- Site Map >
- Community >
- Sims Discussion >
- Sims 2 >
- Common Threads - Ending Code Support For The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection
- Site Map >
- Community >
- Sims Discussion >
- Sims 2 >
- Common Threads - Ending Code Support For The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection
#51
13th Oct 2018 at 5:32 PM
Posts: 8,811
Thanks: 3115 in 87 Posts
Well, the chances that they will make money out of me again is really very, very slim (sorry, iCad )
I am not much of a gamer despite spending a lot of time on Sims 2 - I can do something else with my time if it comes to that.
Windows 10 and the Ultimate Collection
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=568275
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=614833
I am not much of a gamer despite spending a lot of time on Sims 2 - I can do something else with my time if it comes to that.
Windows 10 and the Ultimate Collection
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=568275
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=614833
Advertisement
#52
13th Oct 2018 at 6:22 PM
Posts: 6,162
Thanks: 116 in 1 Posts
I still don't see the commercial sense of giving the UC away free, but with lots of restrictions, for the last four and a half years. Every time someone enquires about it, it ties up support staff talking to them. If the customer doesn't jump through the right hoops, and doesn't get the UC, it just creates ill feeling. It's not going to bring them rushing back to Origin every day. Whereas if you make it available to anyone who pays for it, they still have to go to Origin to get it, and, provided the process is straightforward, most of them won't bother your support staff at all. As for those who do require support, you just make sure that you charge enough for the download to more than cover the cost of support.
I wonder how many people opened Origin accounts just to get the UC. I did. But I've never logged on to Origin since and I'm not even sure if I can remember how to, if I should ever want to activate my copy of the UC. So I certainly haven't bought anything else on Origin. EA/Origin did get my email address as a result of me registering. And they do send me occasional emails. But the graphics, so big that I can't see them, contained in these emails, don't exactly persuade me to buy any of the stuff advertised. I actually tried to give EA my email address once before, when I tried to use the online registration process built into the game, soon after I bought it. It didn't work, so I phoned support. The support guy was very nice and helpful. But he couldn't get me registered either. The whole Sims 2 registration process had been disabled. So I was never able to download anything from the Exchange. (Some of you will tell me I didn't miss anything!) About a month later EA shut down the official Sims 2 site completely. So EA didn't get my contact details until I registered for the UC. And even then, they haven't used them for anything remotely helpful, either for them or for me.
I wonder how many people opened Origin accounts just to get the UC. I did. But I've never logged on to Origin since and I'm not even sure if I can remember how to, if I should ever want to activate my copy of the UC. So I certainly haven't bought anything else on Origin. EA/Origin did get my email address as a result of me registering. And they do send me occasional emails. But the graphics, so big that I can't see them, contained in these emails, don't exactly persuade me to buy any of the stuff advertised. I actually tried to give EA my email address once before, when I tried to use the online registration process built into the game, soon after I bought it. It didn't work, so I phoned support. The support guy was very nice and helpful. But he couldn't get me registered either. The whole Sims 2 registration process had been disabled. So I was never able to download anything from the Exchange. (Some of you will tell me I didn't miss anything!) About a month later EA shut down the official Sims 2 site completely. So EA didn't get my contact details until I registered for the UC. And even then, they haven't used them for anything remotely helpful, either for them or for me.
#53
13th Oct 2018 at 6:42 PM
Posts: 1,129
Thanks: 108 in 1 Posts
Well, the corporate minds works in mysterious ways. @iCad the shareholders, significant ones does not care of "what or what", they will be completely happy if the company would start to adding UC to hamburgers as long as it be somewhat profitable or would be able to turn into the profit one way or another. Or also completely happy if the EA suddenly started selling chips instead games (well... for some extend, they do) as long as there is MOAR profit. How do you think why the Steam practically stopped to work in the industry as developer and became "just a shop"?
The point is that CO's herd will act even in very harmful way for the company and it's profits if it may be presented as the another buzzword/revelation/service BS, the EA ones are just rather slow, sloppy and ... particulary not bright ones. "The online services" let's make them (as everyone did and we're completely too late to the party) "the lootboxes!" (because already the market is saturated and pushing forward will get attention from the legal offices, so it'e the best course of action, right?) etc. The new Sims! Let's put in the charge a person who completely does not understand the product! (and already devastated one)* Because in that way the S4 will be the best broken iteration of the franchise! Cool.
Seriously - I sometimes wonder if during the recruitment they use reversed IQ tests or something like that...
*
EDIT
and according to the SC - they seems to gave up on the franchise, at last in the way we knew it and (as I'am) loved. The S4 sales are relatively weak but still going on. The SC is practically dead. Also I'm not sure if the EA has the full rights to the earlier releases (I might be wrong ofc).
favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
The point is that CO's herd will act even in very harmful way for the company and it's profits if it may be presented as the another buzzword/revelation/service BS, the EA ones are just rather slow, sloppy and ... particulary not bright ones. "The online services" let's make them (as everyone did and we're completely too late to the party) "the lootboxes!" (because already the market is saturated and pushing forward will get attention from the legal offices, so it'e the best course of action, right?) etc. The new Sims! Let's put in the charge a person who completely does not understand the product! (and already devastated one)* Because in that way the S4 will be the best broken iteration of the franchise! Cool.
Seriously - I sometimes wonder if during the recruitment they use reversed IQ tests or something like that...
*
EDIT
and according to the SC - they seems to gave up on the franchise, at last in the way we knew it and (as I'am) loved. The S4 sales are relatively weak but still going on. The SC is practically dead. Also I'm not sure if the EA has the full rights to the earlier releases (I might be wrong ofc).
favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
#54
13th Oct 2018 at 6:47 PM
Last edited by iCad : 13th Oct 2018 at 7:39 PM.
