9 Things The Sims 4 Has Ruined
7. Product Placement
It started back with the H&M Stuff Pack and the IKEA Stuff Pack for The Sims 2 in 2007 (which, by the way, was the second best selling game in Sweden for two weeks) that acted as focused Stuff Packs to add more furniture and clothing items.
The Sims 4 started out strong with tie-in packs such as the Moschino Stuff Pack that added valuable depth to the photography skill (even as just a Stuff Pack). How have we reached the likes of Game Pack: Journey to Batuu, which adds a glorified new location and objects designed so specifically for Star Wars that they stick out like Jabba the Hutt? Sure, now we can swing around lightsabers and build a spaceship in the middle of Newcrest, but why would I want to do that in a life simulator?
This direction of content proves the monetary mindset behind this new era of The Sims. Instead of satisfying the player bases' needs or adding more life to the life simulation like IKEA and H&M did, we now have immersion breaking references to real world properties. EA's product placement of mostly Star Wars properties started with odd costume choices (being some of the only costumes available in the base game) to an entire pack dedicated to a section of a Disney park. EA's prior links with Star Wars make this all the more egregious.