Watched a few videos of the youtuber I linked. Of couse he happens to be funny youtubers I watch (not that I’m trying to connection; just my observation, but I might not lie - when its a game I like + they do something creative than boring lets play count me as a viewer in!). He also gave respects to the mobile player for staying its stand (albeit, honestly - its pretty rational to quit a program when your game is that broken you can’t play) and that, what instantly gave me insta respect, that he himself would say no If some company gave him a copy to make review at the cist of being genuine and sincere with himself about honest feedback. Really, I don’t need the bullshit of fake people being fake about a game, just so I can know they apart of EAs sheep progeam and doing for money for rating packs 4 and 5 stars only. Where’s the fun and valuable input of hearing an opinion how every pavk is great and no bullshit is called out.

Grant Rodiek is leaving Maxis/EA:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gran...=public_profile

Could bode well for the next game, given how many controversial decisions he's been behind with The Sims 4. On the flip side, maybe he's leaving because he thinks Rene's going to be a dumpster fire? Who knows?

I really want to celebrate this news, but it is coming 10 years too late. May his next new boss set boundaries and not put up with his bullshit.

This is not what I remember. I can remember is that it were parents bitching about young kids sitting too long for the telly. We were always chased out of the house to play outside. When complaining about rain they would say (literally translated) 'You won't melt, you are not made of sugar'. Also, before that there was simply not enough on television to spend that much time in front of it. Not where I live anyway. My grandparents were active though. Granddad always doing stuff in his shed and my grandmother was always cleaning or doing gardening when I stayed over. Those 3 hours was usually a nap lol.

https://x.com/mrwsprss/status/1747464771798974508?s=46

Grant (Director) has decided to leave Maxis and EA. The post captured in the linked tweet reads more along the lines of he was given the option to resign instead of being fired. If I had to speculate as to -why- my best guess would be the state of Sims 5. For a game that’s been in some form of development since 2018 the progress, or lack thereof, is concerning. Their current flagship title (Sims 4) is on its last legs and the follow-up is presumably still years away from release, even an early access release at that. This isn’t the first time Grant made an abrupt exit from EA/Maxis, but given his role on the game that’s currently in development it’s unlikely that he made this decision voluntarily.

Assuming the worst, but I think this will result in massive changes to the direction of the game in order to meet a release deadline that’s -not- years away. I’ve always suspected they will use the “free to play” aspect as an excuse to release a feature-reduced game, but now that the director has left the company it’s a safe bet EA will want to push the game out asap so they can try to monetize it. It’s basically the same situation as The Sims 4 but with less of the game completed and much lower expectations from newer players.

To the point - he didn’t just leave. He left without a job lined up. The post read as though he’s not getting what he wants or expects from the game’s development and he’s unsatisfied with where he is and he needs/wants a job ASAP as he mentioned his children.

Sounds like Renee/The Sims is an absolute mess behind the scenes. Allegedly. Especially in this job market.

In the words of financial guru Dave Ramsey... "When you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

The whole thing about leaving when there are kids at home that need to be fed is whole other conversation. Hopefully his wife or whoever has a good job. CA is a really expensive state to live in.

The gaming industry has been on a massive layoff bender for the past year or so. EA alone planned on letting go of whatever the percentage was ( 6%?, 8%? total work force.... something like that. I can't be bothered to look it up) of employees which they have been doing. In a attempt to make it less obvious, they've been doing these layoffs by a million cuts. Some people here, a few more people there and so on. They're doing this to appease their Wall Street overlords.

As for the sims franchise being a mess, we already know that. Even those among us that don't like to talk about it or admit it know this franchise is a hot mess. It was a hot mess even before they mentioned Project Nay-Nay. The fact that they've been working on that since 2018 and still "have years to go" before it sees the light of day sez a lot. I don't know jack about game development, but if we go through the time line of this franchise, Project Nay-Nay should either be done or close to being finished.

Regardless, from where I'm sitting, I say "Later, Dude!" to Grant. He has left all of his hot mess behind for people that play sims to talk about years from now.

A more video about it.

I would be a little more simpathetic towards him, but knowing how he just said no to dog houses, babies and casinos in the lackluster game it was, I don’t feel like it would made any difference in our favor for consumers. So yeah, maybe he will be happy developing games that doesn’t have family or “passive gameplay” as much as he detests it

Other than that, it doesn’t seem that much of anything said that hasn’t been known before. We all know how crappy the model and gameplay probably will be. No bright future to be seen. It isn’t that of a breaking news, when your least favorite guru is leaving a game that maybe just makes it teeeny tiny better but not that to be horrified or clap your hands like Rachel Franklin that utters TIME FOR A PARTY (then again, she did it for an anticlimatic expansion pack, so on contrary it is fitting).