AndrewGloria, they only meant to distribute the UC for the limited time that they initially offered it, which I think was only a month. My feeling is that no one was ever officially supposed to give it away beyond that time UNLESS a customer was getting really upset and all that. Some reps were softer than others in that regard. I think someone upstairs finally put their foot down, probably because it wasn't being requested much anymore so they figured most people interested in it had already been sucked into the Origin hole. Hence the out-of-the-blue announcement that they weren't going to give it away anymore. That way, they have something concrete they can point to and can shut down the whining stragglers who might still call about it. They didn't really have a concrete policy before, since reps will still giving out the UC when they likely weren't supposed to be.
And they do not want to charge money for the UC. They never did. If they charge money for it, then for legal reasons they have to offer support for it, and they do not want to do that. If they give it away, then it's as-is, no warranty implied, no guarantee that it'll work on your computer. They also do not want to prolong in the public's consciousness the business model that TS2 ran under. I'm 99% certain, from what I've seen, that they will never sell the UC. They might, as I said, trot it out again once the market has desaturated a bit, IF they have something they want to mass-push on people and IF they think it would still appeal enough to offer it instead of some other incentive. But I doubt that will happen, either. Truth is, TS2's not going to be runnable on new computers in the very near future. Many people already have all kinds of trouble getting and keeping it running under Win10. EA's certainly not going spend manpower on updating a 14+-year-old game to run under newer OSs. It wouldn't offer a good enough return on investment. Remember, we who cling to TS2 and are "fans" of the franchise in general are a small minority of EA's customer base. TS2 clingers are a vanishingly small portion. Like, literally vanishing. MOST people, even most people who play Sims games, want new games. They aren't interested in 14-year-old ones.
EDIT @ElaineNualla
I kind of have to disagree that shareholders -- significant ones or otherwise -- want "anything for profit" and don't care about the companies we/they invest in. Most of us have an interest, for whatever reason, in seeing certain companies or industries succeed. That's why the idea is to get in on the ground floor of something cutting-edge, something that one suspects will become really big. I don't have a huge portfolio, and I'm on the "less significant" end of the "significant" scale, but from time to time I have invested in struggling companies when they IPO'ed looking for capital -- I look for ones run by women and/or minorities, for instance -- not with any expectation of huge returns for me but because I believed in what they were doing and wanted to help them. Many investors are like that. Sometimes such investments pan out, sometimes they don't. The greedy, vulture-like, anything-for-profit investors exist, sure, but they're generally the stupid ones and they're not the majority in numbers, at least, though they are sometimes the majority in terms of money. But even they aren't going to throw lots of money at a company they don't care about in some way. Once you throw money at a company, you have a vested interest in their success -- because it's your money they're spending/investing, and you're not going to be happy if they do stupid things with it just for an extra crumb of profit. There will always be ups and downs with profit. It's the big picture, the infrastructure and the company's long-term plans and projections, that has to be solid.
Regardless of what Sims players think of their practices -- and no company is perfect -- EA has and does make good business decisions based on sound marketing research, meant to generate the most revenue from the majority of their customer base. If they didn't, they wouldn't be as successful as they have been. I certainly don't agree with ALL of their ideas, but in some cases they have to do some things just to stay competitive. They weren't the first developer that went to a DLC business model for their games. Once someone else did, they had to follow or they'd be outcompeted, and it just happens that the Sims franchise is a perfect, logical market for DLC, especially given that more-serious players were already used to downloading stuff for their game and sometimes even paying for it. Witness T$R in its bad old days. I have a feeling that EAxis viewed T$R as nothing but free market research as well as an example business model to build on. (I dunno for sure; that was before my time as a shareholder.)
And they do not want to charge money for the UC. They never did. If they charge money for it, then for legal reasons they have to offer support for it, and they do not want to do that. If they give it away, then it's as-is, no warranty implied, no guarantee that it'll work on your computer. They also do not want to prolong in the public's consciousness the business model that TS2 ran under. I'm 99% certain, from what I've seen, that they will never sell the UC. They might, as I said, trot it out again once the market has desaturated a bit, IF they have something they want to mass-push on people and IF they think it would still appeal enough to offer it instead of some other incentive. But I doubt that will happen, either. Truth is, TS2's not going to be runnable on new computers in the very near future. Many people already have all kinds of trouble getting and keeping it running under Win10. EA's certainly not going spend manpower on updating a 14+-year-old game to run under newer OSs. It wouldn't offer a good enough return on investment. Remember, we who cling to TS2 and are "fans" of the franchise in general are a small minority of EA's customer base. TS2 clingers are a vanishingly small portion. Like, literally vanishing. MOST people, even most people who play Sims games, want new games. They aren't interested in 14-year-old ones.
EDIT @ElaineNualla
I kind of have to disagree that shareholders -- significant ones or otherwise -- want "anything for profit" and don't care about the companies we/they invest in. Most of us have an interest, for whatever reason, in seeing certain companies or industries succeed. That's why the idea is to get in on the ground floor of something cutting-edge, something that one suspects will become really big. I don't have a huge portfolio, and I'm on the "less significant" end of the "significant" scale, but from time to time I have invested in struggling companies when they IPO'ed looking for capital -- I look for ones run by women and/or minorities, for instance -- not with any expectation of huge returns for me but because I believed in what they were doing and wanted to help them. Many investors are like that. Sometimes such investments pan out, sometimes they don't. The greedy, vulture-like, anything-for-profit investors exist, sure, but they're generally the stupid ones and they're not the majority in numbers, at least, though they are sometimes the majority in terms of money. But even they aren't going to throw lots of money at a company they don't care about in some way. Once you throw money at a company, you have a vested interest in their success -- because it's your money they're spending/investing, and you're not going to be happy if they do stupid things with it just for an extra crumb of profit. There will always be ups and downs with profit. It's the big picture, the infrastructure and the company's long-term plans and projections, that has to be solid.
