Sims 3 leaked to torrent sites weeks before retail release

[kaoz666]

If that's a fact then I'd say EA is leaking these games themselves to claim profit losses.

That wouldn't surprise me at all. It's common practice sometimes for game companies to give away "promotional" copies of games to say, radio stations to giveaway, merely so they can add those numbers to their sales totals. I don't at all put it outside of EA's range to do something as underhanded as leaking the actual 1st build of the game so that they can truncate their profit losses they were going to have from the jump on the game just being a bad game. This is going to be the single most messiest PC game release in history, I know it.

[abaris]

I don't at all put it outside of EA's range to do something as underhanded as leaking the actual 1st build of the game so that they can truncate their profit losses they were going to have from the jump on the game just being a bad game. This is going to be the single most messiest PC game release in history, I know it.

That would be extremely silly. No, I think they handed out one copy to many. It's the same with some movies. DVDs are leaked with "for your consideration" inserts. That points to the Academy Awards. There's always a lose end at some point of the production.

[simguy18]

So a few days ago I downloaded the thing, and I posted immediately on here its a good game.  After a few days, PEOPLE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!  IT'S GOD AWFUL! 

I hate the fact that time continues when playing at different houses, I hate the fact that I see no way of custom content being imported to the game, unless you really want to spend your hard earned cash on their crap...  The only plus in this game is this....hmm...never mind...

I hope this game does flop, maybe EA will have second thoughts...

This just in:  The Sims 3 kills the The Sims Franchise, critics agree...

[abaris]

This just in:  The Sims 3 kills the The Sims Franchise, critics agree...

Is this based on some real source or just wishful thinking?

Truth is, I wouldn't count on the game mags giving an honest review. There's just too much EA money in the advertising budget. And money makes the world go round.

[kaoz666]

As far as reviews go, there are only 2 sources I pay attention to, Game Informer Magazine and X-Play on G4TV. But are VERY objective in their reviews, and will not hesitate to rip a game (Or the company that makes it) a new a**hole if it's bad. I expect X-Play to give it a 3 out of 5, and Game Informer to give it a 6.5-7. In both cases, that's average. Cuz that's what the game in the end is, average. It tries to difference itself from TS3, but in the end the things that have been changed fails to really wow, and the rest hasn't been changed at all. The biggest change in the game has nothing to do with the actual gameplay itself, and also happens to be it's biggest flaw...that being the CC issue and all that comes with it. Add to that the fact that as was posted elsewhere the game can be modded by the skilled modder, but as per the EULA it's illegal to do it, that brings up a whole other mess. For all the hype the game has gotten over the last 10 months, it took the real facts about the game to surface to finally let people know that this will in no way, shape or form be even close to the game TS2 is. We have full control over what we can put into our TS2 games, whereas we have no control over what we can import into TS3. (Wait, we do...it just has to be from EA.) Recipe for disaster, and at this point, EA is letting the soup come to a slow boil. 6 more days and the pot boils over, and I can't wait to see how they plan on cleaning up the mess.

[abaris]

Recipe for disaster, and at this point, EA is letting the soup come to a slow boil. 6 more days and the pot boils over, and I can't wait to see how they plan on cleaning up the mess.

I think you're wrong there. The gaming magazines do their duty and write laudatios. Even if it wasn't about the advertising budget, most magazines don't give a rats if the thing is moddable or not. Also, the piece will be bought. By enough people to make EAs day. You can take the level of excitement here on this modding related board as a clear indicator of the general public. The general public will be even more excited, since most of them don't even know how modding is spelled let alone about the implications of Eulas and disk protection apps.

The wrongness in you assumption lies mainly in taking for granted, that people like you or me are the mainstream. We aren't. We are the minority of a minority which I have come to accept. I resent the fact, that EA will have a field day with this release and the example it is setting for future publications. But that will not alter the fact, that it will be a success.

[roerzman]

Going on the number of downloads that TSR  alone claims, 680000 to date. We should assume that the vast majority of these people also shop around in other sites and are well aware of mods. Perhaps not some of the extreme ones, but mods none the less.
Anyone that has dealt with with the exchange would have asked themselves where these creations come from and how do they make them.
I would say that those that are unaware of mods are those without an Internet connection.

[simguy18]

This just in:  The Sims 3 kills the The Sims Franchise, critics agree...

Is this based on some real source or just wishful thinking?

