Players of the Sims 4 are getting upset over a new ad for the game's most recently announced expansion. It's not the content of the latest ad that's upsetting members of The Sims 4's fan base, but how it's being presented to them, appearing as a pop-up on the game's launch screen.

The newest expansion pack for The Sims 4 is named Life & Death. Revealed just a couple of days ago, the pack is planned for launch on October 31, just in time for Halloween, and it will include features like the ability to control ghostly Sims and build up their supernatural powers, as well as adding Bucket Lists for living Sims to allow them to rack up some additional lifetime rewards. Those who pre-order the expansion or pick it up by December 12 will gain access to some exclusive rewards, including the Lasting Legacy Family Portrait, the Mournful Melodies Music Box, and the Plumed Elegance Mask.

These three items are the subject of the new ad that's been popping up, and a lot of players seem pretty unhappy with the way EA has decided to present the Macabre Mementos ad to them. As noted on the game's Reddit by user Rainbow-Elephant3445, the rewards for ordering Life & Death are already shown in plain sight on the game's main menu screen, so adding a pop-up that appears when the game's launcher is loaded isn't just an annoyance, it's also redundant. The Sims 4 faced fan backlash for aggressive ads in February, adding a constantly pulsing button to the user interface that led to the game's DLC store.

To be fair, not all players have been annoyed by the pop-up's presence, and some seem to feel that it could even provide order rewards information to players who might have otherwise missed it. One commenter noted that many players seemed to have missed out on The Sims 4's Happy at Home rewards program despite the promotional images and links that appeared on the game's menu screen. That limited-time program launched in June and provided in-game furniture login rewards for players, including an exclusive dart board and a single-person bar.

Still, it seems like the majority of players want to avoid seeing in-game pop-up ads from EA in the future. Though originally launched in 2014 a fully-priced game, The Sims 4 went free-to-play in 2022, funding its continued lifespan through the release of numerous content packs and expansions. Although the base game is free, some players have expressed disappointment in seeing advertisements in a game that they pay money to access premium content through, with at least one stating that the ad has dissuaded them from purchasing Life & Death.

New annoying popup ad to click away when opening the game, before you get to the main menu. Info about new packs, the special event etc is already on the main menu, why do they need to ad even more?
byu/Rainbow-Elephant3445 inSims4

Posted: Oct 09, 2024 8:45 pm
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: https://gamerant.com/sims-4-life-death-expansion-ad-complaints/