The Big Debate: DLC vs CC

Original Oasis Spring map and Fanart by NoirSim and DerShayan

A long-debated aspect within the community is DLC vs CC, the battle between community content and the content The Sims team give to us. In this article, I am going to take a look at both concepts and discuss my opinion from some research I did.

Let me get right in there - I believe that just owning the base game can quickly become boring. Personally, my favourite aspect of the game is the gameplay, I can do this using the base game by engaging in community challenges BUT I still feel the need to mod my game. By modding my game, it brings a new aspect of realism, my favourite being ‘Slice of Life’ (I can’t play without it) but why don’t we have these basic things like acne and mood swings in the game?

Some would argue that the continuing release of DLC’s by the Sims team is simply a money-making scheme, many Simmers are hooked on having a complete collection and purchase content whether it matches their interests or not [see figure 1]. For those who don’t and purchase the content that genuinely interests them, this ever-growing franchise gives Simmers the opportunity to create a game that is individual to them, tailored to their interests.

Figure 1

However, looking at the franchise as a way of creating a personalised game, using CC surely does the same? CC allows for more diversity in individual Simmer’s games, and like some mods, it also adds more realism to the game - with packs like ‘Simkea’ inspired by real furniture from Ikea. It could be argued that The Sim’s was never intended to be realistic as it takes away from the enjoyment and that’s why the franchise lacks in ways that the community have to make up for themselves. The matter of fact is, that there is absolutely no way that The Sims team is ever going to please everyone who plays the game and that allowing individuals to incorporate CC into the game it gives it ever-lasting playability, one which EA can continue to profit from. I looked specifically at research into fan-created content and found that many believe mods have considerable value and whilst being a bit of a phenomenon should be encouraged to benefit the company (Postigo, 2007) – you can read more on that here.

My next point looks at the community the game has built, with the addition of CC, the community became a place that individuals shared their gaming experience. In my research, I found that Cao et al. (2009) supported gaming communities as it enhances competition along with shared goals. This development of the community, therefore, builds up customer loyalty and allows for co-development – something I’ll look at in the next paragraph.

Community pack options (March 2020)

The community built around the game benefits the franchise as it creates a ‘need’ for more additions whether players like them or not. The Sims introduction of community chosen packs build upon the game directly using the community itself - all while trying to please the masses - but issues arise from this as we are already seeing CC creators develop these items we have been shown before the pack is released (check out an article from PC Gamer on this on my resource page!) Will we see a decline in sales of this new pack or will It make no difference because people want a collection? Only time will tell…

From my perspective, it seems that both concepts equate to positives for all the community, the game and EA – just all in different ways. It also seems like having the option to have both supports the game and keeps it from becoming tiresome and dull, and this ever-developing engagement is why many have been playing the same game for two decades.