Truth is, I wouldn't count on the game mags giving an honest review. There's just too much EA money in the advertising budget. And money makes the world go round.

Just wishful thinking, but money does make the world go round, its the root of all evil too...

[MaryH]

"The wrongness in you assumption lies mainly in taking for granted, that people like you or me are the mainstream. We aren't. We are the minority of a minority which I have come to accept. I resent the fact, that EA will have a field day with this release and the example it is setting for future publications. But that will not alter the fact, that it will be a success."

I tend to think that perhaps this is wishful thinking by EA. What they do not realize is that the vast majority of fans are the ones who snap up every single game, every single EP and they are the ones who made the sales for Spore.

They are the ones who post on the BBS and have SimPages-and they will be the ones who make this a success or not. If they are disappointed by the release or the game, they will make themselves heard, and big time. The BBS will be overrun by their unhappiness and no amount of money will make it go away.

EA will wish that they had never made the game, if they're the ones who are upset. One bad customer opinion, and you have ten more who will hear about it. Guaranteed-there's nothing like an unhappy customer to ruin your business.

I don't have high expectations for this one. It has a very narrow time frame to prove its' durability and playability. If EA does not address the more important playing issues within a week or two, they will feel the effects of it.

Where do you think the bad reviews for Spore came from? Not from heaven, that's for sure. It might still be selling, but it would have been a blockbuster hit if the fans had been made happy. They weren't and so they decided to do other things with their money.

They also told all their friends to stay away from Spore. That is what ultimately doomed it to the second tier of game sales.

[ancienthighway]

I wonder how much of EAs meddling in the creation of Spore had an impact on Will's leaving.

[kaoz666]

I wonder how much of EAs meddling in the creation of Spore had an impact on Will's leaving.

All of it. When Will Wright lost full creative control of not only Spore, but The Sims, the games became shadows of what they should have been. And why? Because EA can give a crap about keeping to the source material, when they can change the games into something they can market to the casual gamer and make more money off of. Further more, in response to Abaris' comment, I know all to well that EA will turn a profit on the game. If you've read any of my previous posts in other threads, you'd know that I myself have been saying that for weeks if not months. But the money they will make on the game will not nearly be what their projected figures will be because the hardcore users of the game as well as modders will not be buying it. That's going to be at least a 15% loss in total intake. 15% isn't much, but when you're talking about a game projected to make millions by the end of the year, you do the math. Compared to other high profile releases to come this year (Not just from EA, but other companies) TS3 will be a bust by comparison. It'll make money, and it'll turn over a profit for EA. But when you compare what TS3 will essentially make to say...the PC version of Street Fighter 4 or Modern Warefare 2, there is no comparison. And those games will most likely have the same online based authentication as TS3. But the difference is they WON'T have the heavy and hefty micro transactions needed to make the most of the game. DLC for those games are one shot purchases. You buy it, and it's yours. You don't need a 1st part installer to import any of it, and once you do buy it, you're free to do with the content what you wish. Activision and Capcom could care less if the code is modified, They've made their money. And that fact will keep people coming back for more when new add-ons are released, as opposed to running away like they've seen Godzilla from TS3. So no, my last statement isn't an assumption. It's predicated on facts and figures. Figures that I'll be more then happy to point out and compare once some of the other high profile releases are on the market. I deal in numbers, and numbers don't lie. EA's numbers will be decent, but no where near what they at 1st projected when they 1st announced the game.

[billyd1000]

Simguy 18 said:

Just wishful thinking, but money does make the world go round, its the root of all evil too...
[/quote]


Not to start an argument but actially the saying is ;  "The love of money is the root of all evil."

I bet EA loves their's and our's too.

[Nalia]

I tend to keep what I love *very close* to me. Which means they are NOT getting my money this time. Ha!

[Tenshii~Akari]

Okay, due to the incident that happened earlier today in this thread, and just to remind everyone... please do NOT ask where to download The Sims 3 from, even if it's actually not your intention to download it.  Even in that case, it is still considered as requesting a location for downloading it, is against site rules, and will not be tolerated by the staff.  I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's something that apparently needed some clarification on some parts. 

The earlier situation drove the thread completely off-topic and admittedly should have been stopped before it escalated... so if you're wondering what happened, I personally apologize for the disappearing of the off-topic posts, and the confusion that followed. 

Please continue on with the discussion!