document_title: The Sims 4

question_text: when does the sims 4 get to work come out

text: The Sims 4

text: Gameplay[edit]

text: The Sims 4 is a life simulation game, similar to its predecessors. Players create a Sim character and control their life to explore different personalities which change the way the game plays out. Sims can multitask such as talk while doing a task. Sims' moodlets also change the gameplay. For example, a Sim can do a task while being either angry or totally excited.[6][7][8]

text: Similar to previous Sims games, player-created challenges abound. One of the most prevalent is the Legacy Challenge, in which players create a single Sim and try to make its family line last for ten generations.[9]

text: Create a Sim (CAS)[edit]

text: One major change to the Sims 4 Create A Sim functionality is that sliders have been replaced by direct mouse click, drag and pull. Through mouse click, drag and pull players may directly manipulate the facial features of a Sim. Players can also directly manipulate any body part including the abdomen, chest, legs, arms and feet. In previous Sims games only the fitness and fatness can be manipulated on a Sims body. However, fitness and fatness levels may still be adjusted in The Sims 4 with sliders as in previous games. The base games comes with over 40 hairstyles for both men and women. There are up to 18 hair colour options per hairstyle. Selections of premade designs of Sims are available to choose from, ranging from different body shapes to ethnicities.

text: Seven life stages are available including baby, toddler, child, teenager, young adult, adult and elder. The baby life stage is accessible only through the birth of a Sim and not available in Create A Sim. Toddlers were initially absent from the original game release, but were added in the January 2017 patch.[10][11]

text: Traits have returned with each Sim having three traits and an aspiration containing its own hidden trait.

text: Compared to previous Sims games where everyday, formal, sleepwear, athletic, party and swimwear wardrobes were restricted to having their own clothing options, all clothing options are now available across all forms of wardrobe and players are allowed up to 5 outfits per category. There is also a filter panel where clothing options can be sorted by color, material, outfit category, fashion choice, style, content and packs.

text: In a Summer 2016 update, gender options were expanded in the game, allowing any gender expression. Now all the haircuts and outfits can be worn by any Sim of any gender, and pregnancy can become a possibility regardless of the gender.[12][13]

text: Buy/build mode[edit]

text: In The Sims 4, build and buy modes have been combined and is now treated as a single feature.[14]

text: A detailed build-and-buy system is present along with neighborhoods and landscaping. Some locked buy mode items may be unlocked through the progression of career levels. Entire buildings and rooms can now be moved across the lot. There is now a search option to search for build and buy mode options. When building a house for your sim you can buy already made rooms which can help but costs a lot of money depending on the style of the room. Wall heights can also now be adjusted. There is also a pool tool feature with a custom version and triangular, square and octagonal pool tools. There are build mode cheats such as "motherlode", which enables the player to automatically gain §50,000 (simoleons) to buy things with.[15]

text: The Gallery[edit]

text: The Sims 4 includes social features, such as importing Sims and houses other people have made from The Gallery into the player's game. This impacts the world around the player's Sims. Players may publish their creations into the Gallery for other players to download into their game instantly.[16]

text: On January 9, 2015, EA released a version of The Gallery for iOS and Android devices.[17]

text: Worlds[edit]

text: The Sims 4 base game originally shipped with two worlds: Willow Creek and Oasis Springs. Both worlds contain five neighborhoods and a total of 21 lots. With the release of Outdoor Retreat, the world Granite Falls was available for visiting on outdoor vacations. Newcrest became available with a free update, having three neighborhoods with five empty lots in each, for a total of 15 lots.[18] Magnolia Promenade came with the Get to Work Expansion Pack, and Windenburg was introduced in the Get Together Expansion Pack.[19] The City Living Expansion Pack, released in November 2016, introduced the new bustling city of San Myshuno.[20] The Vampires Game Pack added the neighborhood Forgotten Hollow.[21] In November 2017, the seaside town of Brindleton Bay was added in the Cats and Dogs Expansion Pack.[22][23]

text: Development[edit]

text: The Sims 4 was developed by The Sims Studio, a division of the Electronic Arts subsidiary Maxis, and was distributed by Electronic Arts.[24] This is similar yet different to the development of The Sims 3, which was developed by The Sims Studio standalone from the (at the time) diminished Maxis.

text: The Sims 4 is a single-player game,[25] and does not require a constant Internet connection to play. Players will however need an Origin account and Internet access during the initial installation process for game activation.[26] Ilan Eshkeri serves as the composer for the game's orchestral soundtrack, which was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra.[27][28]

text: On April 25, 2013, several screenshots from mock-up flash videos of the user interface were leaked online.[29] On May 3, 2013, Electronic Arts sent out an e-mail to several fansites stating that there would be a big announcement on May 6, 2013, which many speculated would be The Sims 4.[30]

text: On August 20, 2013, The Sims 4 was revealed via gameplay demo and release trailer at Gamescom. Previews of the building and character creation systems debuted earlier in 2014. Additional game footage and the release date were revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 9, 2014.[1]

text: Gameplay was unveiled during Gamescom 2013, held at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. Unveiled features focused on the improved Create-a-Sim with an all-new click-and-drag feature omitting the use of sliders and the addition of emotion-based gameplay.[31] Select players called Yibsims who mostly manage fan sites and YouTube videos were invited to Sims Camp to see the game before the public and press, consequently the game received minimal coverage outside fansites. Maxis stated the game would run better on lower-end PCs than The Sims 3, which was plagued with performance issues on low-end and high-end PCs.[32]

