn't have been released with. I like the violin but the way the skill levels up annoys me. Clothing with broken morphs. Build or buy that bork on lower graphics (I'm assuming due to lower graphics setting).
Mad Poster
#3 Old 18th May 2020 at 12:23 PM
To me, this is a bit like pricing out what it would cost to have a scoop of every kind of ice cream a super large ice cream parlor touting hundreds of flavors carries. No one needs that all at once as it would make them sick and although there are some players who have a sense of pride over owning the entire store, no one really needs to have all or even a quarter of it to enjoy its content. Instead, those of us who purchased portions of the content here and there and maybe a world every now and then as we wanted them enjoyed the huge menus of choices (gems, total crappola, the mundane stuff in between, all of it).

Could be mistaken but am not sure that the spreadsheet analysis takes into account the item overlap between many of the sets and the "savings" to be had by leveraging the Complete Your Set system and Make Me An Offer, which are both still actively engaged. I mean there are many sets I never even knew I wanted and some that I probably didn't that I got for free or just about that because other sets I acquired along the way already included much of their content.

Anyway, I wouldn't call paying full price without all the bundle leverage for every item in the store falling for a scam necessarily, but it wouldn't really go into the category of best value for the gaming dollar/store point either.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#4 Old 18th May 2020 at 12:41 PM Last edited by BagelTheDog : 18th May 2020 at 12:54 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by igazor
To me, this is a bit like pricing out what it would cost to have a scoop of every flavor of ice cream a super large ice cream parlor touting hundreds of flavors carries. No one needs that all at once as it would make them sick and although there are some players who have a sense of pride over owning the entire store, no one really needs to have all or even a quarter of it to enjoy its content. Instead, those of us who purchased portions of the content here and there and maybe a world every now and then as we wanted them enjoyed the huge menus of choices (gems, total crappola, the mundane stuff in between, all of it).

Could be mistaken but am not sure that the spreadsheet analysis takes into account the item overlap between many of the sets and the "savings" to be had by leveraging the Complete Your Set system and Make Me An Offer, which are both still actively engaged. I mean there are many sets I never even knew I wanted and some that I probably didn't that I got for free or just about that because other sets I acquired along the way already included much of their content.


Of course no one is going to buy all the store content. Having all the content in your game at all times actually would slow it down from the amount of custom content that needs loading. This was more correcting a myth that was going around the internet for a while.

The fact that no one would buy the entire store doesn't change the fact that it's overpriced. I do really like some of the store content that I own, particularly the worlds.

The spreadsheet does take into account the item overlap which was annoying because the sets are all jumbled up. The spreadsheet doesn't take into account sales or the Make Me An Offer System. If someone could tell me exactly how the system works I could probably calculate what the reduced price would be.

I wasn't really calling the store a scam because of the fact that the entire store costs a lot, it was more of the pricing of individual content like barnacle bay for instance. My main point with my little rant was it's been quite a long time since the Sims 3 was abandoned, and they're still charging full price. And then what happens when the store closes down? Will there be a legal way to get any of this content?
Instructor
#5 Old 20th May 2020 at 5:38 AM
I for one do own all the store content and every EP and SP, and yes I did run my game just fine with all of it in. Did I pay full price for the store items, nope. There was a spreadsheet that tracked the sale rotation and I got most of the store for 50% or lower, used the Complete my set (frequently for free), played the make me an offer, and watched the videos often for free sim points. I also used all the free simpoints from buying some of the early EPs wisely, one sale items. So I spent nowhere near $1900, not even half that.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 20th May 2020 at 8:25 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Mandelyn
I for one do own all the store content and every EP and SP, and yes I did run my game just fine with all of it in. Did I pay full price for the store items, nope. There was a spreadsheet that tracked the sale rotation and I got most of the store for 50% or lower, used the Complete my set (frequently for free), played the make me an offer, and watched the videos often for free sim points. I also used all the free simpoints from buying some of the early EPs wisely, one sale items. So I spent nowhere near $1900, not even half that.


This calculation was more of a hypothetical situation where it doesn't account for sales, free simpoints and any other systems.
This thread isn't really another "EA BAd!!!!!!!11 LoOK at HoW much mOney everything costs!!!!!" type thread, it was more of a correction on someone else's calculation.
I also wrote this post at midnight when I was really sleep deprived.

Also, could you teach me your magic secrets about getting the game to run reasonably? I feel like I've tried everything online and it still is a bit laggy.
Test Subject
#7 Old 20th May 2020 at 10:15 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Mandelyn
I for one do own all the store content and every EP and SP, and yes I did run my game just fine with all of it in. Did I pay full price for the store items, nope. There was a spreadsheet that tracked the sale rotation and I got most of the store for 50% or lower, used the Complete my set (frequently for free), played the make me an offer, and watched the videos often for free sim points. I also used all the free simpoints from buying some of the early EPs wisely, one sale items. So I spent nowhere near $1900, not even half that.