Regardless of what Sims players think of their practices -- and no company is perfect -- EA has and does make good business decisions based on sound marketing research, meant to generate the most revenue from the majority of their customer base. If they didn't, they wouldn't be as successful as they have been. I certainly don't agree with ALL of their ideas, but in some cases they have to do some things just to stay competitive. They weren't the first developer that went to a DLC business model for their games. Once someone else did, they had to follow or they'd be outcompeted, and it just happens that the Sims franchise is a perfect, logical market for DLC, especially given that more-serious players were already used to downloading stuff for their game and sometimes even paying for it. Witness T$R in its bad old days. I have a feeling that EAxis viewed T$R as nothing but free market research as well as an example business model to build on. (I dunno for sure; that was before my time as a shareholder.)
I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
#55
13th Oct 2018 at 9:29 PM
Posts: 6,162
Thanks: 116 in 1 Posts
#56
13th Oct 2018 at 9:47 PM
Last edited by Liza : 13th Oct 2018 at 10:21 PM.
Posts: 328
Meanwhile, this news appeared on Simscommunity.info
EA IS ENDING FREE CODE SUPPORT FOR THE SIMS 2 ULTIMATE COLLECTION
http://simscommunity.info/2018/10/1...ate-collection/
In twitter many comments about this.
https://twitter.com/TheSimCommunity...667133460406272
EA IS ENDING FREE CODE SUPPORT FOR THE SIMS 2 ULTIMATE COLLECTION
http://simscommunity.info/2018/10/1...ate-collection/
In twitter many comments about this.
https://twitter.com/TheSimCommunity...667133460406272
#57
14th Oct 2018 at 1:55 AM
Posts: 6,223
When they gave away the UC for free on Origin, I had a momentary thing about actually getting an account. Then I remembered that Origin is evil, and they're just going to load you up with ads for the newer games.
But I predict that by the time Sims 5 comes around, it will be a bona fide mobile game-no copies to be had anywhere, and the code is in the DLC you download from Origina via your phone app that they'll give you for free. But by that time the game will have regressed to the stage of Etch a sketch type esthetics. And the fans will love it! Right now they're reviving Sims Mobile for a limited run..which will probably be very popular: http://simscommunity.info/2018/10/1...nt-tips-tricks/
I'll stick with that old, old, ancient game called Sims 2.
Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
But I predict that by the time Sims 5 comes around, it will be a bona fide mobile game-no copies to be had anywhere, and the code is in the DLC you download from Origina via your phone app that they'll give you for free. But by that time the game will have regressed to the stage of Etch a sketch type esthetics. And the fans will love it! Right now they're reviving Sims Mobile for a limited run..which will probably be very popular: http://simscommunity.info/2018/10/1...nt-tips-tricks/
I'll stick with that old, old, ancient game called Sims 2.
Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Mad Poster
#58
14th Oct 2018 at 2:33 AM
Posts: 3,562
Like Andrew, I only downloaded Origin to get the UC. And if I could've found the discs locally for the SPs I didn't have, I would've bought them. (I'm a suspicious sort who won't buy used discs off the internet.)
The single biggest reason to not buy new games at our house is they're all online. We tried Diablo III. The lag made it unplayable. So what's the point of paying for something that requires a better internet connection than we can get?
My cousins-in-law in the third world all have smartphones. They'd be potential customers for phone games, but computers are still rare, expensive beasts over there. They aren't playing computer games at all. I can see why mobile games are a big deal: even if you don't sell them for much, you can hit a lot more customers. Or put ads in front of a lot more eyeballs.
How many first world denizens live at the far ends of the internet, though? Are there enough of us to make a viable game company that targets off-line gamers? What sort of games would sell? Are there enough talented game coders and designers to produce a single off-line game, let alone a variety of them?
I think there's a business opportunity here for home schoolers, if they want to . . . it's probably the sort of thing some high school and middle school age kids who don't have to pay rent and living expenses could make a go of for spending money, and we can call it . . . hmm . . . applied programing class and business management class and put it on the transcripts.
Pics from my game: Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh
The single biggest reason to not buy new games at our house is they're all online. We tried Diablo III. The lag made it unplayable. So what's the point of paying for something that requires a better internet connection than we can get?
My cousins-in-law in the third world all have smartphones. They'd be potential customers for phone games, but computers are still rare, expensive beasts over there. They aren't playing computer games at all. I can see why mobile games are a big deal: even if you don't sell them for much, you can hit a lot more customers. Or put ads in front of a lot more eyeballs.
How many first world denizens live at the far ends of the internet, though? Are there enough of us to make a viable game company that targets off-line gamers? What sort of games would sell? Are there enough talented game coders and designers to produce a single off-line game, let alone a variety of them?
I think there's a business opportunity here for home schoolers, if they want to . . . it's probably the sort of thing some high school and middle school age kids who don't have to pay rent and living expenses could make a go of for spending money, and we can call it . . . hmm . . . applied programing class and business management class and put it on the transcripts.
Pics from my game: Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh
#59
14th Oct 2018 at 2:46 AM
Posts: 1,129
Thanks: 108 in 1 Posts
We may disagree, there's nothing wrong with that. Until someone brings the Cowplant to argue.
