The Simsfranchise is the most popular social simulation franchise on the market. Almost every PC player has either played one of the variousSimstitles or knows someone who has. The franchise served as a spin-off ofSimCityand has been going since 2000. Over the years, it has become one of the best-selling video game series of all time, and it shows no signs of stopping. EA consistently releases new content for the latest entry in the franchise,The Sims 4, which has given fans more content to spend hours messing with.
The Sims 4serves as the latest entryin the series and was released in 2014. It received mixed reviews at launch since it seemed to be missing a lot of features from the previous entry in the series,The Sims 3. In response, EA has steadily added content to it through various levels of DLC content. While expansion packs are nothing new toThe Simsfranchise, EA took it to another level with the introduction of game packs and kits. The game has become chock-full of various DLC packs of different sizes, and EA has not hinted at stopping. However, It has been nine years since a newSimsgame has been released, and it is long overdue.
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The Sims 4 Has Been out for a while
The Simsseries began in 2000and introduced players to an open-ended life simulator that would take over their lives. After seven expansion packs that added content to the game were released,The Sims 2came out in 2004, which expanded upon the series even more.The Sims 2received eight expansion packs and nine stuff packs over its lifespan, andThe SIms 3was launched five years later.The Sims 3took the series open-world and received a whopping 11 expansion packs plus nine stuff packs. Then in 2014, EA releasedThe Sims 4and has not released a new mainlineSimsgame for nine years.
The Sims 4continued the trendof receiving expansion packs and stuff packs post-launch, as it has so far received 11 of one and 18 of the other. It also introduced two new forms of DLC to the series known as game packs and kits that add different types of content to the game in varying sizes. When the game launched, it was heavily criticized for lacking content that previous entries had, but EA has steadily added new content to the game. However, there has been a nine-year gap between releases, with the only notableSimsrelease since being a mobile title.
A New Sims is Long Overdue
BeforeThe Sims 4was the focusof the franchise, the longest wait between two mainlineSimsgames was five years. Even during that wait, there were someSimsspin-offs released likeThe Sims MedievalandThe Sims Castaway Stories. On top of that, there were otherSimsseries that fans could play likeSimCityandMySims.Now, the entireSimsfranchise is solely focused onThe SIms 4.
The Sims 5could start the franchise off fresh and bring with it some huge innovations. One of thefeatures thatSimsfans missis the open-world gameplay fromThe Sims 3.The Sims 5could take that feature and make it work better. It could also take features like the character creator and expand on them even more. Games have advanced since 2014, andThe Sims 5should take advantage of that.
The Sims 5could also launch with a lot of the features thatThe Sims4received with expansion packs. While this is probably very unlikely, as almostevery iteration ofThe Simsreceived a Pets and Seasons expansion, doing this would allow other expansion packs instead. Releasing it with these staples would help set itself apart and allow resources to go to other features thatThe Simsmay not have seen yet. This is requested from pretty much every newSimsentry, andThe SIms 5should actually deliver on it.
IfSims 5is not in the cards, then EA should makea newSimsspin-off instead. Games likeThe Sims Medievalcould benefit from a sequel, and theMySimsfranchise desperately needs a new entry. Providing fans a newSimsspin-off would give them something to tie themselves over while they wait for the eventualSims 5.The franchise used to release spin-offs often, and it should return to that.
It has beentoo long since a newSimsgamehas hit store shelves, and there have not even beenSimsspin-offs during the gap. While EA continues to churn out different DLC types forThe Sims 4and keeps making decent money, it should also give fans a newSimsgame. The next entry inThe Simsfranchise is long overdue, and now is the time to make it.
