I miss the magic that used to be the Sims. All three of the previous iterations had the ability to make me turn down dates with friends or to end evenings out early so I could come home and stay up all hours of the night, simming. Sims 4 just doesn't do that for me.
Remember the animations when a sim in Sims 2 was cooking? Yeah, me too. Bending down to get a bowl out of a cabinet, pulling something out of the drawer......and then Sims 3's open world was mind-blowing. For me, Sims 4 was a huge letdown and I feel like it took steps back from what the Sims used to be.
All I do this time around is build. I wasn't buying much before but I haven't bought anything since Cats & Dogs, and I bought that for the world, even though it's just a different background to look at while I build houses.
Regardless of whether the game is or isn't failing or selling, it isn't selling with ME, and that's what I care about.