TS5 better be the most moddable game in existence ...there is no way i will ever play an EA/Sims game that isn't modded to the max. They are so lazy, and they know their passionate player base will do all the work for them while giving them all the money.

I really don't understand EA logic. (OK, that's a misnomer, but let's gloss over it for now.) In TS4, they had an (almost?) finished multiplayer game; after the SimCity fiasco they panicked and converted it to a single player game, with predictable consequences. Now they are making another multiplayer game, Project Rene, which won't be TS5 (or will it be? ... no it won't ... yes, it will ... ...) and they are making it at the time when a semi-official multiplayer mod for TS4 has been available for a while. Why not make it official and finally start working on a real TS5? But no; their death wish is too strong; small wonder that people like that Rodiek guy are jumping ship. (BTW, the general reaction on Reddit was "Good riddance!") Seems like they will finally get what they wish for.

EA cannot just snag something from the modding community, shove it in the game and call it done. To do that legally would cost them time and money. This not to say that they don't snag ideas from the modding community, then call it their own because they do that. When their game is being advertised to people between the ages of 8 - 12, not too many tweens can afford a lawyer to deal with the multi-billion EA that is backed by their Wall Street overlords.

If I were to guess why Grant decided to leave, I'm going with somebody up the chain of command told him no and he had a fit. Videos like the following would give the idea that Grant was some wonderful guy.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6J4I26t3X8 When in reality, he treated this community like crap. He's was the reason there were no babies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKzjiiox0Fk in the game when TS4 was released, announced on a Twitch stream that dog houses were a form of abuse, insulted people that play sims regularly on Twitter if anybody dared to question anything he said, ect...

I like Yin as a person. She can publish whatever she wants on her channel, but she had no clue what she was talking about. There was another video she did where she made it look like the only game in EA's portfolio was TS4 and that was why EA made billions that fiscal quarter. That would be a huge NOPE! A simple search would have given her the correct answer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...onic_Arts_games Most of EA's cash flow comes from FIFA and their sports games, not TS4 which is how stories like this one come to be:

EA CEO Signals EA Sports Metaverse Plans: 'Watch This Space' As Earnings Exceed $2.3 Billion

https://www.benzinga.com/general/ga...d=mw_quote_news

There is zero mention of sims anything in that article. And even then, Yin didn't take into account how much of money came from Wall Street itself. She didn't read the actual report, she just spouted whatever she felt like.

EA / Maxis has already done the sims multi-player thing. There was the official Sims Online that was shut down in 2008 and there is Sims Mobile which is somehow still alive, but EA is going to stop updating it soon if it hasn't happened already.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_Online

https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/t...g/play-together

There is a reason EA is called the Grim Reaper of games. The sims franchise is going to be another game in the list. eventually.

This is a very different world than it was when 4 was being developed and they now are targeting a very different audience in terms of what they do and how they use devices. Whether what they do succeeds or not is to be seen? But there is a base of people who will at least try anything with the Sims name on it, as we know. And if they can hook enough of them to keep playing/spending and make a profit, that is their goal.

On one hand, at least console players might not be abandoned, even when they made TS4 almost-clone port to console. Though, as everything goes with EAs deceitful PR and visions, it might be just another we-said-it-doesn’t-mean-we’ll-stick-with-it” scenario.

EA’s is trying to mobile-ize everything, so more profit. Of course they disguise it with “we did this as we trying to be inclusive to all system players blah blah blah we are global blah blah blah so we like players to connect with one another blah blah blah”.

There’s no logic with EA. Their logic is in the pudding (money vault). EA is equivalent to Mr. Krabs: if somebody tells them or themselves think it will make money, then they will be on the idea. Whether customer likes the food and experience at crusty krabs, its irrelevant unless money is prevelant.

That is exactly their logic. As you say, to make $$$$$$. That is the goal. That is why they are in business.

They can make all the mobile games they want. There is only so much debt a person can run up from macrotransactions plus all other crap that is being slapped on credit cards before any given bank sez "Yeah, no!" There is almost 1.4 trillion ( not a typo) dollars of credit card debt in the US alone. Granted not all of that is video game spending, but it is interesting how people are so confused about why EA and their ilk act the way they do.

