Summary
The Nintendo Switch’s successor will be peeking its head over the horizon any day now, and it’s clear that many developers are holding out until its release to drop their shiny new next-gen games. Thelatest Nintendo Directwas a pretty good showcase of this. Though there were enough third-party announcements to fill a 42-minute Partner Showcase, it felt as though many of those reveals were scraping the barrel. EA’sMySims: Cozy Bundlewas one such announcement.
Coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch,MySims: Cozy Bundlebrings the 2007MySimsand 2008MySims KingdomWii games to the modern handheld. Though it doesn’t seem likeMySims: Cozy Bundleis adding or changing too much from the games' original Wii iterations, it’ll undoubtedly be the definitive way to play these games for nostalgic fans andSimsnewcomers. But there might be a little more than meets the eye to this announcement.
MySims: Cozy Bundle Could Only Be The Tip of the Iceberg
MySims: Cozy Bundle’s Announcement Comes At an Odd Time
TheMySimsserieshad a busy, but brief history. Debuting in 2007,MySimsoffered a great entry-level experience for younger players, mergingAnimal Crossing-like town management gameplay with classicSimslife-sim elements and customization.MySims Kingdombrought this new formula to a medieval setting just a year later, and it was soon followed by several spinoffs.
MySimsParty,MySims Racing, andMySims Agents wereall released within just a few months of each other in 2009. The final entry in theMySimssubseries came in September 2010, with the release ofMySims SkyHeroes. It’s been 14 years sinceMySimswas last seen, and while many fans have some strong nostalgia for the series, it’s largely been forgotten about in favor ofThe Sims' mainline entries.
It’s a bit of an odd time for EA to bring back theMySimsseries. Right now, the life-sim genre is rapidly evolving, withgames likeInZOIdelivering higher realism and more features than ever before. Even EA’s ownProject Reneis set to be a bold next step forThe Simsfranchise. So it’s a little strange to see EA releasing a bundle of two very simplisticSimstitles from the late 2000s. That is unless there’s more to this release than meets the eye.
EA Might Be Testing The Waters With MySims: Cozy Bundle
The upcomingMySims: Cozy Bundlemight be EA just testing the waters for a possible series revival. IfMySims: Cozy Bundlesells well, then it could lead to the subseries getting a brand new entry, and that could fit in well with EA’s current business model. WhileProject Renewill be the next big mainlineSimsentry, a newMySimsgame could act as the perfect starting point for life-sim newcomers, and a good first introduction to the widerSimsfranchise.
That being said, a newMySimsgame would have much more competition now than its first few entries did in the 2000s, with countlessAnimal CrossingandStardew Valley-likes flooding the market on a regular basis. If a newMySimsgame was going to succeed, it would need to offer features that its competition doesn’t, which is much easier said than done.
The Sims 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Unleash your imagination and create a unique world of Sims that’s an expression of you. Download for free, and customize every detail from Sims to homes and much more. Choose how Sims look, act, and dress, then decide how they’ll live out each day. Design and build incredible homes for every family, then decorate with your favorite furnishings and décor. Travel to different neighborhoods where you can meet other Sims and learn about their lives. Discover beautiful locations with distinctive environments and go on spontaneous adventures. Manage the ups and downs of Sims’ everyday lives, and see what happens when you play out scenarios from your own real life. Tell your stories your way while developing relationships, pursuing careers and life aspirations, and immersing yourself in this extraordinary game, where the possibilities are endless
