I think it’s a risky strategy from EA. I’ve read so many simmers who’ve been playing for decades, who’ve played earlier Sims games, who’ve bought every pack (or pretty much), and who’ve been so loyal to the Sims that they’ve put up with bugs and so many other serious issues and would have carried on buying every pack and staying loyal because of all the good times and memories they’ve had with the Sims — but they’ve finally had enough and are saying that this is the last straw, and they’re walking away from the game. With competition for the Sims coming thick and fast now, these players will never come back.
And in their place are newer players, who don’t have fond nostalgic memories of playing the Sims for decades to keep them persevering when they have issues with the game. These new players will try the Sims for a bit but won’t have any qualms about quickly discarding the game if they find something better made/less buggy/better value for money. It’s foolish to aim all your marketing at these newer players, and not care about the effect on your long-standing loyal fan base.
@FreddyFox1234 You make a valid point. And even the young people who experienced the sims for the first time when Sims 4 first came out have years of experience and many happy memories playing the sims, now. The people who will be using the next version of the sims will not remember any of that. They will likely have been playing an EA competitor in people simulations, and their loyalty will be to that company, first. EA will find themselves measured against the accomplishments of another company, and that has never happened before in the sims. So, yes, very risky.
Also, populations are decreasing, not keeping up with past projections. A smaller pool of potential players and competition that never existed before to factor into dividing up that smaller pool, is not a recipe for growth. EA really should be trying to hang onto every player they currently have. Especially since economies world wide are in turmoil, and no one knows how that will all turn out. Not a good time to take chances. Not at all.
