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Forum Resident
#51 Old 16th May 2016 at 9:27 PM
Quote: Originally posted by aeval99
I'm really curious to know if that includes digital sales or if it's only a reflection of physical units sold. Does anyone know?


It does not include digital sales.

My Simblr --->Glee & Squee
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Scholar
#52 Old 16th May 2016 at 9:36 PM
Quote: Originally posted by H.O.W
It does not include digital sales.

Ah. That list makes a lot more sense now. It would have been a sad commentary on the state of PC gaming if that had reflected all sales.
Forum Resident
#53 Old 16th May 2016 at 10:44 PM
Quote: Originally posted by aeval99
Ah. That list makes a lot more sense now. It would have been a sad commentary on the state of PC gaming if that had reflected all sales.


Seems like the usual stuff. Sims games, Blizzard games, Bethesda game...that's like PC sales for the past decade or so I bet. Digital sales represent a % of total sales (and last I checked about 20% or something like that?) so that's probably at least pretty close to it I'm willing to assume.

My Simblr --->Glee & Squee
Field Researcher
#54 Old 16th May 2016 at 11:47 PM Last edited by BudgieSimBoy : 17th May 2016 at 12:24 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by H.O.W
Seems like the usual stuff. Sims games, Blizzard games, Bethesda game...that's like PC sales for the past decade or so I bet. Digital sales represent a % of total sales (and last I checked about 20% or something like that?) so that's probably at least pretty close to it I'm willing to assume.


I read in an article (see link below) video games sales for 2015 56% are now digital sales, this has increased each year from 2009 at 20% 2010 29% 2011 32% 2012 41% 2013 47% 2014 52%

I would reckon PC games would even be slightly Higher as we have had Steam and even the dreaded Orgin for close to ten years?, so that chart shows sales for less than half the market.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/...-us-since-2009/
Mad Poster
#55 Old 17th May 2016 at 12:07 AM
Quote: Originally posted by BudgieSimBoy
I read in an article (see link below) video games sales for 2015 56% are now digital sales, this has increased each year from 2009 at 20% 2010 29% 2011 32% 2012 41% 2013 47% 2014 52%

http://www.statista.com/statistics/...-us-since-2009/


That's the real kicker though- going by my local big box electronic retailer, the actual physical pc games section has steadily decreased in size- and what used to be a every game out has dwindled down to the Sims + a few AAA games + some B-Z tier puzzle games/unsold inventory.
Scholar
#56 Old 17th May 2016 at 12:54 AM Last edited by aeval99 : 17th May 2016 at 2:19 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
That's the real kicker though- going by my local big box electronic retailer, the actual physical pc games section has steadily decreased in size- and what used to be a every game out has dwindled down to the Sims + a few AAA games + some B-Z tier puzzle games/unsold inventory.

Same here. My Best Buy has one shelf with a few Sims games, WOW and some educational kids games. The section for buying cards for Steam, Blizzard etc. is easily twice the size. I don't think my local Gamestop even carries pc games any longer.

There is definitely something off about that chart. I'm wondering if it even counts sales of physical copies from online retailers like Amazon, etc. I just find it improbable that SimCity 2013 sold more copies last year than DOTA 2, COD: Advanced Warfare, League of Legends, Witcher 3, Dark Souls II, City Skylines, Counter Strike, and so on. Minecraft isn't even on that list. Very strange.
Field Researcher
#57 Old 17th May 2016 at 2:07 AM
Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
That's the real kicker though- going by my local big box electronic retailer, the actual physical pc games section has steadily decreased in size- and what used to be a every game out has dwindled down to the Sims + a few AAA games + some B-Z tier puzzle games/unsold inventory.

The last physical PC game I brought was in 2013 a Total War Shogun 2 I had to activate vis steam then it downloaded a huge amount of data, so since then I been buying all games digital (Lucky I have a reasonable connection)

Still buy a few physical games for the PSP4 via EB games here in Aus, still most of my gaming is 85% on the PC still.
Scholar
#58 Old 17th May 2016 at 2:18 AM
Quote: Originally posted by BudgieSimBoy
The last physical PC game I brought was in 2013 a Total War Shogun 2 I had to activate vis steam then it downloaded a huge amount of data, so since then I been buying all games digital (Lucky I have a reasonable connection)

I still buy physical copies of Sims games, just so I can have them all, going back to the original Sims 1 game. Everything else is digital. Even my older physical games are attached to Origin or Steam, just so I don't have to mess with the discs anymore. I've also been buying digital through GOG too, for games I already own but are too old to work properly with newer versions of windows. I'm even starting to buy digital movies because I'm flat out running out of room to store more stuff.

