14 DAY TRIAL // Publisher EA and developer Maxis have released a brand new trailer for the upcoming video game The Sims 4, one that's packed with a ton of reveals, including the existence of a premium membership.
While seeing what the new and improved Sims are up to is always a blast, this is the sort of surprise that no doubt many will be displeased to see. The extensive 20-minute gameplay walkthrough advertises a "Premium" membership for The Sims 4, including various exclusives.
The screen capture above reads, "The Sims 4 Premium. Save on new packs with early access and exclusive items. Become a Premium member to get early access to three new packs, with exclusive items. Your Sims can throw a spooky costume party, camp in the great outdoors, and toast to the new year in style."
This isn't the first time that Electronic Arts pushes Premium memberships on its users, as the Battlefield series has had them for quite a while now, and even previous Sims games had Premium editions, but a membership would certainly be a first for the life simulation series.
Of course, this may not yet be set in stone, as one of the game's producers, Ryan Vaughan, notes at the beginning of the demonstrative video that everything showcased is in an unfinished state, and thus subject to change before the game's release.
The game was announced last August, and the details revealed so far point to a greatly enhanced experience compared to previous iterations, complete with a powerful building and character creation system and many redesigned tools that allow gamers more versatility when creating game content.
The game is based on the same premise, the player assumes control of a virtual cast of characters and manages their activities and relationships in a manner that is very similar to real life, complete with self-improvement activities, social interactions and career focus.
In addition to this, the AI has been improved, with the Sims' emotional state playing a much larger role in gameplay than in previous installments, translating into more complex social interactions based on the tiny virtual people's mood and personalities, and the ability for Sims to perform multiple tasks at once, for the first time in the long-standing series.
The Sims 4 is scheduled to come out for Windows PC on September 2 in North America and on September 4 in Europe and PAL territories, with a Mac version of the game also in the cards, to be released at a later date.