I haven't used the Sims 3 Store in a very long time. Knowing now that playing the "Make me an offer" feature (don't think this existed 10 years ago) and tracking sales will save me a lot of Sim points.
Test Subject
#8 Old 20th May 2020 at 10:37 AM
I just found a thread over on the offical Sims 3 forum that has someone called rnramey posting detailed daily tracking of all sale items. If it helps anyone (always go to the latest page): https://forums.thesims.com/en_Us/di...sales-help/p381
Mad Poster
#9 Old 20th May 2020 at 12:16 PM
Quote: Originally posted by BagelTheDog
it was more of a correction on someone else's calculation.

Now that I think about it, I do recall seeing similar (bogus) calculations almost as clumsily presented in a couple of places years ago where at least some of those propagating them were insisting that each store point costs the player the equivalent of $.10 (ten US cents). That's 10x more than they ever cost, at least in this country, and they are less than $.01 (one US cent) each if purchased in higher quantities. But you can't argue math with someone who abuses it to make a point or prove a statement they have already decided is true and get a crowd all riled up, which is what at least some of them were apparently attempting to do at the time.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#10 Old 20th May 2020 at 1:39 PM
Quote: Originally posted by igazor
Now that I think about it, I do recall seeing similar (bogus) calculations almost as clumsily presented in a couple of places years ago where at least some of those propagating them were insisting that each store point costs the player the equivalent of $.10 (ten US cents). That's 10x more than they ever cost, at least in this country, and they are less than $.01 (one US cent) each if purchased in higher quantities. But you can't argue math with someone who abuses it to make a point or prove a statement they have already decided is true and get a crowd all riled up, which is what at least some of them were apparently attempting to do at the time.


Yeah, I didn't consider that buying larger simpoint bundles would save money.
If you were to buy eight 24360 simpoint bundles and one 2040 simpoint bundle it would get you all the store content for $1,300 with some simpoints left over.

Also, there is a (off topic) question that has been niggling at the back of my mind for a while.
What is the correct way to pronounce Nraas?
Mad Poster
#11 Old 20th May 2020 at 1:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by BagelTheDog
Also, there is a (off topic) question that has been niggling at the back of my mind for a while.
What is the correct way to pronounce Nraas?

I don't think there is one correct answer to that. NRaas is either our founder's in-game character name, that was Nathaniel or Natalie Raas (depending on which game he was playing) or it is an acronym for Nocturnal Role-playing Action Adventure Simulation. I guess it depends on how you might otherwise pronounce the surname "Raas."

Some will have it rhyme with "brass," but I prefer a different vowel pronunciation that is more in between that and "boss." So somewhere in between "en-rass" and "en-ross."
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 20th May 2020 at 2:10 PM
Thank you, igazor.
You're truly doing gods work.
Forum Resident
#13 Old 20th May 2020 at 6:21 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Mandelyn
I for one do own all the store content and every EP and SP, and yes I did run my game just fine with all of it in. Did I pay full price for the store items, nope. There was a spreadsheet that tracked the sale rotation and I got most of the store for 50% or lower, used the Complete my set (frequently for free), played the make me an offer, and watched the videos often for free sim points. I also used all the free simpoints from buying some of the early EPs wisely, one sale items. So I spent nowhere near $1900, not even half that.


Same concerning owning and having installed all EP's/SP's/Store Content/Some mods and my game runs smooth for the most part with everything maxed out except high detail lots which I normally keep at 1 now. Though game performance is even better with minimal to no mods for me. Why we all have differing experiences with TS3 is most likely down to computer configuration. Anyway, I've used the make me an offer and complete my set and grabbed most of the free store content. Not to mention gifting at the time was a huge thing and many have gifted me sets, items, etc. It was kind for some of the Simguru's and Sim players to gift me. Gifting may still be big on The Sims Forum. People should check it out to see if anyone is kind enough to gift them something and don't forget to say thank you. Or perhaps to participate in gifting if wanted.

But now this brings back my curiosity about how much was spent on TS3 Store and only one way to find out is put everything I own into a spreadsheet and then calculate it. Not that it matters but it's to fulfill my own inquisitiveness.

Previous Game: Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition (100% riddles completed; now I know why I've always been fascinated with The Riddler, lol.)

Next Game: Batman Arkham City GOTY Edition
Mad Poster
#14 Old 20th May 2020 at 11:58 PM
IMO, the only store content that's worth it are the premium contents sets with new gameplay attached- and only a few of those objects are truly must-haves.

Everything else has a CC equivalent IMO.
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