text: It was suspected that The Sims 4 was scheduled to be released in early 2014, but it was later revealed it would in fact be released September 2, 2014.[1][33]

text: On May 14, 2014, producer Ryan Vaughan unveiled another Create-a-Sim trailer on the official The Sims YouTube channel. This included a preview of what the premade Sims Bella Goth and Mortimer Goth would look like in The Sims 4.[34] The development team unveiled another trailer on May 28, 2014 that showcased the new Build Mode features. Players will now be able to choose between three different wall heights and adjust the location of a window on a wall, as well as be able to move an entire room from one position to another.[35]

text: EA unveiled another gameplay trailer including more gameplay footage and announced the release date of the game, September 2, 2014, during a press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 9, 2014. The Sims 4 was released on September 2 for North America and September 4 for EU, Australia and Brazil.[1]

text: On June 28, 2014, a video was released showing the "originality" of each sim and their emotions.[36]

text: In January 2015, Maxis announced Outdoor Retreat, the first paid DLC for The Sims 4.[37] The DLC focuses on outdoor activities in the national park.

text: Until mid-2017, there were no plans for a console release.[38][39] However, versions of the game for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were officially confirmed for release on November 17, 2017.[40]

text: Mac development[edit]

text: Upon first announcement, EA stated that The Sims 4 was in development for both for Mac and Windows, both to be released in 2014.[41] However, closer to release date, the company stated that they were "focused [on] Windows"[42] and had "no updates on the Mac at this time".[43] In October 2014 further information was disclosed suggesting the future release of a Mac version. Vaughn told International Business Times that the team was "working on a Mac version right now."[44] On January 13, 2015, EA confirmed the release of the Mac version as being February 2015.[45] On February 2, they announced via the official The Sims Twitter feed that the Mac version of The Sims 4 would be released on February 17.[2]

text: Features controversy[edit]

text: On June 25, 2014, EA and Maxis announced the omission of several gameplay features in The Sims 4 that had been included in previous games. These omitted features include swimming pools, swimming wear, and the "toddler" life stage; this announcement also noted the lack of an open-world found in The Sims 3, stating neighborhood gameplay would be separated by loading screens.[46][47] Earlier in the development process, a fan-site interview with a producer had revealed Create-a-Style (CAS), a customization feature introduced in the previous Sims game, would not be added to The Sims 4 in lieu of other features.[48] The developers then announced through a series of tweets that the game would ship with a 'stripped-down' version of story-progression (a gameplay mechanic controlling neighborhood autonomy), and that basements, grocery stores, and school and work locations would not be featured in the game. While careers and schools would still be featured, they would be represented differently from The Sims 3, more akin to the way they were featured in The Sims 2.[49][50][51]

text: These announcements sparked unrest among many fans who speculated that the exclusion of arguably core features were intended by the developers or parent company to be left out for later paid content, or in order to make rushed deadlines.[52][53] A petition was launched by some fans to have the features restored for the initial release, even if the release date were to be pushed back.[54]

text: Maxis contended that it was not possible to include every feature in the new game that had been added over time in the six years The Sims 3 was in development, and that these could always be added at a later date, although they did not confirm exactly how this would be done, or whether it would be free or at a cost.[53] Some have speculated that many new features would be released through paid expansion packs, but others speculated that some of the more "basic, core" content (i.e. pools, toddlers) may be released as free patch updates, similar to how some new features were patched free into The Sims 3, such as basement features.[55]

text: Questioned as to why some features, such as a cupcake machine, were implemented over what many viewed as key gameplay, Maxis and The Sims producer Graham Nardone attributed the sacrifice to time constraints, the workload and distribution of developers (and the comparative lack of available developers to some areas of production to other areas), as well as risk factors:[56]

text: You can't weigh features by how much you want them in the game, you have to consider how many development resources it takes to create them. The tram? A couple of days from one of our FX guys and it's finished... very low risk, very low complexity (using entirely existing tech), and adds a nice visual punch to the neighborhood. I can’t recall ever scoping against FX... they always have time to be adding more stuff.

text: Our FX folks submitted their own long list of things they wanted to work on because there wasn’t enough for them to do. Now, you can’t take the FX team and ask them to add pools to the game. They don’t have the work skills to do it; neither do I. Pools, toddlers... they’re extremely complex features that require months of man hours of work across multiple disciplines and introduce significant risk.

text: If we were to have added one of those to the game, there would have been two choices for us... cut many small features, or cut one other significantly large feature.

text: Maxis and The Sims producer Rachel Rubin Franklin later elaborated in an official blog post, acknowledging the concerns of fans, and explained the issue on the developer's focus on The Sims 4's new core game engine technologies, and that the sacrifices the team had to make were a "hard pill to swallow":

text: It begins with new technology and systems that we built for this new base game for The Sims... the vision for The Sims 4 is a new experience... to do that, our technology base needed a major upgrade.

text: ...when we sat down and looked at everything we wanted to do for this game, all the new tech we wanted to build into it, the fact was that there would be trade-offs, and these would disappoint some of our fans. Hard pill to swallow, believe me, but delivering on the vision set out for The Sims 4 required focus.

