Sims 4's development is ending?
So, I heard from people that the Sims series kind of has a "schedule" to the release of sequels. Once every four years or something like that. We are already in the fourth year, which means that the S...
Forum Discussion
(I posted this over at Sims VIP but it's appropriate here as well...)
A lot of people are talking about a number of things regarding the Sims 5, either that it's too early, or that it's right on schedule, or that we need Sims 5 because of how bad/underdeveloped Sims 4 was, etc, etc, but there are a number of questions & points that nobody seems to be asking or talking about that immediately leap to mind when thinking about The Sims 5.
1) DEVELOPED BY WHO? - EA shut down Maxis & the Sims Team is only a fraction of the size it once was. They do not have the resources to build a new game on a new engine. They would need to significantly staff up to make something like The Sims 5 & why would EA be willing to dump that type of money into The Sims 5 when the previous game (The Sims 4) was so underwhelming and along with the most recent under performing Sim City was one of the things that lead to Maxis getting shut down.
2) THE FROSTBITE ENGINE - It's my understanding that EA has a mandate that any game developed by their studios (that isn't a port or mobile) is to be developed on their proprietary Frostbite engine which is basically horrible for anything that isn't just a straight up combat focused game as is evident the numerous problems Bioware had trying to make RPGs on it with Dragon Age Inquisition & Mass Effect Andromeda. Now imagine someone trying to a life simulator on it & on top of that a life sim that people want to be an open world like The Sims 3.
3) ANY PORT IN A STORM - When you suddenly start seeing an existing/older game being put on more platforms (new consoles, mobile, etc) it's not happening because the next game in that franchise is right around the corner. In fact it usually means the next game in the franchise is a ways off. The best most recent example of this is probably Skyrim with it's Special Edition release, Switch version, and VR version. Bethesda isn't doing a bunch of new version of a game from 2011 because Elder Scrolls 6 is right around the corner or anytime soon. If anything we're due for seeing a Sims 4 VR announcement at this point before a Sims 5 announcement.
4) JUMPING SHIP - The number of people either getting fired or leaving the Sims Team since the release of The Sims 4 points to it not being in such great shape behind the scenes. This is a common thing you see from many studios when the studio is no longer what it once was, the staff feels like it's going nowhere, etc.
5) GAMES GET HARDER TO MAKE NOT EASIER - Triple A games are at the point where they are more expensive than they've ever been to develop, and are taking way longer to do things that were at one time considered simple tasks just several years ago in terms of game development. What once was able to be accomplished in a week or two's worth of development now takes a month or two. That is one of the biggest reasons why The Sims 4 was so lackluster. It's why a new pack like Jungle Adventure will seem underwhelming compared World Adventures or why Cats & Dogs would feel lackluster compared to Pets.
The Sims 3's development existed in a sweet spot where things had gotten easier to do, develop, finance, etc, in the game's industry and/or The Sims franchise in general. We're not in that age anymore. We're now far past it. We're at the point now where the full price tag of $60 for many triple A games simply isn't enough to turn a profit which is why you see an increasing rise in things like Season Passes, Microtransactions, Loot Boxes, etc, because that's the double edged nature we now live in where those things have to exist for games for games to turn a profit on their inflated budgets. Think The Sims 4 packs are too expensive for the amount of content they offer, well you'd be right, however they're not too expensive for the amount of money X pack needs to make in order to turn a profit on it's development now days.
Some might think/say "Well The Sims 5 wouldn't (need to) be a triple A title but if you take a look around at the most asked for a requested features of a Sims 5 those demands if met would put the budget for a Sims 5 fairly high. Just making it an open world game alone with all features expected from a Sims game (building tools, etc) would set the budget for the game at a fairly significant point.
With all the information out there that exists about The Sims & game development in general I can't imagine a Sims 5 currently being in development. If EA were to hire a new team or studio for The Sims 5 I would imagine it wouldn't be a full blown out PC game to the degree/scale people expect for a Sims game and instead would be a game that worked on a variety of platforms much in the same way that The Sims 4 is currently on PC, console, and mobile. None of this is to say that there will never be a Sims 5 much in the same way that there will probably be another Sim City game at some point, but not for a good while.