I don't even want to talk about all the boxes of VCR tapes in the basement.
Forum Resident
#59 Old 17th May 2016 at 2:52 AM
Quote: Originally posted by aeval99
Same here. My Best Buy has one shelf with a few Sims games, WOW and some educational kids games. The section for buying cards for Steam, Blizzard etc. is easily twice the size. I don't think my local Gamestop even carries pc games any longer.

There is definitely something off about that chart. I'm wondering if it even counts sales of physical copies from online retailers like Amazon, etc. I just find it improbable that SimCity 2013 sold more copies last year than DOTA 2, COD: Advanced Warfare, League of Legends, Witcher 3, Dark Souls II, City Skylines, Counter Strike, and so on. Minecraft isn't even on that list. Very strange.


Yes, simcity sold more physical copies than those games. Also that list is PC games only, games like Witcher, COD, Minecraft are multi-platform and would see those sales split up among them. There is nothing off or suspicious about the chart, it is talking about retail sales. As for digital copies no one knows and no one likely has an idea, Sims does top Amazon list whenever it has any amount of hype surrounding it.

Also, Cities isn't really all that much of a hit when you compare it to those other titles so it's not a surprise that it's not on those list. I know people love the game but look at it's peak users today on steam 7k, right now there are 18k players on TS4. That is there are more players playing it than GTA 5 right now. I dunno, I think EA isn't counting TS4 as some big fail that people want it to be. It'll probably spike whenever they release another EP or bundle.

My Simblr --->Glee & Squee
Mad Poster
#60 Old 17th May 2016 at 3:29 AM
Quote: Originally posted by coolspear1
Regarding the open world of TS3, given that Maxis were the only ones to ever do something of that nature at the time, we can't accurately tell if they done a poor job without having others to compare with. They may well have done the best that anyone could have done, despite the outcome. It may well be why other game devs are reluctant to join in the people simulator market so just leave it all to Maxis.

And when Maxis abandoned the open world scenario to take a step back and return to single lots and frequent loading screens, not only are other game devs saying, "yep that's why we don't do it." But all those creative folks who suffered the TS3 jiddery, juddery meltdowns were proven to be in the majority to those players who claim their game runs perfectly fine.

Otherwise TS4 would have been an even bigger, immersive open world scenario, on a par with the size of a GTA 5 city. And about two or three other game devs would have be in the mix by now. As it is, we don't even know if Maxis will continue the Sims franchise beyond 4. To be truthful, do they even deserve to? I don't know if I could ever be interested in another title by that bunch of hapless yahoos. The main reason for that, it's getting harder and harder to tell these last few years if they're even interested in new titles, or, more importantly, truly interested in the ones they're currently producing.


IMO TS4 was largely not developed as a reaction against TS3. Rather, it came about as a reaction against Simcity 2013's online debacle and subsequent destruction of the Simcity franchise. My guess is that EA likely didn't want the same thing happening to the remaining Maxis franchise, and told Maxis to design a more conventional sim game instead.

As such, a game designed around online play (The Sims Olympus) was pressed into service as a single-player game- hence certain game design mechanics probably have to do more with the game engine than with actual design choices.
Scholar
#61 Old 17th May 2016 at 3:43 AM
Quote: Originally posted by H.O.W
Yes, simcity sold more physical copies than those games. Also that list is PC games only, games like Witcher, COD, Minecraft are multi-platform and would see those sales split up among them. There is nothing off or suspicious about the chart, it is talking about retail sales. As for digital copies no one knows and no one likely has an idea, Sims does top Amazon list whenever it has any amount of hype surrounding it.