text: Franklin stated new features such as Sim emotions, advanced Sim animation, interaction and behaviours, as well as the new Create-a-Sim and build mode tools as a large part of the reason that detracted focus from features such as swimming pools and the toddler life stage.[57]

text: However, on October 1, 2014, Maxis confirmed that one of its missing features, swimming pools, along with other new updates and features, would be added into the game for free in November, and this happened in the form of a game patch.[58][59][60] Other features like basements have later been added in subsequent patches, and the missing "toddler" life stage was eventually added for free in a patch released on January 12, 2017.[10][11]

text:
Significant features added via free game patches

Patch release date
Significant features added[61]

October 1, 2014
Ghost, a new type of sim that is an optional addition to the game, the Deathflower plant, and the "Ambrosia" cooking recipe; Star Wars costumes: Yoda, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader.

November 4, 2014
Swimming pools; various swimwear.

December 16, 2014
Two new active careers: Business and Athletic; Paid Time Off and Family Leave options.

February 3, 2015
Genealogy panel, displaying a Sim's family tree.

March 26, 2015
Basements, down to two levels down, and an additional above ground floor, bringing the total floors available to six; the Notebook feature on the phone, which catalogs a Sim's gardening or fishing discoveries; Paint by Reference option on the easel.

May 4, 2015
New Star Wars costumes: Boba Fett, Darth Maul, and Aayla Secura; Revamped the loading screen.

June 11, 2015
Newcrest, a new world containing fifteen empty lots within three new neighborhoods; the Welcome Wagon from new neighbors; the Custom Room Tool.

July 9, 2015
Half walls; locked doors; King’s and Queen’s Door, which allow only just the men or women to pass through it, respectively; towel full body outfits.

August 6, 2015
A dishwasher is added to the appliances, which needs to be slotted into an existing non-island counter.

September 24, 2015
New Trait: Jealous; Limited Interaction Trick or Treat; Claiming beds; Resizeable rugs; Underground Saunas.

November 3, 2015
New Hire Service: Repair Man.

December 4, 2015
64-bit executable; Automatically disable mods after patch; Change in Sims groups; New NPC Interaction; Fire and Death Reaction Systems; New Venue Type: Pool and New Option to color water; World maps updated; Put grills in inventory.

February 4, 2016
New Trait: Kleptomaniac; New Hire Service: Gardener; New Aspiration; New Content in Build Mode.

April 21, 2016
Returning NPC: Tragic Clown.

June 3, 2016
All Create-a-Sim content is available to both sexes, as well as gender customization.[62]

June 23, 2016
Child Sims can now experience a 'Monster-Under-The-Bed', appearing as tentacles which children can either befriend or ask Adults to Spray. Adults cannot see this Monster, however. A light for warding away the Monster has also been added, which features an image of the new character 'Coolala'. This character appears in the new Kids Room Stuff as well, released June 28, 2016.

July 14, 2016
Nannies have been added, and the ability to adjust all lights in a room in one go has been introduced.

August 18, 2016
Sim Cell Phone covers can be customised.

September 27, 2016
Mexican 'Day of the Dead' CAS Items are added; A Mexican dish, Pan De Muerto, is added to the cooking recipes.

October 27, 2016
Eight new lot traits have been added to the base game; A copy paste function for build mode has been added.[63]

January 12, 2017
The Toddler age group, along with unique Toddler traits, skills, outfits, objects and the ability to customize your sims teeth (includes the other life stages), have been added with a free game update.[11]

February 2, 2017
Redesigned the Main Menu.

May 25, 2017
Updated the Load / Save menu.

November 11, 2017
Four new roofs are added in Build Mode: Pentagonal, Hexagonal, Octagonal, and Round Roofs; Advanced roof curvature mode and additional manipulation points to Gabled and Hipped roofs; Photography is made available to all players; A new Maximum Sim Count option in Gameplay Options; Objects can be shrunk using the Size Down cheat.

February 6, 2018
New female hairstyle and ten new skin tones were added in addition to an anniversary T-shirt.[64]

text: Marketing and release[edit]

text: SteelSeries and Electronic Arts announced a series of themed peripherals to promote The Sims 4, including a pair of headphones, a computer mouse that lights up in accordance with Sims' in-game emotional states, and a mousepad featuring a render of various Sim groups.[65]

text: A demo was released to the public displaying the new Create a Sim partition of the game in which is supplied, free of charge to anyone.[34][66][67][68] TV spots were also produced narrated by actor Charlie Day.

text: Ratings[edit]

text: On May 9, 2014, it was reported that The Sims 4 has been rated "18+ (Prohibited for children)" by Russia. This decision was based on the game's portrayal of same-sex relationships contravening the Russian LGBT propaganda law that prohibits portrayal "of non-traditional sexual relationships" to children (see also LGBT rights in Russia).[69][70] Previous entries in The Sims series have routinely been rated as suitable for lower ages; for instance, The Sims 3 was considered suitable for ages 6 and up in Germany, The Sims 4 is suitable for ages 6 and up in Germany as well.[71]

text: Expansions, add-ons and editions[edit]

text: Expansion packs[edit]

text:
Code
Name
Release date
Description

EP01
Get to Work

NA: March 31, 2015
EU: April 2, 2015

The first expansion pack adds three new playable, active careers: Doctor, Detective and Scientist. Get to Work also gives the opportunity to build your own retail store and start your own retail business. The expansion pack also adds a new neighborhood called Magnolia Promenade, and planet Sixam, an alien home world, as well as playable alien Sims. It also adds two new skills (Baking and Photography), new objects and clothing.[72]

