I'm gonna have to disagree with you about Challenges. I don't think they should be wasting resources on them.
More resources should be spent on improving the depth of the game and making the game more replayable. For example, improving the traits, updating the emotion system, and making the sims more unique.
In my opinion, challenges are just a temporary distraction, they don't hold your attention for very long.
I also don't like Ea/ Maxis trying to make the Sims into an RPG. If I want to collect things and complete quests, I'll play Skyrim.