Also, Cities isn't really all that much of a hit when you compare it to those other titles so it's not a surprise that it's not on those list. I know people love the game but look at it's peak users today on steam 7k, right now there are 18k players on TS4. That is there are more players playing it than GTA 5 right now. I dunno, I think EA isn't counting TS4 as some big fail that people want it to be. It'll probably spike whenever they release another EP or bundle.


I'm not suggesting that Sims 4 isn't doing well. Given that it's the best selling PC game series of all time and that it's PC exclusive, I would definitely expect it to be one of the top selling games in any year. It's the idea that a 3 year old Sim City game that was almost universally reviled upon release is outselling some of the hottest games released on PC in the past few years.

That PC versions of hugely popular games like COD don't sell anywhere near as many copies as their console counterparts do, is not in doubt. That they don't even make the top 20 in sales just doesn't make any sense to me. And then there's Witcher 3 and it's first expansion pack. It won multiple GOTY awards and sold a total of 6 million copies in the first 6 weeks of release. Even if only 20% of them were for PC, that still has to beat Sim City.

Anyway...back on topic. Though it wouldn't surprise me that they were at least in the planning stage for 5, we surely have at least 3 years worth of EPs to go yet. I'm not expecting any news on the 5 front until at least 2018.

Correction: I just noticed that League of Legends is actually free to play.
Scholar
#62 Old 17th May 2016 at 7:08 AM Last edited by mithrak_nl : 17th May 2016 at 7:19 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by coolspear1
I would imagine comparing play styles would make all the difference for TS3. It doesn't take that much to throw TS3 over the edge into jiggery, juddery meltdown. But if you never take it to that line, then TS3 would be a smooth experience. Quiet, but smooth. The trouble is, the game environment, the open world, the many lots, invites you to get productive and creative, to fill those houses with sims, furnishings and pets. And that's right when the game craps out on you. That and the never-ending resort bar workers spawning till they completely overrun the town. Cheers for fixing that horrendous glitch Maxis before you buggered off to TS4ville. Oh, that's right. you didn't!!!

Regarding the open world of TS3, given that Maxis were the only ones to ever do something of that nature at the time, we can't accurately tell if they done a poor job without having others to compare with. They may well have done the best that anyone could have done, despite the outcome. It may well be why other game devs (I am convinced that most devs always want to improve their game) are reluctant to join in the people simulator market so just leave it all to Maxis.

And when Maxis abandoned the open world scenario to take a step back and return to single lots and frequent loading screens, not only are other game devs saying, "yep that's why we don't do it." But all those creative folks who suffered the TS3 jiddery, juddery meltdowns were proven to be in the majority to those players who claim their game runs perfectly fine.

Otherwise TS4 would have been an even bigger, immersive open world scenario, on a par with the size of a GTA 5 city. And about two or three other game devs would have be in the mix by now. As it is, we don't even know if Maxis will continue the Sims franchise beyond 4. To be truthful, do they even deserve to? I don't know if I could ever be interested in another title by that bunch of hapless yahoos. The main reason for that, it's getting harder and harder to tell these last few years if they're even interested in new titles, or, more importantly, truly interested in the ones they're currently producing.


They clearly didn't do the best they could with TS3's performance. And it is very easy to see that they did not. Just look at how mods made by the community were able to improve performance of the open world immensily. Meanwhile Maxis never seriously looked at those to use it to improve unmodded TS3 performance. If modders can do this without having access to source code, then think what Maxis could have done. But they didn't.

This leaves the question as why they never tried better. Time, money, ability? Maybe their devs were never given a chance, who knows? But to me, because of what the mods could improve, it is very clear that TS3 is not even close to the best result of what was possible with open world.

As for TS4, sure you can do without open world to improve TS4 performance. Cutting out challenging features is always a sure way to go about this. On the other hand, TS4 is also developed years later, where the average PC's performance increased a lot. Open world would still be challenging, but in this case I think cutting this feature was more a decision about time management. Knowing where they were going for originally with TS4 and why they had to basically start over halfway.