EP02
Get Together

NA: December 8, 2015
EU: December 10, 2015

[73]
Get Together is the second expansion pack for The Sims 4, which was announced on August 5, 2015 at Gamescom. The main new feature of this expansion pack is Clubs. The player can create and join Clubs with distinct interests, personalities, and styles where the player can set the rules, define their look, and customize their hangouts. Furthermore, there are brand new activities such as foosball, darts, Don't Wake The Llama and arcade machine. There are also all new DJ & Dancing skills. This expansion pack features a new world of called Windenburg, with scenic neighborhoods and picturesque landmarks, including the sprawling hedge maze at the Von Haunt Estate, the alluring pools along the bluffs, and the mysterious ancient ruins. Other new features include: emotional texts, natural pool colours, new foods & drinks, barista & DJ NPCs, and new Closet WooHoo & Bush WooHoo.

EP03
City Living

NA: November 1, 2016
EU: November 3, 2016

The third expansion pack features a new city called San Myshuno with four unique neighborhoods. City Living introduces new careers reflective of our time including the returning politician career and two new brand new fields never seen in the franchise: social media and critic. The expansion pack focuses on city life and reintroduces apartments into the city, ranging from fixer-uppers to penthouses. There are many new lots and activities for Sims to explore such the Spice Market, Karaoke Bar, Geek Con with video game competitions, the Spice Festival with curry eating contests and a Romance Festival for love-seeking Sims. Apartments will feature lot traits which can be assigned to any lot. The new lot traits will also be available to players who do not purchase the expansion via patch.[20][74][75]

EP04
Cats & Dogs

WW: November 10, 2017

The fourth expansion pack introduces creation of pets such as cats, dogs, and items catered to Sims' furry friends. (Similar to The Sims 3: Pets, The Sims 2: Pets, and The Sims: Unleashed) This also allows players to pursue a veterinary career and create their own veterinary practice.[76][77]

EP05
Seasons

WW: June 22, 2018

TBA

text: Game packs[edit]

text:
Code
Name
Release date
Description

GP01
Outdoor Retreat

WW: January 13, 2015

Adds a new world called Granite Falls. Within the new world Sims can vacation outdoors in a national park. This pack also adds a new skill (Herbalism); a new collectable (insects); and several new Sims traits, achievements, aspirations, outfits, objects, and game interactions related to outdoor activities.

GP02
Spa Day

WW: July 14, 2015

Adds a new building type, the spa. This pack also includes a new skill (Wellness) as well as several new outfits, objects and game interactions related to the typical features in a spa like massages, meditation, mud baths, saunas and yoga.

GP03
Dine Out

WW: June 7, 2016

Allows Sims to visit restaurants, as well as build and run their own restaurant. Those that own restaurants can experiment with new foods, employ staff and succeed in cooking. This pack also comes with a variety of items in Create a Sim.

GP04
Vampires

WW: January 24, 2017

Allows Sims to create Vampires with different powers and weaknesses. A new residential world with five lots, Forgotten Hollow, is also introduced. The pack also comes with a new aspiration, new lot traits and numerous CAS and Build mode items that fit the darker Vampire theme.

GP05
Parenthood

WW: May 30, 2017

Allows adult Sims to control and shape their child or teen's life. New features like cursing, acne, school related projects, and many more. Toddlers, children, and teens can now be rebellious to their parents and other siblings. Parents can treat this new behavior by being strict, or they could be nurturing and hope that good things will come.

GP06
Jungle Adventure

WW: Feb 27, 2018

Adds a new destination called Selvadorada. New food, dance moves and music are added. Ancient artifacts and mysterious relics can be excavated and examined.

text: Stuff packs[edit]

text:
Code
Name
Release date
Description

SP01
Luxury Party Stuff[78]

WW: May 19, 2015

Includes several luxury party outfits and items, including buffet tables and a table-top cheese/chocolate/drinking fountain.

SP02
Perfect Patio Stuff[79]

WW: June 16, 2015

Includes patio furniture, including hot tubs, as well as new outfits.

SP03
Cool Kitchen Stuff[80]

WW: August 11, 2015

Includes kitchen counters, cabinets and appliances, such as an Ice Cream Maker with over 30 different flavors.

SP04
Spooky Stuff[81]

WW: September 29, 2015

Includes Halloween-related costumes, items including spider webs and a pumpkin carving station, and a new spooky-themed party that Sims can throw.

SP05
Movie Hangout Stuff[82]

WW: January 12, 2016

Includes Bohemian-styled clothing, home theaters, and items such as the Popcorn Maker.

SP06
Romantic Garden Stuff[83]

WW: February 9, 2016

Includes garden objects, new outfits, and new gameplay modes.

SP07
Kids Room Stuff

WW: June 28, 2016

Includes items for children's rooms, including new beds, a puppetry, a new game, and new hair and clothes for children.

SP08
Backyard Stuff

WW: July 19, 2016

Includes items for the backyard such as slip 'n' slide and bird feeders, and new hair and clothes.