I understand - you're the noble one shareholder who actually is interested in the company, understands its products (for some extend) and the bussines model and actual practices. Probably if there would be many more of such kind, we'd experienced less maniacal market. And less devious practices, because they may bring the shiny posters and PP presentations looks well, in the long run they devastates the market (not mentioning company reputation, which is "worth something", right? and so on). Well - judging from the reality - most are not. There should be real uproar from the shareholders when (for example) EA in theirs infinite wisdom decided to push the lootbox button in theirs own, sloppy and stupid way. Why? Well, 'cause even if it may be seen as easy and quick cash grab, the repercussions may be serious. And they probably will be. Defending the poor kids from evil corporations is the best sell in any polititian portfolio. So... how stupid you need to be to make that decision, exactly? And where 're those concerned, conscious shareholders? Until the graph sharply drops into the oblivion, most does not care. And , well, "the lootboxes" is just an relative new example of the company... well "mismanagement". Drowning such kind of brand like Sim City is the real archivement.
(ofc, we may create the conspiracy theory that in fact that was exact intend of allmight-and-wise EA management, while they could not catch the best in that market, because as always they were too late, they still might be able to destroy potential revenue for concurrency)
favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
I understand - you're the noble one shareholder who actually is interested in the company, understands its products (for some extend) and the bussines model and actual practices. Probably if there would be many more of such kind, we'd experienced less maniacal market. And less devious practices, because they may bring the shiny posters and PP presentations looks well, in the long run they devastates the market (not mentioning company reputation, which is "worth something", right? and so on). Well - judging from the reality - most are not. There should be real uproar from the shareholders when (for example) EA in theirs infinite wisdom decided to push the lootbox button in theirs own, sloppy and stupid way. Why? Well, 'cause even if it may be seen as easy and quick cash grab, the repercussions may be serious. And they probably will be. Defending the poor kids from evil corporations is the best sell in any polititian portfolio. So... how stupid you need to be to make that decision, exactly? And where 're those concerned, conscious shareholders? Until the graph sharply drops into the oblivion, most does not care. And , well, "the lootboxes" is just an relative new example of the company... well "mismanagement". Drowning such kind of brand like Sim City is the real archivement.
(ofc, we may create the conspiracy theory that in fact that was exact intend of allmight-and-wise EA management, while they could not catch the best in that market, because as always they were too late, they still might be able to destroy potential revenue for concurrency)
favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Scholar
#60
14th Oct 2018 at 8:49 AM
Last edited by ieta_cassiopeia : 14th Oct 2018 at 9:22 AM.
Posts: 1,415
If the problem was getting asked too many support questions about a 14-year-old product that hasn't directly made EA a penny for 9 years (which, as a support tech elsewhere in the industry, I can understand and believe), then continuing the existing system definitely wasn't an option. I suspect the real reason for this is to get consistency of messaging for a product that EA really had only intended to make available for a week, rather than 4 years. I'm not convinced EA ever meant to support Sims 2 UC into 2018, but the inconsistency of agents getting phoned for and issuing codes made it impossible. You can't withdraw support for a game that's still being supplied without it getting noticed by too many people. (I'd also note that support is, for the moment, still being supplied by Ultimate Collection - anything else would be unfair on people who got a code last week...) Now, they need only wait a year or three, and then reduce first-party support to the same amount as they have for, say, SimCity 2000 (which is still on their books, but isn't sold by them and has no official support; just a small space on the peer-to-peer support forum for the three people who didn't get answers from whichever site they actually bought their game from).
An "as-is" download link, with no warranty expressed or implied, could have been provided for Sims 2. That way, the freebie could have been obtained self-service, instead of tying up support resources that could have gone to matters that genuinely need a human being to help.
EA could even have considered making access to the link conditional on purchasing some other product, if they wanted to cover the costs of providing the necessary servers (though naturally, this would mitigate some of the support load benefit). I'm sure they could sell quite a lot of their cheaper products, and I think still allows them to legally not provide support for the product.
An "as-is" download link, with no warranty expressed or implied, could have been provided for Sims 2. That way, the freebie could have been obtained self-service, instead of tying up support resources that could have gone to matters that genuinely need a human being to help.
EA could even have considered making access to the link conditional on purchasing some other product, if they wanted to cover the costs of providing the necessary servers (though naturally, this would mitigate some of the support load benefit). I'm sure they could sell quite a lot of their cheaper products, and I think still allows them to legally not provide support for the product.
#61
14th Oct 2018 at 9:28 AM
Posts: 6,223
Quote:
Truth is, TS2's not going to be runnable on new computers in the very near future. Many people already have all kinds of trouble getting and keeping it running under Win10. |
One does not have to keep upgrading with computers if one is able to keep a set up that will run the game.
You can (if you're very lucky and know how to do it) format a computer to stay compliant with the game by rolling back the OS to one that does run it, and while that's a PITA, it is possible to keep playing forever.
Sure, you won't be able to do all those things on the Internet or keep updating Win 10, but if you really want to keep playing the game, keep all your copies of those OS's that do run the game and install it there. Then take care of that computer very well. Say very nice things to it and make it feel special.
Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
#62
14th Oct 2018 at 10:44 AM
Posts: 8,811
Thanks: 3115 in 87 Posts
The UC runs perfectly fine on Windows 10 (and on Windows 7, where I started using it).
"Buy a second hand game" - sounds a lot easier than it actually is, at least where I live. When I broke my base game disk (number 3) due to being clumsy, I started looking for one immediately. I advertised, posted in various facebook groups, searched online, etc.
I could not find a single one.
Expansion packs were available and I found a Double Deluxe copy (only one) months later, still have it, but it is not in the best condition.