I really want competition for the sims. With just one company that owns an ip with such a rich history and so many fans, can afford to develop half baked products and still get good sales(just look at any big ip that releases a new version every year). Competition would stir things up imo. But so far I only see nice simulation games from small developers who keep graphics basic (Prison Architect, Rimworld, Dwarf Fortress etc). These are awesome games (or shaping up to be), but will never give you great looking house building.
Forum Resident
#63 Old 17th May 2016 at 7:44 AM
Quote: Originally posted by aeval99
I'm not suggesting that Sims 4 isn't doing well. Given that it's the best selling PC game series of all time and that it's PC exclusive, I would definitely expect it to be one of the top selling games in any year. It's the idea that a 3 year old Sim City game that was almost universally reviled upon release is outselling some of the hottest games released on PC in the past few years.

That PC versions of hugely popular games like COD don't sell anywhere near as many copies as their console counterparts do, is not in doubt. That they don't even make the top 20 in sales just doesn't make any sense to me. And then there's Witcher 3 and it's first expansion pack. It won multiple GOTY awards and sold a total of 6 million copies in the first 6 weeks of release. Even if only 20% of them were for PC, that still has to beat Sim City.

Anyway...back on topic. Though it wouldn't surprise me that they were at least in the planning stage for 5, we surely have at least 3 years worth of EPs to go yet. I'm not expecting any news on the 5 front until at least 2018.

Correction: I just noticed that League of Legends is actually free to play.


The Witcher is really high on console sales chart like top 3? I just think that many people prefer to play action-RPG on consoles. I know if I had a console I would have bought Tomb Raider and Dragon Age for instance on console since I play with a controller any ways and at least on console I won't have to worry about PC errors and if I can run it. I mean I know I can run it but I bet that is the thinking for most games like that.

As for SimCity it's an odd game. It actually wasn't a bad game at all gameplay wise. The hilarious thing about it is it was receiving high scores from reviewers who then changed the review since they sometimes will review a game without server access. Simcity is a fun game to play with friends and likely has been heavily discounted. It's main problem was that it did not work...which is a big problem. If only the game had launched with good servers and some major glitches solved (Deleting saves...) it probably would still be kicking out EPs...and it is SimCity.

I was randomly watching a reaction to the COD trailer for the new game and these guys were saying that COD PC ports are terrible. So it must be like for them how it is for Sims Console releases for us. I know some games do terrible on PC like the sports titles and it's vice versa really. Civilization 6 will be a huge hit on PC this year but if it were to release on console probably would not break the top 20. Civ 6 and Overwatch, Sims 4 will surprise me if it is #1 again on this list for the 3rd time.

My Simblr --->Glee & Squee
Instructor
#64 Old 17th May 2016 at 1:58 PM Last edited by XtraSim : 17th May 2016 at 2:11 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by H.O.W
Civilization 6 will be a huge hit on PC this year .

not with them ipad/phone gfx.

Mirror floors, sexy mirror silhouettes, adult DVD, legend of zelda items and more ALL FREE AT: XTRA SIMS!
Test Subject
#65 Old 22nd May 2016 at 5:36 PM
I just hope sims 5 gets rid of origin and gives us a game combining sims 3 and sims 4. I also hope that I can go to a store around here and buy a copy that isn't a digital download. I can get a digital download without going to the store. I have bought a digital get together at Target by mistake and am still looking for a hard copy.
Field Researcher
#66 Old 20th Jun 2016 at 4:23 PM
Sims 5 hmm La Vida is a great example, that other game developer could create a new "different" Sim game. Sadly the project was canceled.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...game-about-life
Top Secret Researcher
#67 Old 20th Jun 2016 at 5:23 PM
That game looks like an early mashup version of TS2 for PS2 and The Sims Freeplay.
Instructor
#68 Old 20th Jun 2016 at 6:21 PM
Seems like funding for the Sims 5 will be safe. http://jstationx.com/2016/06/16/the...million-copies/
Mad Poster
#69 Old 20th Jun 2016 at 10:33 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Scobre
Seems like funding for the Sims 5 will be safe.

Oh dear. So 3-4 years from now we will be required to endure another Sims game...

