I remember doing a chart on how much Simmers have spent over the past 20 years. It was quite the hefty sum. Sims has never been a cheap hobby and silly how it talked about like it is a cheap indie game, when it is far from that. If someone wants to play a more affordable game, Stardew Valley is where it is at without having to spend DLC. But I understand those without an income this year can't afford games anymore. I don't blame them with covid and the fires. I can understand why they want to spend money on food and bills than anything gaming with limited resources.
Interesting with the investing report here: https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/Electronic-Arts-Reports-Strong-Q1-FY21-Financial-Results/default.aspx
"Some of the factors which could cause the Company’s results to differ materially from its expectations include the following: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of the Company’s products and services; the Company’s ability to develop and support digital products and services, including managing online security and privacy; outages of our products, services and technological infrastructure; the Company’s ability to manage expenses; the competition in the interactive entertainment industry; governmental regulations; the effectiveness of the Company’s sales and marketing programs; timely development and release of the Company’s products and services; the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions; the consumer demand for, and the availability of an adequate supply of console hardware units; the Company’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing platforms; the Company’s ability to develop and implement new technology; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; general economic conditions; changes in our tax rates or tax laws; and other factors described in Part I, Item 1A of Electronic Arts’ latest Annual Report on Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors”, as well as in other documents we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission." In short a lot of expenses, how fast the company can adapt to customer preferences, and how fast products can be released and sold.
Sims related news: "EA posted GAAP net revenue of $5.5 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Apex Legends™, The Sims™, Madden NFL, Need for Speed™, Titanfall™ and Plants vs. Zombies™. "
"Life to date, The Sims 4 TM has more than 30 million players across all platforms; daily, weekly, and monthly active player totals reached record highs for a first quarter."
So Sims 4 is still a quite popular game with 30 million players.