SP09
Vintage Glamour Stuff

WW: December 6, 2016

Includes vintage style items such as a vanity table, new Old Hollywood inspired clothes and hair and the ability to hire a butler.

SP10
Bowling Night Stuff

WW: March 29, 2017

Includes items such as bowling lanes allowing players to build their own bowling hangout(s) for their Sims to visit. A new five level bowling skill, new themed clothing items, furniture, wallpapers and floorings are also included.

SP11
Fitness Stuff

WW: June 20, 2017

Includes new items such as the rock climbing treadmill, workout videos and earbuds. Also included are more fitness apparel.[84]

SP12
Toddler Stuff

WW: August 24, 2017

Includes new playground equipments for toddlers to use.[85]

SP13
Laundry Day Stuff[86]

WW: January 16, 2018

Includes new home technologies to help your Sim with domestic responsibilities and live an eco-friendly life. Marks of the return of laundry, washing machines and other laundry related items.

SP14
My First Pet Stuff

WW: March 13, 2018

Includes hamster, rat, pygmy hedgehog, or miniature bubalus as new pets.

text: Additional downloadable content (DLC)[edit]

text:
Code
Name
Release date
Description

Rewards

NA: September 2, 2014
EU: September 4, 2014

Bonus content for the owners of The Sims 3 Expansion Packs.

Digital Deluxe Upgrade
Life of the Party

NA: September 2, 2014
EU: September 4, 2014

Included in the Limited Edition and up. Adds the Flaming Tiki Bar and additional outfits.

Awesome Animal Hats
Included in the Digital Deluxe Edition and up. Adds a collection of animal hats.

Up All Night
Included in the Digital Deluxe Edition and up. Adds the Laser Light show, face paint, additional party decorations and outfits, two new party types, and new cooking recipes.

FP01
Holiday Celebration Pack

WW: December 16, 2014

A free downloadable content pack. Adds winter holiday decorations and outfits. New content was added in 2015 and 2016.

Grim's Ghoulish Guitar

WW: August 17, 2016

Bonus content for signing up for emails

text: Editions[edit]

text:
Features
Standard
Limited Edition
Digital Deluxe
Premium Edition
hideCollector's Edition

In-store or Origin download
Origin download only
In store only
Int. Release

Core game

Additional downloadable content
(DLC)
Life of the Party

Awesome Animal Hats

Up All Night

Digital soundtrack

Creators' guide book

USB interactive Plumbob by SteelSeries

text: Expansion-only compilations[edit]

text: Compilations of expansion packs, game packs and stuff packs without the core game have also been released.

text:
Name
Release date
Includes

The Sims 4 Bundle: Get To Work

WW: November 15, 2016

Get to Work, Outdoor Retreat, and Luxury Party Stuff.

The Sims 4 Bundle: Get Together

WW: December 13, 2016

Get Together, Spa Day, and Movie Hangout Stuff.

The Sims 4 Bundle: City Living

WW: August 15, 2017

City Living, Dine Out, and Bowling Night Stuff.

text: Reception[edit]

text:
Reviews

Aggregate scores

Aggregator
Score

GameRankings
69%[87]

Metacritic
70/100[4]

Review scores

Publication
Score

Eurogamer
7/10[88]

Game Informer
6.75/10[89]

Game Revolution
[91]

GameSpot
6/10[96]

GamesRadar+
[90]

GameTrailers
6.5/10[92]

IGN
7.5/10[93]

Joystiq
[94]

Maximum PC
8/10

PC Gamer (US)
79/100[95]

Polygon
6.5/10[97]

Hardcore Gamer
2.5/5[98]

text: EA did not provide review copies of the game until September 1, meaning that critics were unable to review the game before release.[99] In the absence of initial reviews it was indicated that players were generally dissatisfied with the game, especially the ones who were familiar with the previous games in the franchise.[100]

text: At the aggregator site Metacritic, The Sims 4 received a score of 70 based on 74 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reception.[4]

text: Hardcore Gamer gave The Sims 4 a 2.5 score out of 5 and commented "it’s a half-hearted experience wrapped in a neat and pretty package that beams a potential to both fulfill and crush your inner-Sims’ dreams." They criticized the game for the lack of content and having many bugs.[101]

text: Jim Sterling of The Escapist, in a mixed review of the game, found there to be an "overall lack of engagement." Although noting some positive changes he was critical of the game in comparison to previous entries in the series, declaring that "The Sims 4 is basically The Sims 3, but shrunken and sterile," and recommending that game be played instead. He also complained of being "harassed" by tutorial messages. His final score for the game was 2.5 out of 5 stars.[102]

text: ABCNews.com's reviewer Derrik J. Lang praised the game for being "remarkably more intuitive at the start," stating that the Sims are now smarter than before, have emotions that affect their moods, and are able to multi-task. Despite the praise, Lang awarded the game with two stars stating that he encountered annoying glitches and that he misses content from previous games, like dishwashers.[103]

text: Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot gave this game a 6 out of 10. Despite praising the visuals, audio, and the new multi-tasking and moods system, he states that he misses the two main features of The Sims 3: "Create-a-Style" and the open world. His conclusion is: "The Sims 4's biggest problem is that The Sims 3 exists".[104]

