True, but iirc sims 4 also released in a more cut-down state than sims 3 - in fact it was one of the pioneers of "paradoxification" of games and victim of other bullshit that EA was trying to pull, just like with simcity.

Anyway, my point was that with EA the up-front price they charge is not awfully relevant, because you have lootboxes, p2w, mtx, gambling, dlc of varying dollar value etc. so you might end up paying a crapload, live service or not.

I actually do want all the DLC in a game like that. The fact it's prohibitively expensive just means I've never actually bought any and stick to the Sims 3, a game where I do have all the expansions.

Or be risky and go indie. I got Valheim long ago, prices always go up.

do you not agree most games ARE feature rich in the first place? I mean compared to old $60 games.

which is a disingenuous way of framing the issue. if you’re including DLC you’re also getting much more content than old $60 games.