The Sims 4 Console Players have had enough with this year’s game revamps.

Are you a Sims 4 Console player? Then you are likely to be well aware of the various changes and improvements to the control system over the last few months.

A lot has happened over the last few months and the situation as a whole has become a very hot topic in not only the console playing community but The Sims community as a whole.

Whether you are a current console player or have played here and there in the past, we’ve got the low down on everything that has been happening from the start of the year right the way through to now.

What Happened with The Sims 4 Console Controls?

Back in January 2023, The Sims Team made some improvements to the controls in Build/Buy Mode. The aim was to make the experience more streamlined and similar to what PC/Mac Players have. However, an update that was to make things easier for Sims 4 Console players only turned out to make things more difficult for them.

With this update, it left many players unable to play The Sims 4 Console without essentially having to plug in a keyboard and mouse to play.

While players were hopeful that the next patch would improve the situation when the game updates for February and March came, there were still no changes. Of course, the main game patch in March put focus on improving babies and introducing Infants to the game.

Console players were happy to see a Sims 4 Console Patch release at the end of March, however, this was solely to address an issue console players were facing with The Sims 4 Growing Together.

On the 18th of April 2023, there was another patch, while it did address some issues, it still wasn’t specifically targeted at the original issue that has been present for many players since January 2023.

By this point, players were still frustrated at the lack of transparency as to what was happening with The Sims 4 on the Xbox and PlayStation platforms.

Now, we come to the end of May where we saw another large update, the first in over a month. This addressed multiple issues and also improvements to The Gallery across all platforms.

However, The Sims 4 Console Players were hopeful that this would address some of the issues they’ve been experiencing and revert the controls back to how they were prior to the 31st January 2023 patch.

Console Specific Patch Notes from 30052023 — Console-Specific Patch Notes from 30th May 2023 – ***The Sims***

Sadly, the improvements made to the controls on both Xbox and PlayStation didn’t have the desired effect and in fact, it made the game virtually unplayable for Console Simmers!

Community Reactions

Since the release of the 30th May 2023 patch, players have been sharing their thoughts and opinions across social media. Many, players have shared how they feel let down and that they are no longer able to play a game that they love and use as a way to relax.

Ultimately, The Sims 4 Console Players at this point just wanted to be acknowledged by The Sims Team and have their feedback heard. The main point is that players wish to see the control system be reverted to how it was before the January patch or have an optional switch between the two control styles. Many players have also stated how there were no major or glaring issues with the controls and don’t see why the changes were made in the first place.

The Sims 4 Console Controls Petition

In a bit to have their feedback heard by EA, players within the community have been encouraging others to sign and share a recent petition.

The main focal point of this petition is to allow players to have the option to manually choose between the old style controls (pre-Janaury 31st patch) and the new control system. While the petition itself explains the concerns of console players, it does highlight that a very small number of players have found improvements with the controls which is why the community is ultimately asking for an option to switch between the two.

Give The Sims 4 Console Players The Option To Change the Controls Petition

EA Answers HQ & Forum Feedback

The official way to leave feedback and report issues relating to The Sims 4 is via the EA Answers HQ and the Official Forum.

The Sims Official Forum

The Official forum for The Sims does in fact have a dedicated area for The Sims 4 Console. Players have joined existing threads to share their feedback on the changes to the controls as well as highlight how the changes have made accessibility more difficult.

Here are several threads for the forums from players sharing their feedback about the changes made to the controls on The Sims 4 Console:

While the forums are orientated more toward the more general Sims 4 Console discussions, technical issues and bug reports are directed to the EA Answers HQ.

EA Answers HQ

However, over on the EA Answers HQ the most popular thread under The Sims 4 Console Technical Support section is infact the Feedback thread for console controls.

With the thread started by EA_Cade, players have been able to share their feedback based on performance, control, and UI.

This is a hot topic currently so the thread has been pinned at the top of the EA Answers HQ. Even though the thread was only created a week ago, there are already nineteen pages of feedback from players in the thread.

The Sims 4 Console – Feedback Thread

Here are some examples of feedback from The Sims 4 Console players regarding the changes made to the game over the past few months.

AyseP Console Feedback — Console Feedback from **AyseP**

Console Feedback from HamCelerySammich — Console Feedback from **HamCelerySammich**

Player Feedback & Forum Bans

Sadly, it hasn’t been plain sailing for players to share their feedback regarding the console changes. Some players soon discovered that they were being banned from posting due to the content of their posts breaking the Terms of Service and guidelines for the platforms.

EA_Cade, who is a community manager on the EA Answers HQ and The Sims Forums, shared some information as to what could constitute a ban.

EACade Explination Pt1 — Explanation from EA_Cade regarding post-removal and bans

While some players felt that the bans and post-removals they received were not against the terms of service or guidelines, the clarification from EA_Cade has had a slightly positive impact on feedback since it was shared.

Updates from EA

Over the past few days, we have also seen a few smaller updates showing that EA and The Sims Team have heard the feedback from the community. In fact, shortly after the post explaining the post-removal and ban situation, EA_Cade shared that feedback had been shared back with the team. Specifically that the request for the control to be reverted back has been heard loud and clear.

Even though it is not confirmation that the change will happen, it does show players that there is a possibility it could happen.

The Future of The Sims 4 on Console

At the moment, there is no official news as to when we will receive more information about the console controls. Many players are hoping that EA/The Sims Team communicate directly with console players so that the console experience overall is as best as it can possibly be.

The community is hopeful that The Sims Team will be able to share an update soon and be as transparent as possible regarding the situation going forward.

If you are experiencing issues with the improved and updated console controls or experiencing technical bugs you can head over to the EA Answers HQ via the links below.