I still have all the disks (excluding TSS). I still have the BG disks as well, including the broken number 3 Perhaps I may meet somebody who has a broken number 2 someday
But the UC runs like butter and I would love to continue using it and right now, I am just very happy that it came along when I needed it
Windows 10 and the Ultimate Collection
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=568275
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=614833
"Buy a second hand game" - sounds a lot easier than it actually is, at least where I live. When I broke my base game disk (number 3) due to being clumsy, I started looking for one immediately. I advertised, posted in various facebook groups, searched online, etc.
I could not find a single one.
Expansion packs were available and I found a Double Deluxe copy (only one) months later, still have it, but it is not in the best condition.
I still have all the disks (excluding TSS). I still have the BG disks as well, including the broken number 3 Perhaps I may meet somebody who has a broken number 2 someday
But the UC runs like butter and I would love to continue using it and right now, I am just very happy that it came along when I needed it
Windows 10 and the Ultimate Collection
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=568275
http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=614833
#63
14th Oct 2018 at 2:43 PM
Posts: 12,355
Thanks: 854 in 4 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by FranH
When they gave away the UC for free on Origin, I had a momentary thing about actually getting an account. Then I remembered that Origin is evil, and they're just going to load you up with ads for the newer games. |
My Origin keeps begging me to buy something from TS4 other than the base game I already have (not happening EA) but otherwise Origin isn't the complete ad-fest some would have you believe.
#64
14th Oct 2018 at 3:34 PM
Posts: 536
Is anyone really surprised by this? I mean come on, it's EA for goodness sakes. Eh, I guess one does have a right to disappointed about it. I'm actually surprised that they didn't stop their "support" for UC right after Sims 4 came out. I mean isn't that the reason why EA released UC anyway? It was a promotional tool for the Sims 4 right?
Personally, I think the released of the UC kind-of backed fired on EA. I don't think they expected the type of demand it received, and it bruised their ego a bit.
I have uninstalled Origin, after ignoring the last two UC updates. I have no need for it since the only EA game I play is Sims 2.
There's no drama, like Sims drama.
Currently Playing: Sims 2 again!
Personally, I think the released of the UC kind-of backed fired on EA. I don't think they expected the type of demand it received, and it bruised their ego a bit.
I have uninstalled Origin, after ignoring the last two UC updates. I have no need for it since the only EA game I play is Sims 2.
There's no drama, like Sims drama.
Currently Playing: Sims 2 again!
Alchemist
#65
14th Oct 2018 at 3:49 PM
Posts: 2,988
Thanks: 891 in 4 Posts
I don't even open origin unless I'm updating or playing Sims 4. It never causes any problems for me. There used to be several different places where you could buy digital copies of Sims 2. They created UC and put it in the library of digital owners because they ended support for all the previous versions. UC brought everyone under the same umbrella. It wasn't until later that they expanded the promotion and started giving it to everyone. I'm sure they did hope people would take notice of the new Sims game, but they initially gave the UC to people who already had Origin.
Instructor
#66
14th Oct 2018 at 6:45 PM
Posts: 487
Thanks: 180 in 12 Posts
I'm glad I got my copy of the UC in February. I'm actually surprised by how long they kept giving it for free, EA being the company we know.
#67
14th Oct 2018 at 6:57 PM
Posts: 67
It's not just the UC, EA discontinued their "on the house" giveaway program back in July, so this comes as no surprise really.
#68
14th Oct 2018 at 7:04 PM
Posts: 1,073
Thanks: 133 in 4 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by FranH
When they gave away the UC for free on Origin, I had a momentary thing about actually getting an account. Then I remembered that Origin is evil, and they're just going to load you up with ads for the newer games. But I predict that by the time Sims 5 comes around, it will be a bona fide mobile game-no copies to be had anywhere, and the code is in the DLC you download from Origina via your phone app that they'll give you for free. But by that time the game will have regressed to the stage of Etch a sketch type esthetics. And the fans will love it! Right now they're reviving Sims Mobile for a limited run..which will probably be very popular: http://simscommunity.info/2018/10/1...nt-tips-tricks/ I'll stick with that old, old, ancient game called Sims 2. |
If Sims 2 is that ancient than I must be a corpse that had somehow been brought back to life. I was 6 when it came out and I have a lot memories catching my people on fire and being an around malevolent god. If EA don't care about it enough to put it on Origin why should I?
Mad Poster
#69
14th Oct 2018 at 7:25 PM
Posts: 3,443
Thanks: 937 in 5 Posts
Speaking of which, is there any way of delinking the Ultimate Collection from Origin?
I have it, but I'd like install it on another computer and not have to have Origin on that system.
I have it, but I'd like install it on another computer and not have to have Origin on that system.
#70
14th Oct 2018 at 7:45 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Sunbee
How many first world denizens live at the far ends of the internet, though? Are there enough of us to make a viable game company that targets off-line gamers? What sort of games would sell? Are there enough talented game coders and designers to produce a single off-line game, let alone a variety of them? |
I would imagine quite a few, actually. Even in some urban areas, you still can't get the highest-bandwith fiberoptic service and the farther away you get from a city, the less you can get. Folks like you and me, out in the boonies? We're reduced to ridiculously-slow DSL or, at best, barely-tolerable satellite service, which is what I have. Buuuuut, that radius of high bandwidth service is ever-widening, so we're an ever-shrinking market, alas. So, there might still be a niche market now, but I don't think the market will exist for long.
Even so, I DO think there is still a market for offline games, regardless of the availability of high-bandwidth service. Or at least I think there's a market for games that don't REQUIRE you to go/be online in order to launch or play it. I imagine some people own computers but don't have (and don't want) internet service but still want to play games, after all. And some people just resent HAVING to go online in order to start or play a game. (I'm not really a fan of that, myself. Because fuddy-duddy. And, also, kind of suspicious about the motives there.)
