The Sims 4 has been subject of a lot of disappointment since its September 2014 release, but did Maxis and EA Games just admit the game is a flop?
Have you heard? You can now play The Sims 4 for free on PC for a limited time: http://t.co/2odEQcIEoH pic.twitter.com/EAlgZNlKgw
— The Sims (@TheSims) January 23, 2015
Starting January 22, gamers who are still on the fence about dropping $69.99 on the deluxe version of The Sims 4 will have an opportunity rarely granted to gamers: the chance to try before they buy. EA Games just announced that The Sims 4 will be available on their Origin game download service for free . That’s the entire game, not a demo missing vital features. There is, of course, a catch. Users will only have until February 2 to add The Sims 4 to their Origin library. Once downloaded and installed, the game will only work for 48 hours, then users must purchase or delete the game. Three other EA titles are being offered limited trials: Battlefield 4, Titanfall, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reconking . According to the studio behind The Sims 4 , Maxis, the trial offer is a gift to gamers in celebration of The Sims franchise turning 15 on February 4. A free trial seems like an odd celebration gift, particularly since the most die hard fans of The Sims franchise have presumably already purchased The Sims 4, and so won’t benefit from the trial offer. When The Sims turned 10 in 2010, Maxis offered long time fans three DLC packs for use with the game of that era, The Sims 3. As much as EA Games and their subsidiary, Maxis, are trying to do damage control for The Sims 4, the fact is that fans have been increasingly disillusioned with the lack of content available at launch, going so far as to compile lists of features available in previous games, but missing from The Sims 4 . The biggest missing feature so far is the tiny toddler life stage.
Please please please give TS4 a try. It’s free. Then, whether you buy it or not, go on the forums to tell us what you think!
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 23, 2015
The trial offer and the recent announcement that Maxis is searching for a new Creative Director may mean that EA Games is finally ready to admit that The Sims 4 is as big of a disappointment as some fans have said.
Regardless of the intention behind the free trial, Game Informer seemed to approve of the move. In their write up of the trial offer announcement, Game Informer said that “EA definitely needs to keep doing promotions like this to try to attract people to Origin, which still lags far behind Steam.”
Will you try the free trial of The Sims 4 ? Have you been on the fence about purchasing The Sims 4 ? What was your favorite installment of The Sims franchise?
