The Sims team say pets will have an interface with the system, so you will be able to manage them. “By removing control, we give them life.”

“If you can control them, they won’t be wondrous, spontaneous creatures with souls,” Rodiek said. Building a bond with the pet is ultimately how we develop relationships with them and gain a small level of control. We don’t control what our pets do in real life, the spontaneity of not knowing what they are really thinking or their next move is half the enjoyment of having one. However, controlling your cat or dog’s every action kind of ruins the very idea of having a pet. Just like regular Sims, if players weren’t actively playing them, they could take care of themselves to a certain extent (some animals more so than others).

While pets were, technically speaking, playable in The Sims 3, the options were of course limited. “In order to make them spontaneous, lifelike and special, you cannot control them.” The reason? Because pets will have a mind of their own, just like they do in real life. “We debated that one thing forever,” Rodiek said in a tweet. The Sims 4 Producer Grant Rodiek admitted it took a lengthy back and forth conversation before the team made the final call. And for The Sims 4, the decision to whether or not to make pets playable was not easy. Pets weren’t playable in The Sims 2, and they were in The Sims 3. This has been a controversy ever since pets were first introduced in the franchise. Pets will not be playable in Sims 4: Cats & Dogs expansion, meaning players will not be able to control the animal as they would a Sim.

Sims 4 control your pet mod