Quote:
I think there's a business opportunity here for home schoolers, if they want to . . . it's probably the sort of thing some high school and middle school age kids who don't have to pay rent and living expenses could make a go of for spending money, and we can call it . . . hmm . . . applied programing class and business management class and put it on the transcripts. |
I think developing a game is a great home/unschooling project. Kids would certainly learn useful skills from it!
And I'm tacking on miscellaneous replies to others, behind spoilers, just to get this done in one go.
@AndrewGloria
Alas, 14 is old in video game years. It's old on a "Why the hell are you still even alive???" level. It's like a 200-year-old person. Sure, TS2 has its devotees and likely will for a long time to come. Hell, my husband still plays Atari 2600 games because he adores them, and he dreads the day when there will no longer be functional TVs that have the inputs needed to attach the console. So there's that. But the AVERAGE, non-hard-core-gamer game-player wants new and "better" and flashier, not old and quaint and nostalgic. Game corporations have to keep in mind that average player, not us freaky niche fanatics.
@ElaineNualla
I think you kind of missed my point; I'm not the "one noble investor." If I'm that at all, then I'm certainly NOT the only one. And that's not the point, anyway. The point is this: If you throw, say, a million dollars at a company then you will definitelybe interested in what they do with your money. You will care about the success of the company, out of self-interest, if nothing else. So if they start doing stupid things -- things the success of which aren't supported by, say, careful market research or things that will obviously have long-term negative repercussions that would outweigh any short-term profit, no matter how large -- then you're not going to support that, EVEN IF it would generate a lot of short-term profit. Because if it bites the company in the ass in some way and the company then folds, then your money goes along with it, and for the biggest investors that's usually at least 8-figure numbers, nothing to sneeze at even for mega-rich people. Sure, most investors would pull out and sell their stock before that point, but still. You don't want to have to do that. You would rather that the company continues to succeed. So, that sort of "anything for profit" mentality in an investor would be UTTERLY STUPID. The SANE mentality, indeed the majority mentality, is to want what the market will support, as much long-term revenue with as little cost and risk as possible. The companies that focus on that are the ones that succeed, and the success of the company means more return on investment for the investors. Again, self-interest, not altruism.
As I said, EA isn't the first or only company that "money grubs." What they have chosen to do, though, has been carefully planned and researched -- That's what market research firms are for, after all -- and they've determined whatever it is to be something that will generate more revenue than other avenues at little cost/risk. And they've been right, all down the line. In other words, they do what they do because their customers have shown, in both research situations and in the real world, that they will accept that course of action, even if they also complain mightily about it. I mean, look at the people who complain about every little thing about TS4....but they still snap up everything that EA puts out. That's the tightrope EA walks and, frankly, they walk it well. As do other large game developers. That's why they're successful. If what they do didn't work, they wouldn't be in business anymore, much less growing. Believe me, they aren't just going to make arbitrary decisions because maybe it might make more money. Every decision they make about that sort of thing is anything but arbitrary...and the first people who'd object against a risky, arbitrary decision would be the people who are funding the company. Namely, the investors. Again, because of self-interest, not "nobility."
As I said, EA isn't the first or only company that "money grubs." What they have chosen to do, though, has been carefully planned and researched -- That's what market research firms are for, after all -- and they've determined whatever it is to be something that will generate more revenue than other avenues at little cost/risk. And they've been right, all down the line. In other words, they do what they do because their customers have shown, in both research situations and in the real world, that they will accept that course of action, even if they also complain mightily about it. I mean, look at the people who complain about every little thing about TS4....but they still snap up everything that EA puts out. That's the tightrope EA walks and, frankly, they walk it well. As do other large game developers. That's why they're successful. If what they do didn't work, they wouldn't be in business anymore, much less growing. Believe me, they aren't just going to make arbitrary decisions because maybe it might make more money. Every decision they make about that sort of thing is anything but arbitrary...and the first people who'd object against a risky, arbitrary decision would be the people who are funding the company. Namely, the investors. Again, because of self-interest, not "nobility."
@FranH
Quote: Originally posted by FranH
One does not have to keep upgrading with computers if one is able to keep a set up that will run the game. |
Well, of course. I myself have a horde of old hardware and software that I will use to have a dedicated machine to play TS2 on for as long as I am alive. But not everyone is willing or able to do that. Not everyone is tech-savvy enough to tinker or has the extra money to pay someone tinker for them, though. Or to purchase the items to stockpile, for that matter. And not everyone is able to have more than one computer, either. Many people/families still only have one and they keep it updated so that they can run current software on it, including newer games that they like. Most people's goal isn't to keep their machine compatible with an ancient video game.
And the game developers/publishers aren't going to cater to those who want to cling to old games, either. They will only release games that will run on the currently-dominant, non-high-end equipment available, not one that you need an older OS or hardware to run well on. And they're certainly not going to revisit old games to make them compatible with the currently-dominant OS, either. Which is exactly what they would have to do to offer TS2 again. Running TS2 under Win10 and modern hardware is problematic for many people already. In the not-too-distant future, the newest OS and processors and such will likely be entirely incompatible with TS2. (Just like that mah-johnng game I loved that'll only run on Win95 or 98. *sigh*) So, those of us who want to cling long-term will have to have that stockpile, for when the old machine or any of its hardware goes kablooey. And I would recommend that you have multiple, digital (non-UC) backups of the game (non-UC because, theoretically, EA could yank that away from you at any time; you didn't pay for it, after all. I highly doubt they will, but it's a possibility.) for future installs because even if you have disks, disks degrade or can be lost. Digital is better and if you have multiple copies cached away on multiple drives somewhere, you'll always have a working copy. That's why I have half a closet full of old stuff, both hardware and software, because both hubby and I cling to certain old games. Most people aren't going to do that, though.
