Is this game - and this site - officially dead?

[Highlander]

I found this site when I started playing Sims 3 World Adventures. Over the years it has been a great reference source.

As time went by, things changed. Carl branching out to YouTube is something I completely understand. It's just not my cup of tea. Players come and go. As Pam's passing reminds us, none of us are getting younger. But new stuff was met with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Personally, I play the game a lot for stretches of time then not at all for months. It's a combination of "been there, done that" and clutter that I have little use for.

But the recent additions - Spa Day update, Dream Home decorator, Base game update, new kits - have largely been met with yawns. Or nothing at all.

Are the devs just out of touch? No enthusiasm for buying new content {raises hand}? Or just a general boredom with a game that's been out for a long time?

Personally, my high water mark was Discover University. After that it was content I didn't care about, buggy content or both. Just curious about what others think.

[Brian_Z]

It does seem like they are winding down.  Normally there would be a game pack rolling out in September.  But instead, just some kits-- which I highly doubt are selling much, but I suspect it also doesn't take much to make one.  The stuff in them is probably already made and didn't get used yet, so they put it together and put it out there.
There's the rumors that Sims 5 is in the works.  But they will NOT confirm this until they are done releasing new content for TS4.  This is because of something called the Osbourne Effect.  If word gets out about your next generation product, sales of your current product will disappear.  Because if The Sims 5 was just around the corner, why would I spend another dime on The Sims 4?
Now, let's see what happens in November.  They always roll out an expansion in November, to cash in on Christmas shopping.

[MrsFlynn]

I'm not sure what to say in regards to Sims 4. Carl hasn't said anything personally to me about shutting down the forum/site. I'm of the impression that things are okay.

As a reminder, please do not speculate or post rumors about Sims 5. We like to wait on official word to avoid spreading misinformation.

[Metropolis Man]

This site is definitely not dead. Has the traffic gone down? Of course. Most regular forum participants see that clear as day. But, it's not dead. Me and my team head up the annual Tournament — an event going back to 2010. Back in the Sims 3 heyday challenges would often have close to 75+ players. I cannot remember when a Sims 4 event had that many. There's no point in playing the blame game here, but I see this mainly due to the fact that a) players have not enjoyed Sims 4 as much as Sims 3; and b) gamers, by nature move onto other things after a while.

The same thing is going on in other games — the one I am most familiar with is Diablo III. Diablo III came out more than 9 years ago. That's a long time in the gaming world. Players are tired of it. Diablo IV has been announced, but no one knows exactly when it will be released — it could be a year from now, but it could also be two years. Sims 4 is now more than 7 years old. IMHO for the health of the franchise, EA really needs to hit Sims 5 out of the park and bring back some missing elements that made prior Sims games classics — open world, modes of transportation, deeper meaningful skill leveling. And stop making the game so easy with a million different things that give players instant rewards.

So, @Highlander I hear you. I can totally relate.

[sdhoey]

You are correct, back in the day, everything was buzzing. But as with everything, times change. Technology changes and the way people want to see information has changed. Back in Sims 3, guides were all the rave. Everybody had them, step-by-step gameplay. Content break down, etc.

Now? Youtube and Twitch have changed that. Websites can now post live videos of the content, how to do this and how to do that.
It doesn't mean that things are slowing down or dying. It just shows that times are changing. It can take a few days or weeks to write up a guide, edit, add pictures, and post. Now you just do the video, edit it and upload and move on.

Trust me, I understand that youtube might not be your cup of tea. A lot of times, I don't find some of the videos out there "exciting," I either, move to the next one or fast forward through it to find what I want. But with Carls, his are the best IMHO. They are great, he is honest, and he is funny.

I think I might be rambling, old age does that to you right @Metropolis Man. Just remember, EA is also trying to make everyone happy in the big mixed-up world we live in today. So right now, it seems like all they care about are kits, updates, etc. We will not know what is coming next until they decide to announce it, so all we can do is wait.