If people stopped acting like outsourced assets in video games were somehow life altering and abandoned the ginormous ring of FOMO, EA wouldn't be able to lead people around by the nose ring. Neither will ever happen of course, but the EA situation isn't as complicated as people love to make it out to be.

I think for Sims individuals generally do not run up huge debt due to it or spend anywhere to the level of games where there are whales who spend IMO ridiculous amounts on games. I played one game on my ipad a bit and tossed them a few simoleans, but there were a few people giving them a few hundred grand. We knew who one was, a former GM exec, and he could afford it and wanted to do it. Even if I could afford there is no way I would spend that on a game.

I think you are totally right about FOMO for way too many, and EA knows that. I think they are looking for quantity in terms of spenders. Many small to middle spenders can rack up a huge total amount for them, and I think that is the goal.

It makes sense that EA and gaming companies love mobile games as disgusting as they are. People don't pay attention to what they're doing or spending. Those in the world of finance blame this on the 'lack of friction' for these transactions. In other words, if a person had to physically hand over money for digital do-dads, they wouldn't do it, but because people keep their credit card info on their phones, it's $5.00 here, $10.00 there and so on.

I don't have any personal experiences with this. My phone sits in a drawer, shut off ( not in airplane mode or stand-by) until I need it. Anywho, I do have a real life example. It isn't sims related, but it makes my point. The YT link is queued to where the person being 'audited' talks about how she keeps buying gems...

33-Year-Old With More Debt Than Anyone Should Ever Have | Financial Audit

https://youtu.be/TfZ-Rxw34o8?feature=shared&t=355

It's a cauldron of mess. Gaming companies taking advantage while making their games look like slot machines, people dodge any kind of personal responsibility for their mindless spending, blah, blah, blah.

This is very true and for way too many of us including me. Most people do not tally how much they spend at Starbucks or on smokes or whatever. I have been irritated at myself at the last few credit card statements. The totals spent have been way too high. Too many fairly small purchases.... that then add up to yikes! The small amounts are not painful when spent, but when we see what the accumulation brings, reality sets in.

New simulation game is being developed at EA called Project Dolores. In the job listings it is stated that one must gain depth of knowledge of The Sims and EA’s current game technology as a requirement for the job.

Project Dolores sounds kind of interesting, but this could be a spinoff game or maybe even TS5 while Project Rene is like an online version of TS.

That sounds interesting, I hope this one turns out to be a good game!

Who are the target market for these games? Simmers are expected to support 4, Rene, and now Dolores?

We are in a recession, EAxis.

I know I'll very likely be disappointed with whatever they reveal Dolores to be but I'll hold up a teeny tiny amount of hope for it, please EA/Maxis, don't let me down for the n:th time! I've been waiting for a new good Sims game since the Sims 2!

Thanks for sharing! I personally am all in for either - a new game sounds exciting as does the prospect of separating the online version of TS. Despite their sell-out like tendencies over the past few years and blatant ignorance of what the community wants - The Sims franchise still has me hook line and sinker

Could have as well be (I suspect) Project Renee but under a different name as it might have been cancelled for failing to meet promises, for as all I (don’t) care. Not sure what’s there to be happy anyways about another side exprimenral micro mobile game, since it’s not like they’re coating a spin off like Medeival or Castaway remasters (or at least that of much better upgrades).

P.S. Not sure if its my phone or what, but I was contemplating not even attemting to leave this comment for a second time, because the first time posting lead me to errored page and it didnt save as a draft. MTS maintenance, are you aware of this?

I was thinking the same thing, but if it isn't that, it is going to be interesting watching them trying to juggle TS4, Project Nay-Nay and this new one. Project Nay-Nay was supposed to be the all-in-one sidekick to TS4. Multi-player, free to enter, across all platforms, blah, blah, blah. Why would they need something to go along with that? I suppose there could be a spin-off in there somewhere, but considering how Andrew Wilson has been shedding crocodile tears over yet another round of layoffs and such, the timing feels strange to invest in a spin-off.

The weird mojo vibes could be just a me thing as there has been weird crap going on in real life for weeks that I haven't been able to make heads or tails of. Instead of doing my usual thing which is try to figure the shit out, I've taken the path of least resistance and have been reading books instead. Less screen time, less bullshit and if I don't like what I'm reading, I can drop the book off at the library.