If EA releases another party pack what would it have to have for you to buy it?

[nataku]

I'm not trying to stir anything up, I'm just curious. This question is meant for everyone but it's especially aimed at the people who wont buy the holiday party pack for whatever reason. Maybe someone with the company will see this thread and make a few suggestions to marketing and the designers...but probably not.

So the question is:

What would have to be included in the next party pack (if another one was released and it wasn't another holiday pack) for you to consider buying it? It can be clothes, interactions, objects, themes, anything...

Bonus question: Would you NOT buy a party pack if it was only available through the EA online store, versus being able to buy them at Walmart (I dont know what the discount retail chains are outside the US sorry), or gaming retailers such as Gamestop or EBgames?

I'd prefer to just go to Walmart or order from EBgames.

I'd like to see some themes with a cultural flavor for houses like South African, Indian (Hindu?), French (Louis XIV type stuff), Egyptian and Japanese (I know they have the asian theme but it seems predominantly Korean), plus everyday - and possibly formal - clothing to match each theme for all ages and genders. Kimonos would be wonderful (especially for men) the asian clothing in the game also seems to favor the Korean style. Nothing wrong with that, but I love Japan, the architecture, art and the traditional clothing, so that would be a must buy for me.

Other kinds of themes I'd buy would be gothic, science fiction/UFO, south western, victorian (include clothes and a fancy chandelier with that!), Fantasy (for a more fitting neighborhood/house for the Elves) + appropriate clothing; Seafarer since they've got those pirate looking clothes in the game I think they aught to have a pirate theme to match; Medieval - I know they have that collection in the game but I'd like to see more added to it, especially a medieval type ceiling light which is NOT in the game despite their having added medieval style floor, wall, and table lamps with University.

Heck I'd probably be tempted to buy a party pack of just utilities (lights, appliances, bathroom fixtures) so long as it contained a variety of ceiling lamps and new styles of kitchen/bathroom fixtures because I dont like most of the Maxis ceiling fixtures and there's so few as it is (I dont think they added any new ceiling fixtures in NL or Uni) and the kitchen/bathroom pieces dont suit some of the themes they have included in the game. If I have a medieval neighborhood I dont want modern toilets and tubs!

I might even buy a pack that contained nothing but wall items (just no more posters!) and "clutter" type items as I'd like a wider variety for paintings and tapestries when decorating my houses so they dont all have the same artwork; and I'd like the clutter for adding that homey touch so the place looks a little more personal (desktop pictures, etc...) as though someone actually lives there... (if some of that could be placed on the fireplace mantels that would be nice...). Half the paintings I download from Sims2 sites dont work regardless of the fact that I have all the files or the most recent CEP; most of the ones that do work are paintings that require me to download a new mesh, it's the recolors of maxis paintings that seem to be the most trouble.

[skandelouslala]

I like the idea of using cultural themes a lot.  Those are the kind of things I'm always trying to download anyways.  I'm still having a hard time finding a lot of things I want object and clothes wise.

One that contained new building things...I would perhaps be likely to purchase.  And no!  Not walls and floors.  Those are a dime a dozen.  Everything but walls and floors and terrain paints and things like that heh

New interactions would intrigue me..again it would depend on what they were.  But if they created new family type interactions and objects that children and toddlers could interact with..things like that..it would spark my attention....TS2 is seriously lacking in the family interaction department.

[Brynne]

New interactions would be the biggest draw for me, as well.
Maybe de-fog those damn car windows...

[SaraMK]

If they made a pack with hair, they'd be guaranteed to get my money. No matter how much hair I download I never seem to be satisfied.

I would be most interested in a pack of objects/interractions for young sims (baby-child), and even for teens depending on what they are.

I would also probably go for new kitchen appliances and foods, but the appliances would have to do something special, not just do what the others do already. For example it could be a waffle maker that would be the only thing that could make waffles. Or something like that.

I would also go for a pack of objects for either filthy rich or horribly poor sims. I can never have too many of those, either.

New build mode objects would be okay by me. And ever since NL I have been longing for new neighborhood objects... but I see these are being made by players already, so I might get satisfaction without giving Maxis money. Still, if they looked good I would buy.

I don't really like the idea of the holiday pack, but that is my own prejudice against it. I hate holidays in real life and I never do them in the game. Still, considering that practically my whole family plays the game, I will end up with the pack whether I want it or not. And that goes for anything else Maxis puts out. So I guess I'm a bad person to ask these questions in the first place.

[Brynne]

I think my major complaint about the idea of a holiday pack is that, come Dec.26th, it'll be put away with the rest of the Christmas stuff that I'd be so tired of looking at.

[SciBirg]

I am with SaraMK: Gimme more hair!!!!

New interactions and building mode items are good too.
I only discovered the fabulous half-walls in NL yesterday. Now I got to redo "the Badenoch" (my Victorian house based on a turn-of-the century floorplan).

NEW LTW's and turnon/turnoffs would also be muchly appreciated.

[windy_moon]

I'd be most likely to go for a new pack that included new careers and new food. 

(I doubt that Maxis could do half the job on clothes that the community does, although if they could cough up some good MEN'S clothing, I'd be happy.)

A general Entertaining pack would be excellent.  I am so bored of serving guests the same Plate O' Turkey, I could puke.

How about a buffet table that let you choose your menu, with different prices depending on the fare?  Serve 'em Sushi and Lamb Chops if you have the cash.   Imagine a bar that let you choose to serve cosmopolitans or Jack Daniels?  (Product placement money, too! )

Tablecloths with candles.

Tools to serve an elegant party would be great...and then if you put in the Maxis sense of humour, your trashier Sims could put out funny cheap food.

Let us put the potato chips in a BOWL.  Why are guests going to the fridge to get potato chips out for themselves? 

Hire a frickin' waiter for the party so the Sims don't have to clean up that night to keep roaches from coming.

I've got more....

[Sagana]

I want things that it's difficult for the community to create and things that make it easier for community to make new different things. New animations (how about slides and jungle gyms and other park toys for kids, strollers for little ones, etc.) If they do clothes, I want interesting meshes, same with furniture - good stuff for fun recolors. Things that have a long life because the community can build from them. New interactions would be good. New LTWs, turn-ons, aspirations, careers, degrees and all the stuff I'm really sick of already would be awesome of course

[skandelouslala]

Maxis needs to start taking notes!


Careers..oh yes how badly the game needs new careers...turn ons/off would be  nice just for variety but they seem to be somewhat pointless in the whole scheme of the attraction meter...they can sometimes push two sims that have everything else in common up to three bolts of chemistry though...new lifetime wants....party pack or next EP..I don't care...I'm sick of these lifetime wants already..even the LTW Variety mod  isn't doing much in easing the boredom these days.

[hyperCat]

The whole concept of expansion and booster packs makes me angry because I'm paying for things that could've or should've been in the base game, and more often than not, the additional content doesn't justify the price. I don't like the way the Sims, in particular, has a new expansion every 6 months, whether the previous ones are riddled with bugs or not, and now they're throwing together some Christmas rubbish and trying to sell it to me for $20? No, I'm not buying it, and there's no way I'd ever buy a booster pack because, goddamnit, it should be packaged into the next expansion. I'd still be angry, but at least I'll buy their bloody expansions.

[Ness]

the whole idea of booster packs makes me extremely irate, too...  particularly when you hear just how much they are planning on charging for it here in Australia...  I made a snippy little post about it on the official board, and well...  nobody there seemed to care at all...

although - if they were to put some stuff in that I would be interested in, then I probably would hand over the cash...

I think most of them have been listed, but careers, lifetime wants, turn on/offs, in particular...  But the one thing I feel is really missing is stuff for kids - it would be great to see the child and toddler stage of the game fleshed out - as it is my toddlers concentrate on building charisma as fast as possible and my kids - they paint, play chess and hopefully stop whining at me long enough for me to make them do their homework!  Just like in sims 1 - the kids are pretty much a waste of space (although, once I had vacation I would use the kids to make family friends for the promotions), but at least they now grow up!

I guess the other end of things would also be good - to fill in that gap between adult and elder - let sims age gracefully as well! 

I'd love to see gardening stuff come back - but the one thing that I most definitely do NOT want is pets!  *shudder*

Ness

EDIT:  I just noticed the bonus question - if the booster pack was ONLY available in online stores, then there isn't a snowball's chance in a very hot place of me ever buying it!

[Motoki]

I think my major complaint about the idea of a holiday pack is that, come Dec.26th, it'll be put away with the rest of the Christmas stuff that I'd be so tired of looking at.

Don't forget, you can throw a New Year's party too. 

But yes, I don't like the idea of paying for very limited and seasonal items.

I feel like they really need to provide things that the community can't at this point, which means new animations and interactions and such. New careers would be nice too but they really need to get off their ass and do the chance cards for every level this time. :p I don't really trust them to make decent clothes or hair textures, but I suppose if the meshes are there then people can always redo the textures. 

I know a lot of people have talked about a middle aged age group and I'd really like to see this too, but I don't see them doing it, it's just not as flashy and appealing to them. If they made an expansion pack that expanded on elders and added more and better looking clothes for them, things for them to do and advantages to being one and just made them generally look not so damned old and frumpy I'd be there, but again I don't see that happening. It's just not flashy enough for them.

As far as where to buy it from, I really feel like they should give us the option to buy and download these packs online and pass the savings of not having to pay for a CD, box and shipping along to us. Prima does this with their guides already and these packs are nowhere near as large as a full expansion plus many of us have broadband so I think this is reasonable. I'm much more likely to buy and download such a pack for $10 than to go to the store and buy it for $15.

[Bangelnuts]

I think my major complaint about the idea of a holiday pack is that, come Dec.26th, it'll be put away with the rest of the Christmas stuff that I'd be so tired of looking at.

Don't forget, you can throw a New Year's party too. 

But yes, I don't like the idea of paying for very limited and seasonal items.

I feel like they really need to provide things that the community can't at this point, which means new animations and interactions and such. New careers would be nice too but they really need to get off their ass and do the chance cards for every level this time. :p I don't really trust them to make decent clothes or hair textures, but I suppose if the meshes are there then people can always redo the textures. 

I know a lot of people have talked about a middle aged age group and I'd really like to see this too, but I don't see them doing it, it's just not as flashy and appealing to them. If they made an expansion pack that expanded on elders and added more and better looking clothes for them, things for them to do and advantages to being one and just made them generally look not so damned old and frumpy I'd be there, but again I don't see that happening. It's just not flashy enough for them.

As far as where to buy it from, I really feel like they should give us the option to buy and download these packs online and pass the savings of not having to pay for a CD, box and shipping along to us. Prima does this with their guides already and these packs are nowhere near as large as a full expansion plus many of us have broadband so I think this is reasonable. I'm much more likely to buy and download such a pack for $10 than to go to the store and buy it for $15.

I would like to see more  animations and interaction s among the age groups .I would buy it if the  house hold animations were more realistic ie certain food like chips and cookies go in a pantry and and then are put into bowls  who refrigerates cookies and chips in RL. and whoever designs maxis default anything has no taste whatso ever Elders are always stooped over and frumpy there is no middle age I would buy an add on if it contained realism and better animation.I did buy the holiday pack but only because I have a new neighborhood planned that centers on a never ending holiday and what it would be like if it was always christmas or new years etc

[Kala]

I agree with everyone that's saying booster packs need things the community can't make.  I refuse to pay ten dollars just for objects and a body shop iteam or two.  If I won't give Sim creator with more talent and taste that money, why should I give it to Maxis?

I think Maxis could have made the holiday booster into a full fledged EP if they put some thought and effort in to it.  I'd like my sims to do it big on Halloween.  I'd love it if they made up special holidays just for the sims.  More types of parties would be great too.  Like baby showers, dinner parties and such.

I wouldn't buy anything from Maxis if it was only sold in the EA store.  I don't have credit card or Paypal. 

[AllenABQ]

Themed holiday packs - no.  Like others, I'd be tired of that content in short notice and it wouldn't get used for a year until the holiday rolled around again.  Besides look at all the great stuff people have created for holidays on their own.

Now if the theme pack included a ton of new stuff for kids, that would be another matter entirely.  Playpens (how could they miss that?), sandboxes, teeter-totters, new toys, ones that build skills, and in the interactions to go with them, etc.  I think an object-interaction pack that centered around stuff like that would make me willing to shell out for it.  Although, like Motoki suggested, I think it should also be sold as a discounted download version.  I think that would be a very smart move on EA's part.

But man, it seems like every possible style for women has been made by modders.   I'd love it if they just did a "Men Only pack" including *at least* a dozen new hairstyles, better facial hair, and new clothing designs/meshes for all ages.  Men still suffer terribly in this game compared to women.

[KellyQ]

Themed holiday packs - no.  Like others, I'd be tired of that content in short notice and it wouldn't get used for a year until the holiday rolled around again.  Besides look at all the great stuff people have created for holidays on their own.

Now if the theme pack included a ton of new stuff for kids, that would be another matter entirely.  Playpens (how could they miss that?), sandboxes, teeter-totters, new toys, ones that build skills, and in the interactions to go with them, etc.  I think an object-interaction pack that centered around stuff like that would make me willing to shell out for it.  Although, like Motoki suggested, I think it should also be sold as a discounted download version.  I think that would be a very smart move on EA's part.

But man, it seems like every possible style for women has been made by modders.   I'd love it if they just did a "Men Only pack" including *at least* a dozen new hairstyles, better facial hair, and new clothing designs/meshes for all ages.  Men still suffer terribly in this game compared to women.

I have about -0 degrees of interest in getting the holiday pack, it just doesn't appeal to me.
I agree with that. I would love to have more things for babies/toddlers/children to do and more interactions for them with adults. Having an adult be able to sit down and rock the baby/toddler would be a good begining, I recall doing that quite a bit when my kids were small. In TS1 they had that cool jungle gym with a slide for kids, I would like to have that for TS2. Not to mention, why can't children fix their own darned cereal or sandwiches?
I would also like to see something geared for men as well. I spend a lot of time trying to find hair and clothing for the men and teenage boys, there doesn't seem to be a lot out there.
As far as ordering it goes, I prefer walking into walmart then paying s&h charges for what I consider to be overpriced items in the first place. I think the best idea is what Motoki said, sell it as a download. Of course for those that don't have internet access for whatever reason, that obviously wouldn't work.

[idtaminger]

I'd like to see things that the modding community can't do, at least not currently, and probably not for a while, like new animations, interactions, ltw, turn-on/offs, etc.

Custom content I can get anywhere, and it's stuff that Maxis always gets wrong anyways. So that I'm not too kneen on that. I definitely think Maxis should capitalize on things that aren't available elsewhere, in better forms, but rather things that as of now only Maxis can provide.

[nataku]

Well I won't be buying the Holiday Party Pack just on principle, I refuse to pay for something that other people are getting free (The Holiday Edition sells for the same price as The Sims 2 CD so tell me how the christmas stuff isn't a FREE BONUS!), I dont do holidays in the Sims since it's not as if they have seasons or anything to set the scene - christmas decorations on green grass looks stupid to me. But if they provided booster/party packs with interesting, year round things like I had mentioned or things you all have mentioned - I thought you all had great ideas - then I'd buy them. And I agree, men and boys seriously get the short end of the stick.

As a gamer, albiet a casual one, paying for stuff like this is just something I accept as being part of the gaming industry, I dont really mind paying for booster packs because I dont have to buy them if I dont want what it's offering and it's not an expansion so the game isn't reliant on my having the booster packs in order to have certain features enabled. But I do think they're asking a little much for the pack, especially since if they dropped the price they'd probably sell even more of the packs and hence make more money than they would have.

[KellyQ]

Well I won't be buying the Holiday Party Pack just on principle, I refuse to pay for something that other people are getting free (The Holiday Edition sells for the same price as The Sims 2 CD so tell me how the christmas stuff isn't a FREE BONUS!)

No kidding. They are selling TS2 w/holiday content to people who didn't buy the original game when it first came out for around $40.00 USD but I am penalized because I already bought it and to get the holiday stuff I have to shell out another $15-20? So I'm paying $55-60 for something that other people will get for $40. Does that smell like bullshit to anyone but me?
Of course companies do that all the time. I was looking at Amazon.com the other day and saw that the HBO Sex & the City series is now coming out with a complete boxed set for less then what it cost me to buy each season individually. There were some very unhappy posts being made about that little event.

[Sagana]

I'm mad about the Holiday Pack and I won't buy it...

Unless... it has in it an animation of children sitting on Santa's lap, and then I will end up buying it because modders will soon fix that to be not Christmas-oriented and use it in other situations, and I'll want...

And I'll still be mad, more mad, furious even at the whole thing...

[Motoki]

I'd definitely go for any sort of men's pack. I also agree that males are very neglected when it comes to custom content. I'm VERY picky about what women's stuff I download because there is so much of it, but I am far less so about men's stuff just because there really isn't much out there to begin with.

[Bangelnuts]

I'd definitely go for any sort of men's pack. I also agree that males are very neglected when it comes to custom content. I'm VERY picky about what women's stuff I download because there is so much of it, but I am far less so about men's stuff just because there really isn't much out there to begin with.

so would I the men are horribly neglected by maxis

[simmiecal]

I'd like to see things that the modding community can't do, at least not currently, and probably not for a while, like new animations, interactions, ltw, turn-on/offs, etc.

Custom content I can get anywhere, and it's stuff that Maxis always gets wrong anyways. So that I'm not too kneen on that. I definitely think Maxis should capitalize on things that aren't available elsewhere, in better forms, but rather things that as of now only Maxis can provide.

This is my thought also. Maxis will make an ugly shirt and recolor it three times and call it four shirts.  My sims almost never wear Maxis made hair, clothes or make-up - there's far better choices available in the community. If Maxis actually spent time creating say 20 new items (as opposed to creating five new items and recoloring each one four times) and they were items that were substantially different from existing items (giving the community new meshes to work from) that would really get my interest.

I also like the idea of themed items - like gothic, 50's, victorian, etc. Not everyone wants these different settings, but each setting would still have broad appeal.

I don't mind paying for a booster pack but I do mind that the holiday booster pack is being given away free to some people while I have to pay for it since I've already purchased the product. Please tell me how I'm not getting screwed?

[Motoki]

The clothes they make has got to be the most bland stuff I have ever seen in my life. I've gotten to the point where I even can't stand to have townies dressed in Maxis clothes. Usually, I'll only use their clothing if I want to make a sim who's extra frumpy. Some of the University and NL stuff is a little less dull, but then a lot of that they took to the other extreme and made totally tacky.

[Diala]

That is my personal pet peeve about the community: men stuff, especially clothing, seem to be far and few in between. Sure, women get 30 wedding dresses with only a change of color in the small belt around her waist, but I rarely find anything for men that doesn't have some "cool" company logo slapped onto it.

Like I said in another thread, I like objects, especially usable objects. Kitchen appliances, bathroom fixtures, and all that stuff would make me consider buying a booster pack. What would win me over, however, is if Sims could store food in the fridge or some object, where it wouldn't go bad. It sucks when I have four sims hungry at the same time, but the game makes six meals, so two end up setting out and going bad. It'd be excellent for Sims in a hurry.