From the seemingly intuitive character customization to simpler house building, The Sims 4 was poised to be the best Sims game yet. That is until Maxis confirmed yesterday that toddler mode and swimming pools will not be included in the ‘base game’.
Toddler mode – introduced in The Sims 2 – allowed your Sims to give birth to a baby, raise it to a toddler, then a child until adulthood. It added another layer of realism to the game that was welcomed despite the fact that the toddlers looked terrifying and were unrealistically annoying.
Their omission was surprising but ultimately could be for the best. Now that Sims skip the toddler stage and start as a child, we won’t have to endure watching our Sims randomly place the crying infant on the floor when they need to go potty.
Say what you will, but there was nothing realistic about that.
Still, this minor change would have been more accepted if it weren’t coupled with swimming pools being cut as well. Granted, the developers have said that they’re not against inserting swimming pools and toddler mode into the game through an update after it goes live, but fans weren’t having any of it.
“No Pools? No toddlers?!?!?? Are we playing a game of ‘How much can we disappoint the fan base whilst still having a hand in their wallets’? “Vic Cooper wrote, “taking out so many basic things we’ve come to expect from these things and then strongly insinuating we’ll have to buy the expansion packs to see them. That is some ugly marketing EA,”
Trapping Sims in the swimming pool by removing all points of exit is a well-known sadistic pastime of some fans and its exclusion from the game has certainly created backlash – something EA Maxis should have anticipated.
While the exclusions may feel like Maxis is cutting back on features and producing a diluted game, it’s necessary to state that the game has yet to be released. Many games have had features cut to allow for fulfilment of delivery time or better game play.
Furthermore, The Sims 4 is built on a new engine so it may in fact require Maxis more time to make old features work with the new system. Thus, their willingness to re-introduce cut features in a future update is noteworthy if not terribly promising.
Still, it is impossible to know how well or poorly the game will perform until after people start playing it.
On the flip side, with EA being the publisher, fan concerns are somewhat justified. EA has been known to sell features as part of add-ons and DLCs. Battlefield 4 add-on map packs stands as a testament to this.
Another poster, Nikita Lacroix, wrote sarcastically:
Keep your eyes open, fellow Simmers, for the new Baby Life expansion pack for The Sims 4! A brand new life stage, toddler, will be introduced to The Sims series, allowing you to make weirder, crazier, more vivid and tactile stories than ever before! Give your toddlers unique personalities and aspirations, and experience their vibrant emotional states with new and interesting game play! Toddlers not enough for you? Pre-order today and receive the bonus Baby Clothes pack which will allow you to dress your new toddler! (We regret to announce that the changing table will not be included, but can be downloaded from the gallery for 2000 sim points!) Get yours September 2nd after installing your brand new copy of The Sims 4!
An over-reaction probably, but at the same time, this angry statement could prove remarkably prescient.
We can only wait and see. The Sims 4 is out on PC on 2nd September. It is also due for release on Mac.
