The development process for The Sims 4 on consoles was about more than iterating on previous console versions. In both the fan community and behind the scenes the PC game was a large part of the discussion, and controversy, Sims producer Michael Duke recalled to Player.One.
“The bigger thing I see with the last few iterations of console was it always seemed to create this ‘us and them’ divide amongst our community ...Who had which game. ‘...but on the console we got karma powers and PC never got that, hahaha.’ It’s not really where we want to be,” he said.
EA and Maxis took these differences in opinion and put them at the very core of The Sims latest port to Xbox and PS4.
“One of the major things we talked about was with Sims 4 is I think we are at a place where this generation of consoles can actually pull off a true at-parity port,” Duke said. “We can actually deliver all of the gameplay, all of the systems, all of the features that our PC players love to our console audience and it can stop being about which version is the best and it can be about, where do you want to play?”
For the first time ever, The Sims 4 on consoles is actually more fundamentally similar to the PC version than previous iterations on Xbox and PS4. The only real difference and source of inevitable controversy (as it has been in every console version) is the control system, but Duke is hopeful players will embrace Sims 4 on consoles despite the differences.
“It’s a little hard to predict. I hope what happens is they give it a chance. It’s one of the nicer things about when you release like a full game disk release. When someone pays you money before they ever start, there's a desire to play for a little bit and really give something a chance,” he said. “It’s not like you just downloaded a free game on the app store. I feel like in that situation, I may lose you in the first 10 seconds if I did something to frustrate you. My hope is, there may be a little struggle at first, ‘Oh it's not just like that other thing I expected,’ but pretty quickly it’s, ‘But wow, this is a big step forward from any version of The Sims I've ever seen on the console before.’”
This version of Sims 4 on consoles contains the exact same features as the PC version, unlike the past where certain expansion packs had different gameplay, prompting the divide in the community about which platform is better. This time around, console players will also receive DLC rollouts and updates just like the PC players. As someone who prefers playing the Sims 4 on his sofa in front of the big screen with a beer beside him, Duke is very proud of how far the game has come in the last decade.
“Visually, I think the game is very striking how different it is. On my desk I actually keep the PS3 Sims 3 version up on a screen side by side with the Sims 4 . You can see the evolution. It’s pretty impactful. I hope they will take the time to discover how much fun Sims 4 really is,” he said.
The Sims 4 is available Nov. 17 on Xbox One and PS4.