text: Other reviews were more favorable. CraveOnline.co.uk mentioned in an article that "the awful user reviews indicate a strong backlash." However, the website added that "Sims fans who haven’t paid much attention to the ongoing controversy surrounding the game may look at those Amazon review scores and, without knowing that many are immediately dismissing the game due to its cut content, decide that they won’t purchase it."[105]

text: Kallie Plagge of IGN gave The Sims 4 a 7.5 out of 10. She was disappointed by the lack of content from previous games, and the lack of "cool" objects that could adequately replace them; and the too frequent, albeit short, loading screens. The score she gave is relatively high, though, because "The Sims 4 does succeed in being a deep and complex game when it comes to Sim interactions, with lots of entertaining emotional potential [...] Plus, excellent building tools make architecture more fun than ever". Her conclusion is that "it’s a good start to what may eventually be expanded into a great Sims game, but it’s not there yet".[106]

text: The Independent's Jack Fleming praised the game for "The Gallery" feature that allows users to showcase their creations easily, the new multitasking system, the visual design, the personalities and emotions, the unusual careers (that, for example, allow the sim to travel into space), and the new build mode. On the other hand, he voiced his frustration with the loading screens, the new camera controls (while noting they can be reverted to The Sims 3 style), and noted the lack of content from previous installments (such as swimming pools and toddlers) made many fans upset. In conclusion he writes: "The Sims 4 is an easy game to get into (though the constant tutorial-ising at the start can actually get a bit frustrating) and the reasons that people love this series are still present. The game’s creators have tried to make the appeal as diverse as possible and have in most ways succeeded. However, I couldn’t help but wish I could actually go to space and drive that spaceship around..."[107]

text: Nick Tan of Game Revolution states that the game is a case study for loss aversion. He explains that the reason for Sims fans expressing so much anger and dissatisfaction with it is because people "strongly prefer avoiding losses than acquiring gains". That, combined with the hatred for Electronic Arts that greatly intensified after the release of the latest SimCity game, resulted in such a backlash. Tan gave The Sims 4 a 3.5/5, calling it "woefully incomplete, despite being unexpectedly solid and entertaining in its current state".[108]

text: Notes[edit]

text: Jump up ^ Blind Squirrel Entertainment co-developed the PS4 and Xbox One versions

tag: ol


document_title: Correlation does not imply causation

question_text: a false correlation between two variables caused by a third variable

root

text: Correlation does not imply causation

text: Usage[edit]

text: In logic, the technical use of the word "implies" means "is a sufficient circumstance for".[citation needed] This is the meaning intended by statisticians when they say causation is not certain. Indeed, p implies q has the technical meaning of the material conditional: if p then q symbolized as p → q. That is "if circumstance p is true, then q follows." In this sense, it is always correct to say "Correlation does not imply causation."

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text: However, in casual use, the word "implies" loosely means suggests rather than requires. The idea that correlation and causation are connected is certainly true; where there is causation, there is a likely correlation. Indeed, correlation is used when inferring causation; the important point is that such inferences are made after correlations are confirmed as real and all causational relationship are systematically explored using large enough data sets.

text: General pattern[edit]

text: For any two correlated events, A and B, the different possible relationships include[citation needed]:

text:
A causes B (direct causation);
B causes A (reverse causation);
A and B are consequences of a common cause, but do not cause each other;
A and B both cause C, which is (explicitly or implicitly) conditioned on;
A causes B and B causes A (bidirectional or cyclic causation);
A causes C which causes B (indirect causation);
There is no connection between A and B; the correlation is a coincidence.

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text: Thus there can be no conclusion made regarding the existence or the direction of a cause-and-effect relationship only from the fact that A and B are correlated. Determining whether there is an actual cause-and-effect relationship requires further investigation, even when the relationship between A and B is statistically significant, a large effect size is observed, or a large part of the variance is explained.

text: Examples of illogically inferring causation from correlation[edit]

text: B causes A (reverse causation or reverse causality)[edit]

text: Reverse causation or reverse causality or wrong direction is an informal fallacy of questionable cause where cause and effect are reversed. The cause is said to be the effect and vice versa.

text: In this example, the correlation (simultaneity) between windmill activity and wind velocity does not imply that wind is caused by windmills. It is rather the other way around, as suggested by the fact that wind doesn’t need windmills to exist, while windmills need wind to rotate. Wind can be observed in places where there are no windmills or non-rotating windmills—and there are good reasons to believe that wind existed before the invention of windmills.

text: This argument by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff was refuted by Paul Krugman on the basis that they got the causality backwards: in actuality, slow growth causes debt to increase.[4]

text: In other cases it may simply be unclear which is the cause and which is the effect. For example:

text: This could easily be the other way round; that is, violent children like watching more TV than less violent ones.

text: A correlation between recreational drug use and psychiatric disorders might be either way around: perhaps the drugs cause the disorders, or perhaps people use drugs to self medicate for preexisting conditions. Gateway drug theory may argue that marijuana usage leads to usage of harder drugs, but hard drug usage may lead to marijuana usage (see also confusion of the inverse). Indeed, in the social sciences where controlled experiments often cannot be used to discern the direction of causation, this fallacy can fuel long-standing scientific arguments. One such example can be found in education economics, between the screening/signaling and human capital models: it could either be that having innate ability enables one to complete an education, or that completing an education builds one's ability.