MedievalMods and Sims3mods: Dive Cave Reset Fix, Resort Revamp, Industrial Oven Revamp, Will O' Wisp fix, UI Sounds Disabled, No Cars, Gnome Family Planner, Townies Out on the Town, No Martial Arts Clothes, Fast Skilling, etc. http://simsasylum.com/tfm/
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#70 Old 20th Jun 2016 at 11:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Shimrod101
Oh dear. So 3-4 years from now we will be required to endure another Sims game...


What we're expecting:





What we're getting:



Instructor
#71 Old 21st Jun 2016 at 1:36 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Shimrod101
Oh dear. So 3-4 years from now we will be required to endure another Sims game...

that you'll have to fix for EA/Maxis yet again. Poor modders.

The Sims 5 will be stick figure bobble heads.
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net...=20130823043719

Ugh I forgot how to work the image files already, sorry.
Theorist
#72 Old 21st Jun 2016 at 1:51 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Scobre
Seems like funding for the Sims 5 will be safe. http://jstationx.com/2016/06/16/the...million-copies/


This seems like a fan site more than a news site. News sites usually credit someone in authority when they report things like that, and sure you could say the developer has authority. But he never really answered the question when a player asked him on Twitter. Instead they said something like 'what do you think' to the person who asked.

That does not look like evidence to me, and the info has never been confirmed by EA. If it really did do that well I should think EA would be shouting about it from the roof top. The money they get from the Sims is pure profit to them because they don't have to pay any royalties to anyone.

Anyway, I'm highly skeptical what this 5 mil represents exactly and will continue to be skeptical until EA confirms that it's sales or not - and if they never confirm it's sales then it must stand for something else. 5 million bugs, maybe? I have no doubt that the game is selling, but at the same time they're advertising the base game at a 60% discount on the old TS3 Exchange (saw this in a banner ad just today). That doesn't scream 'I'm a five million seller' to me.

¢¾ Receptacle Refugee ¢¾ ~ Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket!? ~
Laura's Legacy
Scholar
#73 Old 21st Jun 2016 at 4:16 AM
The Sims has sold over 5 million copies. This was confirmed in a tweet by a sim guru several days ago, it was a topic on the main site. At any rate no one has to "endure" any sims game, Just don't play. As for me, I am a part of the celebration as I love Sims 4. As far as shouting from the roof, EA doesn't do that with any game. I am always amazed how some people are sure that just because they like or don't like something, everyone else should feel the same.
Theorist
#74 Old 21st Jun 2016 at 4:35 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Shimo815

What we're expecting:





What we're getting:





Hopping in real quick just to say, woah woah woah woah, don't diss Habbo like that.

Had some great memories on there, and retros were unbelievable enjoyable. Made one of my closest friends on there.
Forum Resident
#75 Old 21st Jun 2016 at 9:24 PM
Quote: Originally posted by tangie0906
This seems like a fan site more than a news site. News sites usually credit someone in authority when they report things like that, and sure you could say the developer has authority. But he never really answered the question when a player asked him on Twitter. Instead they said something like 'what do you think' to the person who asked.

That does not look like evidence to me, and the info has never been confirmed by EA. If it really did do that well I should think EA would be shouting about it from the roof top. The money they get from the Sims is pure profit to them because they don't have to pay any royalties to anyone.

Anyway, I'm highly skeptical what this 5 mil represents exactly and will continue to be skeptical until EA confirms that it's sales or not - and if they never confirm it's sales then it must stand for something else. 5 million bugs, maybe? I have no doubt that the game is selling, but at the same time they're advertising the base game at a 60% discount on the old TS3 Exchange (saw this in a banner ad just today). That doesn't scream 'I'm a five million seller' to me.


The dev pretty much confirmed that it was 5 million sales. Also, as mentioned above EA doesn't give direct numbers any more for any game. They used to back in TS2 days but not any more. This includes all of their games. The reason is pretty obvious why they do this any ways.

I don't know, seeing as how so many predicted the game would be dead by now and it's still pushing out content I'd say it's very likely it's doing more than just fine. I mean the dev's response is what will you trust then? Not an unbiased source ranking PC sales and not a dev so does it matter if he said it was 5 million? Some people would still just say no, not possible. I mean the game has been #1 in PC retail sales for 2 years now, it's not a stretch to then say it sold a high amount of copies.

My Simblr --->Glee & Squee
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