A lot of people are talking about a number of things regarding the Sims 5, either that it's too early, or that it's right on schedule, or that we need Sims 5 because of how bad/underdeveloped Sims 4 was, etc, etc, but there are a number of questions & points that nobody seems to be asking or talking about that immediately leap to mind when thinking about The Sims 5.
1) DEVELOPED BY WHO? - EA shut down Maxis & the Sims Team is only a fraction of the size it once was. They do not have the resources to build a new game on a new engine. They would need to significantly staff up to make something like The Sims 5 & why would EA be willing to dump that type of money into The Sims 5 when the previous game (The Sims 4) was so underwhelming and along with the most recent under performing Sim City was one of the things that lead to Maxis getting shut down.
2) THE FROSTBITE ENGINE - It's my understanding that EA has a mandate that any game developed by their studios (that isn't a port or mobile) is to be developed on their proprietary Frostbite engine which is basically horrible for anything that isn't just a straight up combat focused game as is evident the numerous problems Bioware had trying to make RPGs on it with Dragon Age Inquisition & Mass Effect Andromeda. Now imagine someone trying to a life simulator on it & on top of that a life sim that people want to be an open world like The Sims 3.
3) ANY PORT IN A STORM - When you suddenly start seeing an existing/older game being put on more platforms (new consoles, mobile, etc) it's not happening because the next game in that franchise is right around the corner. In fact it usually means the next game in the franchise is a ways off. The best most recent example of this is probably Skyrim with it's Special Edition release, Switch version, and VR version. Bethesda isn't doing a bunch of new version of a game from 2011 because Elder Scrolls 6 is right around the corner or anytime soon. If anything we're due for seeing a Sims 4 VR announcement at this point before a Sims 5 announcement.
4) JUMPING SHIP - The number of people either getting fired or leaving the Sims Team since the release of The Sims 4 points to it not being in such great shape behind the scenes. This is a common thing you see from many studios when the studio is no longer what it once was, the staff feels like it's going nowhere, etc.
5) GAMES GET HARDER TO MAKE NOT EASIER - Triple A games are at the point where they are more expensive than they've ever been to develop, and are taking way longer to do things that were at one time considered simple tasks just several years ago in terms of game development. What once was able to be accomplished in a week or two's worth of development now takes a month or two. That is one of the biggest reasons why The Sims 4 was so lackluster. It's why a new pack like Jungle Adventure will seem underwhelming compared World Adventures or why Cats & Dogs would feel lackluster compared to Pets.
The Sims 3's development existed in a sweet spot where things had gotten easier to do, develop, finance, etc, in the game's industry and/or The Sims franchise in general. We're not in that age anymore. We're now far past it. We're at the point now where the full price tag of $60 for many triple A games simply isn't enough to turn a profit which is why you see an increasing rise in things like Season Passes, Microtransactions, Loot Boxes, etc, because that's the double edged nature we now live in where those things have to exist for games for games to turn a profit on their inflated budgets. Think The Sims 4 packs are too expensive for the amount of content they offer, well you'd be right, however they're not too expensive for the amount of money X pack needs to make in order to turn a profit on it's development now days.
Some might think/say "Well The Sims 5 wouldn't (need to) be a triple A title but if you take a look around at the most asked for a requested features of a Sims 5 those demands if met would put the budget for a Sims 5 fairly high. Just making it an open world game alone with all features expected from a Sims game (building tools, etc) would set the budget for the game at a fairly significant point.
With all the information out there that exists about The Sims & game development in general I can't imagine a Sims 5 currently being in development. If EA were to hire a new team or studio for The Sims 5 I would imagine it wouldn't be a full blown out PC game to the degree/scale people expect for a Sims game and instead would be a game that worked on a variety of platforms much in the same way that The Sims 4 is currently on PC, console, and mobile. None of this is to say that there will never be a Sims 5 much in the same way that there will probably be another Sim City game at some point, but not for a good while.
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