It is frustrating, we all understand that. Hang in there.

[Metropolis Man]

I think I might be rambling, old age does that to you right @Metropolis Man.

Hey! Lol.

[Carl]

Hi, thanks for the respectful tone of the question. I've definitely slowed down, but had an injury and illness around the launch of Cottage Living and decided to do some things I enjoy while I recovered. Personally, I do feel the game is very slow right now but a part of me hopes this is because it's financially viable to improve things instead of creating more and more packs. They said a patch is coming, and I'm excited to cover that. Anything the Base Game gets is important with the state of things. They recently asked about improving depth and I hope they take that feedback to heart. I don't feel the site is dead or abandoned just yet in terms of guides, but I do think Sims 4 is in a slower phase and it has messed with my interest. I love digging into things but it's been difficult to find cool stuff to share.

[Trip]

The Sims 4 could be the greatest game in the franchise and it wouldn't change the fact that forums aren't "cool" anymore and that I'm really heartbroken over it. But I'm too set in my ways to move to Instagram, so there will always be someone here.

[scoed]

I am cool and I am here. Just ask my cat. Darn thing will not leave me alone. So if cool people like me hang here it must be cool, @Trip. Just too many people just don't realize it.

Truth be told I think The Sims 4 is getting old and attracting less new blood. It is part of ever digital games life cycle. It is 7 years old after all. It is still profitable as it has a huge established fan base but it's hype is gone. Hype brings in new blood, new blood post more questions then old hands. Questions spark discussion. Discussion brings eyeballs. Eyeballs bring more discussion.

And in spite of what my cat might think, I am not cool enough to make forums cool again. Facebook, Twitter, Discord and the like are the flavor of the time. Trip is right forums are less popular compared to the past.  Still if and when the hype around a Sims game Carl covers is back up, post will come in.

[MarianT]

According to my cat, I'm cool, too. But I'm also old. I still use e-mail, and although I have Twitter and Discord accounts, I never use them. I actually enjoy TS4, and don't plan to move on to TS5, at least not until enough time has gone by that we don't get the same complaints that we did about TS4 in the early years. This forum has always been a place for courteous and intelligent discussion, but I'm not sure people want that anymore.

[Highlander]

I do remember reading somewhere that you had been ill, Carl. I forgot about that.

And Metro, I have played WOW for many of the 17 years it's been out. I can understand boredom in the gaming world.

But when outrage (Journey to Batuu) turns to boredom (Dream Home Decorator), there's a problem. Cottage Living was popular enough that even LGR posted a video about it. Most of the other stuff they have released recently has been ignored.

And with good reason. We get a recolor of the Yum Cooker? Great. So when my old one burns up, I can replace it with a red one. Who makes these decisions?

At any rate, if you want a challenge then pick the High Maintenance trait  Worst day Ever

[Spiderkeys]

There is still Cars and Driveways to come, and it will be much too large for a Kit.

[Saltypaws]

I have played Sims since day one and have been coming to Carls forums since almost day one.  There has been so many changes and technology is only going to improve as time goes on.  I first installed sims1 on a computer with 750 mega, not gigs and tried playing, impossible, lol. This forum will always be my safe place, so I know what you guys mean.  At this time, I am kind of in a rut with sims4, not sure why, if you think about it, the game has endless possibilities and outcomes.  Is this dead, no, but also people have more choices than they did 10 years ago or longer.  We all need to hang in there, take a break, take a walk and breathe, lol. You all are great. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

[Metropolis Man]

Happy Thanksgiving, Salty!

[mpart]

Personally, I finally plan to start getting into the Sims 4 properly after accepting that's it just a different from game from Sims 3 and that's okay. As for the forum slowing down, maybe, but there are so many kind people here. It's a real community and I feel like it's thriving in that regard. I also enjoy Carl's YouTube videos about the different content in the game. It's helping me weed out what I should buy and not buy during the Steam sales. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving!