Community has always been at the heart of The Sims, and the game has benefited from a development cycle that has coincided with the golden age of social media where communities migrated onto online platforms, making discussions more accessible and relevant than ever before. With a game like The Sims 4 that imitates life and technology, and allows for real-time updates, the sky is the limit for potential content, especially with the opportunity the developer has to tap into the community's opinions.
The developer has done this in the form of community feedback, which has resulted in free Create-a-Sim updates such as improving the amount and quality of skin tones available in Create-a-Sim. Free Build Mode updates as well as new food and clothes from different cultures have also appeared. Another terrific strategy that's been well-received has been offering Simmers a range of conceptual content options and giving them the chance to vote on which concept would make it into The Sims as an expansion pack or, more recently, a Kit.
The History of Voting in The Sims 4
One of the first opportunities The Sims community had to vote for a content pack was in 2018 with The Sims 4: Laundry Day Stuff pack, where Simmers were given the opportunity to vote between Eco Living Stuff, Starter Home Stuff, Arcade Stuff, Dangerous Stuff, and Wedding Stuff, where ultimately Eco Living Stuff was chosen by the community. Later, Simmers could vote between two art styles, "Style A" and "Style B", where Style B was chosen. After several more rounds of voting, the content of the pack was narrowed down to The Sims 4: Laundry Day Stuff that's present in the current pack on sale. Notably, the content of Eco Living Stuff went on to become the expansion pack The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle, while The Sims 4: My Wedding Stories was another option.
The Sims 4: Nifty Knitting was the only other opportunity Simmers have had to vote on a stuff pack; more recently, voting has been limited to Kits, which seem to have replaced the more robust stuff packs for now. In the most recent kit vote, Simmers had the chance to vote twice, with two options for each vote. The first option was a Light rainbow or a Dark goth fashion theme, while the second vote was between a Past or Future theme. As Kits tend to be released in pairs, it's presumed the two winners will be released as two different Kits.
Why Community Voting in The Sims 4 Rules
Opening up future content decision choices to Simmers is a good omen for future content, even if it's for something like Kits that are numerous, light on content, and expensive. This is because the little content that Kits do provide needs to be valuable and needs to be what Simmers really want if players are ever going to buy them. What would be even better is to expand voting to certain content updates, game packs, and perhaps even expansion packs. While being able to vote for Kits is a step in the right direction and goes a long way to making the community feel heard, Kits are an expensive way for Simmers to customize their experience, and a more accessible way to bring in the community's input would be through larger content packs and free updates.
With more accessibility for the community and opportunities for constructive feedback, The Sims 4 has the opportunity to deliver content that's more creative, diverse, and better than it's been in the past. It serves as a positive step forward in terms of communication between game development teams and fans, not just for The Sims, but beyond.
The Sims 4 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.