text: A historical example of this is that Europeans in the Middle Ages believed that lice were beneficial to your health, since there would rarely be any lice on sick people. The reasoning was that the people got sick because the lice left. The real reason however is that lice are extremely sensitive to body temperature. A small increase of body temperature, such as in a fever, will make the lice look for another host. The medical thermometer had not yet been invented, so this increase in temperature was rarely noticed. Noticeable symptoms came later, giving the impression that the lice left before the person got sick.[citation needed]

text: In other cases, two phenomena can each be a partial cause of the other; consider poverty and lack of education, or procrastination and poor self-esteem. One making an argument based on these two phenomena must however be careful to avoid the fallacy of circular cause and consequence. Poverty is a cause of lack of education, but it is not the sole cause, and vice versa.

text: Third factor C (the common-causal variable) causes both A and B[edit]

text: The third-cause fallacy (also known as ignoring a common cause[5] or questionable cause[5]) is a logical fallacy where a spurious relationship is confused for causation. It asserts that X causes Y when, in reality, X and Y are both caused by Z. It is a variation on the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy and a member of the questionable cause group of fallacies.

text: All of these examples deal with a lurking variable, which is simply a hidden third variable that affects both causes of the correlation.  A difficulty often also arises where the third factor, though fundamentally different from A and B, is so closely related to A and/or B as to be confused with them or very difficult to scientifically disentangle from them (see Example 4).

text: The above example commits the correlation-implies-causation fallacy, as it prematurely concludes that sleeping with one's shoes on causes headache. A more plausible explanation is that both are caused by a third factor, in this case going to bed drunk, which thereby gives rise to a correlation. So the conclusion is false.

text: This is a scientific example that resulted from a study at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. Published in the May 13, 1999 issue of Nature,[6] the study received much coverage at the time in the popular press.[7] However, a later study at Ohio State University did not find that infants sleeping with the light on caused the development of myopia. It did find a strong link between parental myopia and the development of child myopia, also noting that myopic parents were more likely to leave a light on in their children's bedroom.[8][9][10][11] In this case, the cause of both conditions is parental myopia, and the above-stated conclusion is false.

text: This example fails to recognize the importance of time of year and temperature to ice cream sales. Ice cream is sold during the hot summer months at a much greater rate than during colder times, and it is during these hot summer months that people are more likely to engage in activities involving water, such as swimming. The increased drowning deaths are simply caused by more exposure to water-based activities, not ice cream. The stated conclusion is false.

text: However, as encountered in many psychological studies, another variable, a "self-consciousness score", is discovered that has a sharper correlation (+.73) with shyness.  This suggests a possible "third variable" problem, however, when three such closely related measures are found, it further suggests that each may have bidirectional tendencies (see "bidirectional variable", above), being a cluster of correlated values each influencing one another to some extent. Therefore, the simple conclusion above may be false.

text: Richer populations tend to eat more food and produce more CO2.

text: Further research[13] has called this conclusion into question. Instead, it may be that other underlying factors, like genes, diet and exercise, affect both HDL levels and the likelihood of having a heart attack; it is possible that medicines may affect the directly measurable factor, HDL levels, without affecting the chance of heart attack.

text: Bidirectional causation: A causes B, and B causes A[edit]

text: Causality is not necessarily one-way; in a predator-prey relationship, predator numbers affect prey numbers, but prey numbers, i.e. food supply, also affect predator numbers.

text: The relationship between A and B is coincidental[edit]

text: The two variables aren't related at all, but correlate by chance. The more things are examined, the more likely it is that two unrelated variables will appear to be related. For example:

text:
The result of the last home game by the Washington Redskins prior to the presidential election predicted the outcome of every presidential election from 1936 to 2000 inclusive, despite the fact that the outcomes of football games had nothing to do with the outcome of the popular election. This streak was finally broken in 2004 (or 2012 using an alternative formulation of the original rule).
A collection of such coincidences[14] finds that for example, there is a 99.79% correlation for the period 1999-2009 between U.S. spending on science, space, and technology; and the number of suicides by suffocation, strangulation, and hanging.
The Mierscheid law, which correlates the Social Democratic Party of Germany's share of the popular vote with the size of crude steel production in Western Germany.
Alternating bald–hairy Russian leaders: A bald (or obviously balding) state leader of Russia has succeeded a non-bald ("hairy") one, and vice versa, for nearly 200 years.

text: Determining causation[edit]

text: In academia[edit]

text: The nature of causality is systematically investigated in several academic disciplines, including philosophy and physics.

text: In academia, there are a significant number of theories on causality; The Oxford Handbook of Causation (Beebee, Hitchcock & Menzies 2009) encompasses 770 pages. Among the more influential theories within philosophy are Aristotle's Four causes and Al-Ghazali's occasionalism.[15] David Hume argued that beliefs about causality are based on experience, and experience similarly based on the assumption that the future models the past, which in turn can only be based on experience – leading to circular logic. In conclusion, he asserted that causality is not based on actual reasoning: only correlation can actually be perceived.[16] Immanuel Kant, according to Beebee, Hitchcock & Menzies (2009), held that "a causal principle according to which every event has a cause, or follows according to a causal law, cannot be established through induction as a purely empirical claim, since it would then lack strict universality, or necessity".

