I totally agree with your point about the Sims 5 needing to be better than previous iterations. What would be the point of buying it if it doesn't do anything new?
I think that in today's world, we pretty much have the technology. I could be wrong, but I kind of get the feeling that the business side of things is also why some content and fresh ideas are held back. Electronic Art's primary goal is to sell as little as they can for as much money as possible. If they can get away with not spending the money and resources on certain animations, making it a rabbit hole, and have it still sell, that's what they're going to do. So that's why I worry that the Sims 5 might not meet expectations.
