My Expansion Pack Rant
This is a rant I wrote on a message board in August 2002. Much of it still holds true today. The references to EA catering to newbies and AOL users is because when The Sims Deluxe was first released, it contained exclusive content that we who had the games from the beginning did not get. And AOL users were given these items as downloads.
I didn't want to hijack the Zoo Tycoon thread, so I thought I would post this here. I took a look at Zoo Tycoon & the expansion at Wal-Mart tonight.
All these games that have expansions are giving me headaches, LOL! I was always the kind of person who will finish a series if I start one. For instance, when I was 8 I got the movie "The Land Before Time." I finally gave up, after acquiring each sequel as it came out, after number 6. ;) When you find a great game, it can be fun to add to it. But with all these games getting 2 or more expansion packs, and The Sims' (I believe) unprecedented 5, it's just too much money to throw down the hole. I think I'm either going to have to start waiting for packages like The Sims Deluxe, or Roller Coaster Tycoon Gold, to come out, or else just not get some expansions.
I am going to buy Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 when it comes out in October...in fact, I'll be one of the first in line. (Never mind that I've not even finished more than 10 scenarios from the first game and its two expansions.)
But I've mentioned here before how I have on loan to me from a friend Hot Date and House Party to see if I like them. But now, with The Sims Online and The Sims 2 in the works, and all this junk about newbies to the games getting The Sims Deluxe for almost half what we all paid, and AOL users getting downloads, I'm tempted to just forget The Sims and scrap it all. Not to mention the also-unprecedented number of user-created downloads. Sure it's great to see such a huge community with such wonderful things. But if every game starts being like this, it's just going to be too much. I can't spare 2 Gigs in game + expansion space, plus 3G of user downloads, for every game. It was enough that Roller Coaster Tycoon would let you share coasters. In The Sims, how expandable the game is is also its major downfall, in my opinion. The game has long loading times, and it takes forever to scroll through walls, floors, roofs, objects, and skins to choose one. And just one could crash your game.
I'm a Tomb Raider-aholic. But can you imagine if there were hundreds of skins to choose from to change everything from Lara herself, to the animals, and guns, and scenery? Heck, even Tomb Raider has gone the way of customization, with Chronicles' Level Editor. What if my dearly-loved RCT had options to change all of the people and all the scenery objects?
Expansion packs are cool, but with 5...it just gets to be too much. The games take too long to load, and I pity the poor newbie who installs the game and all 5 (when Unleashed comes out) expansions at once. I was an experienced Simmer who just had Livin' Large and The Sims, and when I installed House Party and Hot Date at the same time, I was overwhelmed. I was so excited to go downtown and to try all the new objects that I forgot about all the basics, like learning to read and cook and do mechanical things, and paying attention to relationships.
I know the massiveness of the Sims community is because this is a unique game. But EA already has almost $200 in their pockets from each of us, and are bringing out another expansion, another game, and Deluxe, and forgetting about we who made the Sims community what it is, by catering to newbies and AOL users. I think that somewhere it has to crash. Not the game, but the expansion mania.
Just to reiterate, I think expansions and customization are cool, but they cost so much in money, computer resources, and most of all time, that I am beginning to think a lot of them aren't worth it.
I might get Zoo Tycoon someday, but I will probably pass on Dinosaur Digs.
Just to lighten things up: You know, one day they should just combine all the tycoon games into one big game called World Tycoon. Airport, Railroad, Mall, Fast Food, Oil Well, Ski Resort, Skateboard Park, Zoo, Roller Coaster, Monopoly, and countless others...we've already got a big start already. They can make up some more, such as Ocean Tycoon (you create your own coral reef, perhaps?) and combine them all into World Tycoon. Of course, then you'd have Space Tycoon, Star Tycoon, and Universe Tycoon to follow soon after...it would never end. ;)
Okay, I'm done with this incredibly long post now. Hope to hear your opinions on the issue soon!!!
Before you e-mail me about this rant, please remember it was written in 2002!!