text: Outside the field of philosophy, theories of causation can be identified in classical mechanics, statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, spacetime theories, biology, social sciences, and law.[15] To establish a correlation as causal within physics, it is normally understood that the cause and the effect must connect through a local mechanism (cf. for instance the concept of impact) or a nonlocal mechanism (cf. the concept of field), in accordance with known laws of nature.

text: From the point of view of thermodynamics, universal properties of causes as compared to effects have been identified through the Second law of thermodynamics, confirming the ancient, medieval and Cartesian[17] view that "the cause is greater than the effect" for the particular case of thermodynamic free energy. This, in turn, is challenged[dubious  – discuss] by popular interpretations of the concepts of nonlinear systems and the butterfly effect, in which small events cause large effects due to, respectively, unpredictability and an unlikely triggering of large amounts of potential energy.

text: Causality construed from counterfactual states[edit]

text: Intuitively, causation seems to require not just a correlation, but a counterfactual dependence. Suppose that a student performed poorly on a test and guesses that the cause was his not studying. To prove this, one thinks of the counterfactual – the same student writing the same test under the same circumstances but having studied the night before. If one could rewind history, and change only one small thing (making the student study for the exam), then causation could be observed (by comparing version 1 to version 2). Because one cannot rewind history and replay events after making small controlled changes, causation can only be inferred, never exactly known. This is referred to as the Fundamental Problem of Causal Inference – it is impossible to directly observe causal effects.[18]

text: A major goal of scientific experiments and statistical methods is to approximate as best possible the counterfactual state of the world.[19] For example, one could run an experiment on identical twins who were known to consistently get the same grades on their tests. One twin is sent to study for six hours while the other is sent to the amusement park. If their test scores suddenly diverged by a large degree, this would be strong evidence that studying (or going to the amusement park) had a causal effect on test scores. In this case, correlation between studying and test scores would almost certainly imply causation.

text: Well-designed experimental studies replace equality of individuals as in the previous example by equality of groups. The objective is to construct two groups that are similar except for the treatment that the groups receive.  This is achieved by selecting subjects from a single population and randomly assigning them to two or more groups. The likelihood of the groups behaving similarly to one another (on average) rises with the number of subjects in each group.  If the groups are essentially equivalent except for the treatment they receive, and a difference in the outcome for the groups is observed, then this constitutes evidence that the treatment is responsible for the outcome, or in other words the treatment causes the observed effect.  However, an observed effect could also be caused "by chance", for example as a result of random perturbations in the population. Statistical tests exist to quantify the likelihood of erroneously concluding that an observed difference exists when in fact it does not (for example see P-value).

text: Causality predicted by an extrapolation of trends[edit]

text: When experimental studies are impossible and only pre-existing data are available, as is usually the case for example in economics, regression analysis can be used. Factors other than the potential causative variable of interest are controlled for by including them as regressors in addition to the regressor representing the variable of interest.  False inferences of causation due to reverse causation (or wrong estimates of the magnitude of causation due the presence of bidirectional causation) can be avoided by using explanators (regressors) that are necessarily exogenous, such as physical explanators like rainfall amount (as a determinant of, say, futures prices), lagged variables whose values were determined before the dependent variable's value was determined, instrumental variables for the explanators (chosen based on their known exogeneity), etc.  See Causality#Statistics and economics.  Spurious correlation due to mutual influence from a third, common, causative variable, is harder to avoid: the model must be specified such that there is a theoretical reason to believe that no such underlying causative variable has been omitted from the model.

text: Use of correlation as scientific evidence[edit]

text: This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on Talk:Correlation does not imply causation. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. (July 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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text: Much of scientific evidence is based upon a correlation of variables[20] – they are observed to occur together. Scientists are careful to point out that correlation does not necessarily mean causation. The assumption that A causes B simply because A correlates with B is often not accepted as a legitimate form of argument.

text: However, sometimes people commit the opposite fallacy – dismissing correlation entirely. This would dismiss a large swath of important scientific evidence.[20] Since it may be difficult or ethically impossible to run controlled double-blind studies, correlational evidence from several different angles may be useful for prediction despite failing to provide evidence for causation. For example, social workers might be interested in knowing how child abuse relates to academic performance. Although it would be unethical to perform an experiment in which children are randomly assigned to receive or not receive abuse, researchers can look at existing groups using a non-experimental correlational design. If in fact a negative correlation exists between abuse and academic performance, researchers could potentially use this knowledge of a statistical correlation to make predictions about children outside the study who experience abuse, even though the study failed to provide causal evidence that abuse decreases academic performance.[21] The combination of limited available methodologies with the dismissing correlation fallacy has on occasion been used to counter a scientific finding. For example, the tobacco industry has historically relied on a dismissal of correlational evidence to reject a link between tobacco and lung cancer,[22] as did biologist and statistician Ronald Fisher.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

text: Correlation is a valuable type of scientific evidence in fields such as medicine, psychology, and sociology. But first correlations must be confirmed as real, and then every possible causative relationship must be systematically explored. In the end correlation alone cannot be used as evidence for a cause-and-effect relationship between a treatment and benefit, a risk factor and a disease, or a social or economic factor and various outcomes. It is one of the most abused types of evidence, because it is easy and even tempting to come to premature conclusions based upon the preliminary appearance of a correlation.[citation needed]