I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
#71
14th Oct 2018 at 8:50 PM
Posts: 328
If after the action in 2014 there was a distribution of the game through technical support, then why not immediately continue the action? Release the game "as is". Although I guess why the distribution was closed: there would be more requests for technical support.
Then the second question arises: why did some of the technical support still give up the game for free, and some did not: they said that the game is not supported?
Then the second question arises: why did some of the technical support still give up the game for free, and some did not: they said that the game is not supported?
#72
14th Oct 2018 at 8:59 PM
Posts: 1,073
Thanks: 133 in 4 Posts
Quote: Originally posted by iCad
I would imagine quite a few, actually. Even in some urban areas, you still can't get the highest-bandwith fiberoptic service and the farther away you get from a city, the less you can get. Folks like you and me, out in the boonies? We're reduced to ridiculously-slow DSL or, at best, barely-tolerable satellite service, which is what I have. Buuuuut, that radius of high bandwidth service is ever-widening, so we're an ever-shrinking market, alas. So, there might still be a niche market now, but I don't think the market will exist for long. Even so, I DO think there is still a market for offline games, regardless of the availability of high-bandwidth service. Or at least I think there's a market for games that don't REQUIRE you to go/be online in order to launch or play it. I imagine some people own computers but don't have (and don't want) internet service but still want to play games, after all. And some people just resent HAVING to go online in order to start or play a game. (I'm not really a fan of that, myself. Because fuddy-duddy. And, also, kind of suspicious about the motives there.) I think developing a game is a great home/unschooling project. Kids would certainly learn useful skills from it! And I'm tacking on miscellaneous replies to others, behind spoilers, just to get this done in one go. @AndrewGloria
Alas, 14 is old in video game years. It's old on a "Why the hell are you still even alive???" level. It's like a 200-year-old person. Sure, TS2 has its devotees and likely will for a long time to come. Hell, my husband still plays Atari 2600 games because he adores them, and he dreads the day when there will no longer be functional TVs that have the inputs needed to attach the console. So there's that. But the AVERAGE, non-hard-core-gamer game-player wants new and "better" and flashier, not old and quaint and nostalgic. Game corporations have to keep in mind that average player, not us freaky niche fanatics.
@ElaineNualla
I think you kind of missed my point; I'm not the "one noble investor." If I'm that at all, then I'm certainly NOT the only one. And that's not the point, anyway. The point is this: If you throw, say, a million dollars at a company then you will definitelybe interested in what they do with your money. You will care about the success of the company, out of self-interest, if nothing else. So if they start doing stupid things -- things the success of which aren't supported by, say, careful market research or things that will obviously have long-term negative repercussions that would outweigh any short-term profit, no matter how large -- then you're not going to support that, EVEN IF it would generate a lot of short-term profit. Because if it bites the company in the ass in some way and the company then folds, then your money goes along with it, and for the biggest investors that's usually at least 8-figure numbers, nothing to sneeze at even for mega-rich people. Sure, most investors would pull out and sell their stock before that point, but still. You don't want to have to do that. You would rather that the company continues to succeed. So, that sort of "anything for profit" mentality in an investor would be UTTERLY STUPID. The SANE mentality, indeed the majority mentality, is to want what the market will support, as much long-term revenue with as little cost and risk as possible. The companies that focus on that are the ones that succeed, and the success of the company means more return on investment for the investors. Again, self-interest, not altruism. As I said, EA isn't the first or only company that "money grubs." What they have chosen to do, though, has been carefully planned and researched -- That's what market research firms are for, after all -- and they've determined whatever it is to be something that will generate more revenue than other avenues at little cost/risk. And they've been right, all down the line. In other words, they do what they do because their customers have shown, in both research situations and in the real world, that they will accept that course of action, even if they also complain mightily about it. I mean, look at the people who complain about every little thing about TS4....but they still snap up everything that EA puts out. That's the tightrope EA walks and, frankly, they walk it well. As do other large game developers. That's why they're successful. If what they do didn't work, they wouldn't be in business anymore, much less growing. Believe me, they aren't just going to make arbitrary decisions because maybe it might make more money. Every decision they make about that sort of thing is anything but arbitrary...and the first people who'd object against a risky, arbitrary decision would be the people who are funding the company. Namely, the investors. Again, because of self-interest, not "nobility." @FranH Well, of course. I myself have a horde of old hardware and software that I will use to have a dedicated machine to play TS2 on for as long as I am alive. But not everyone is willing or able to do that. Not everyone is tech-savvy enough to tinker or has the extra money to pay someone tinker for them, though. Or to purchase the items to stockpile, for that matter. And not everyone is able to have more than one computer, either. Many people/families still only have one and they keep it updated so that they can run current software on it, including newer games that they like. Most people's goal isn't to keep their machine compatible with an ancient video game. And the game developers/publishers aren't going to cater to those who want to cling to old games, either. They will only release games that will run on the currently-dominant, non-high-end equipment available, not one that you need an older OS or hardware to run well on. And they're certainly not going to revisit old games to make them compatible with the currently-dominant OS, either. Which is exactly what they would have to do to offer TS2 again. Running TS2 under Win10 and modern hardware is problematic for many people already. In the not-too-distant future, the newest OS and processors and such will likely be entirely incompatible with TS2. (Just like that mah-johnng game I loved that'll only run on Win95 or 98. *sigh*) So, those of us who want to cling long-term will have to have that stockpile, for when the old machine or any of its hardware goes kablooey. And I would recommend that you have multiple, digital (non-UC) backups of the game (non-UC because, theoretically, EA could yank that away from you at any time; you didn't pay for it, after all. I highly doubt they will, but it's a possibility.) for future installs because even if you have disks, disks degrade or can be lost. Digital is better and if you have multiple copies cached away on multiple drives somewhere, you'll always have a working copy. That's why I have half a closet full of old stuff, both hardware and software, because both hubby and I cling to certain old games. Most people aren't going to do that, though. |
Regardless of all those reasons that you had just listed it really says a lot about the quality of a game if people still want to play them even if it's that old and even like them a lot better than the recent versions. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is as old as Sims 2 and yet a lot people say they like that a lot better than GTA 5 because of how dang good it was even though the graphics are poop by today's standards. People had even made a lot of memes for it and videos are still being made about it for informational and entertainment purposes and I don't think we would have to worry about not being able to play old video games because people would always find a way to get them to run. Old MSDOS games for example could be ran using DOSBox and I think EA had even used it so it could run Simcity 2000 which I had downloaded for free on Origin and played for a while. There are even emulators to play NES,SNES,N64,PS1 and PS2 games. I had no problems getting Sims 2 to install and pulay on my Windows 10 laptop even with all the latest updates installed and it runs and loads better than ever even with a lot of cc and mods installed.
