EA financial report hints at online play in future Sims titles
We could see a semi-revival of 2008's Sims Online
Thought Sims Online is no dead and buried—not to be forgotten anytime soon by avid Sims lovers—the series could see some online functionality return in next-generation entries. According to the latest financial report from Electronic Arts, The Sims 4 is in a great place and developer Maxis is looking to up the ante when it begins work on a follow-up to the latest entry of the series.
It’s unclear exactly how the online functionality will come about, but 2008’s Sims Online was mentioned during the financial report call, which was shared via SimsCommunity. In the call, the CEO of Electronic Arts confirms that Maxis is working on implementing some kind of online mechanics into the new iteration of The Sims, which is set to release sometime in the next generation of gaming.
For many, this could mean a multiplayer mode that allows you to team up with your friends and live our your dreams in the Sims world. Or it would be something as simple as challenges, leaderboards, and the like. There’s no telling at the moment. What we do know is that Maxis is hard at work on some kind of game, which was revealed back in September of 2018. No information is really known about the “triple A” title that the studio is currently working on, but many believe it could be another Sims game.
Of course, until we get any kind of official announcement, everything is still up in the air. So, we’ll just have to wait and see where things land when the next entry of the series is finally announced. More news from The Sims world is the fact that The Sims 4, now six years into its life cycle, has managed to surpass 20 million lifetime players. There’s no real data on how many units have sold, but still, 20 million players aren’t anything to scoff at. For more, check out the official earnings report or head over to our Sims 4 hub.
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replyJosh Hawkins posted a new article, EA financial report hints at online play in future Sims titles
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EA has tanked multiple Sims projects in the search of multiplayer gold. Hopefully they have learned something.
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SimCity 2013 is their hard hard hard lesson of how not to do MP simulation games.
I could seem some MP mechanics for The Sims - inviting sims from your friends' homes, sending gifts/etc. and developing cross-player relationships, or if the game has a bit more resource management facets, trading with other players. But it cannot be forced online as SimCity was.-
I can see it being online only, just hopefully not crippled like Simcity 2013. I hope it's mostly still like The Sims but there are online areas in the city where players can meet and do stuff together. I hope it's a little like Spore where your friend's sims and populate your world and vice versa.
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Oh, yeah, I can see a near requirement to be online (storing characters, layouts, etc.) but they have to balance an always-on mess SC 2013 had with realistic play. Maybe with the caution that if you aren't always connected, the versions of your sims that your friends will see will not be as you necessary see them.
But of course, the other issue on SC2013 was the server rush. And while I care little for Sims, it is played by too many people to not pretend that this would easily flood servers on launch.
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If we're talking New Horizons, basically you can choose to have your character "live" on someone else's island (for local profiles, you were require to share the same island). You can customize your home, but beyond that it was just the usual interactions. That's far less connected compared to what EA was trying to do in SC 2013, and far less customization/carryover that you'd like get in the Sims.
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