Pricing and inventory issues have been corrected, and The Sims Mobile team are giving players 150 SimCash for free for a limited time. See here for details.
One of the newest “features” introduced with the latest Sims Mobile game update, was the ability for players to purchase items by color swatch. This meant paying extra money for a different color variant of the same Create-a-Sim or Buy Mode item using in-game currency.
…Some of the swatches for the most expensive fridge in #TheSimsMobile cost 425 SimCash…basically the price of a stuff pack. A stuff pack! WOW. That’s outrageous even for a free to play game… 😬 pic.twitter.com/mjHUJKlfqX
— Julian/Iron Seagull (@Iron_Cgull) November 27, 2018
As you can imagine, the uproar from players spread from Facebook to Twitter, with players starting a #SimsNObile hashtag to share their thoughts. This “feature” was implemented in such a way that it costs about $14 to buy a color swatch for a dress or fridge.
What's that?! 10 Euro (= 12$) for ONE fcking Color from a Dress?! I can't believe it. I loved this game, daily player, pay enough cash for this game – BUT THIS?! #SimsNObile @TheSimsMobile pic.twitter.com/ae1kJiuP4t
— EpicRed (@Epic_Red) November 27, 2018
The Sims Mobile team eventually took to Twitter to let players know they have been heard, and sent out the following series of tweets:
Simmers, our latest update has caused some problems with purchased content. Our intent was to offer you better value, with single color items at a lower price, and options to add on later.
— The Sims Mobile (@TheSimsMobile) November 28, 2018
Something is not right with the update and clearly has not worked as designed and we’ve heard from many of you that you’re seeing pricing levels much higher than we intended. We’re sorry for this!
As well, any item you owned before the update should include ALL color options.
— The Sims Mobile (@TheSimsMobile) November 28, 2018
These are both being fixed ASAP.
Thank you for letting us know about this important issue, and again we apologize for the inconvenience.
— The Sims Mobile (@TheSimsMobile) November 28, 2018
As you can see in the tweets above, they claim that the intention was to offer single swatch items for a lower cost, presumably to entice players to spend more real money in the game on items they might otherwise not own or purchase. Where this goes, only EA knows.