#73
14th Oct 2018 at 10:22 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Squidconqueror
Regardless of all those reasons that you had just listed it really says a lot about the quality of a game if people still want to play them even if it's that old and even like them a lot better than the recent versions. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is as old as Sims 2 and yet a lot people say they like that a lot better than GTA 5 because of how dang good it was even though the graphics are poop by today's standards. People had even made a lot of memes for it and videos are still being made about it for informational and entertainment purposes and I don't think we would have to worry about not being able to play old video games because people would always find a way to get them to run. Old MSDOS games for example could be ran using DOSBox and I think EA had even used it so it could run Simcity 2000 which I had downloaded for free on Origin and played for a while. There are even emulators to play NES,SNES,N64,PS1 and PS2 games. I had no problems getting Sims 2 to install and pulay on my Windows 10 laptop even with all the latest updates installed and it runs and loads better than ever even with a lot of cc and mods installed. |
Hey, I'm not saying that there isn't a market for TS2! I'm just saying that it isn't a market that EA wants to service anymore, probably because (in the grand scheme of things) it's small (and ever-shrinking) and would likely bring in less revenue than they feel is worth it. Because it IS a dead end. It's not in production anymore and will sooner rather than later be incompatible with OSs and hardware. They've moved on. I'm sure they've done market analysis and know that the TS2 market that remains is saturated, that the people who wanted TS2/the UC at this late date, who wanted it badly enough to pursue it, have gotten it, especially since they offered the UC for about 4 years longer than they intended to offer it.
If you want to keep playing it or want to start playing it again, there are many ways to get the game. (EA knows this, too.) None of them is fully legal anymore, but there are ways to do it. If you want to keep an "old school" computer around and maintain it so that you can still play TS2 when technology has moved beyond it, you can certainly do so. But you're on your own. EA's done. They have been for quite a while, actually. But for whatever reason, they don't want to lose control over it. Probably because it's their biggest moneymaker and they might want to hold it in reserve for something. Who knows? Maybe they'll retool and remaster it and release some sort of 20th anniversary edition in 2024. I doubt it, personally, but you never know.
Basically, I've been speaking from a corporate point of view where others have been speaking from an end-user/player point of view. Those are equally valid but different viewpoints that don't always overlap, I'm afraid. Players are motivated by what they want; corporations are motivated by the revenue/cost balance, and "cost" isn't counted all in money. I'm a player, too -- obviously! -- but I can also understand the corporate point-of-view.
I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
#74
14th Oct 2018 at 10:40 PM
Posts: 6,223
Well, I've been spoiled all of my adult life by having a husband who happens to be a computer tech and he can do this kind of backdating on computers with no problem. He stripped out Win 10 from both of ours when it was installed by default, and he's managed to find me 3 different video cards that still run the game. We keep this kind of stuff on hand in case of, (as you might guess) and pretty soon I'm probably going to get a monster computer that has a terabyte drive but with my own set up for the game and other games I want to play in it.
I know, I'm a horrible person for any gaming company for not automatically getting sucked into their marketing schemes, but I've seen the deterioration of the Sims franchise and if that's where EA is going I'm not following.
Sure, it's just a business thing, but behind every single business in the world are its' customers.
You turn off your customers, treat them badly or make them mad at your business, you might as well shut down yesterday, because your business no longer has anything to offer anyone.
A prime and current example of this idea is Sears, which is close to declaring bankruptcy after years of neglecting their stores, their employees and their customers. There is a price to pay for greed, and they're about to pay it.
Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
I know, I'm a horrible person for any gaming company for not automatically getting sucked into their marketing schemes, but I've seen the deterioration of the Sims franchise and if that's where EA is going I'm not following.
Sure, it's just a business thing, but behind every single business in the world are its' customers.
You turn off your customers, treat them badly or make them mad at your business, you might as well shut down yesterday, because your business no longer has anything to offer anyone.
A prime and current example of this idea is Sears, which is close to declaring bankruptcy after years of neglecting their stores, their employees and their customers. There is a price to pay for greed, and they're about to pay it.
Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
#75
14th Oct 2018 at 10:46 PM
Last edited by Liza : 14th Oct 2018 at 11:13 PM.
Posts: 328
I did not think that this thread would be so active. Usually, the reaction to news about UC is pretty calm. Even the thread about the new DLC for Sims 4 is not as active as this one. Perhaps this suggests that people are more worried about Sims 2 and not about Sims 4.
Who Posted
|