Summary
EA broke the news that it has no plans to developThe Sims 5. This was shocking news to many, who had assumedProject Renewould beThe Sims 5. EA’s reasoning was thatThe Sims 4players had spent ten years buying add-on content forThe Sims 4, andThe Sims 5would require a fresh restart from the beginning, erasing any progress that they had made.
EA’s plans to useThe Sims 4as the foundational experience inThe Simsis one strategy, but the market will still feel the gap left by its decision to not developThe Sims 5. This gap in the market givesThe Sims 4competitors, such asInZoiandParalives, the chance to take the stage while EA is pursuing other strategies.
InZoi and Paralives Could Be The Sims 5 That Players Were Looking For
The Simshas released sequels that have given players new experiences in the previous iterations ofThe Sims, and while restarting once again was a growing pain, it never did anything to stem the series' popularity. This is partially becauseThe Simshas never had a serious competitor before, and has dominated the life sim genre for decades.InZoiandParaliveshave the perfect chance to gain a foothold in the market because of EA’s reluctance to developThe Sims 5, a move that has made many players hesitant about the future ofThe Simsand perhaps eager to try alternatives.
The developer ofInZoi, KRAFTON, released a demo ofInZoiin August for five days. The demo featuredInZoi’s character creator and proved to be incredibly popular. With a hyperrealistic art style that sets itself entirely apart fromThe Sims 4’s art style and powerful customization tools that go beyond the character creator,InZoiis likely to be a success on launchthanks to its clever marketing and a massive leap forward in graphics and art style.
Paralivesis closer toThe Sims 4in terms of art style, where it has adopted a stylized, cartoon art style that still sets itself apart fromThe Sims 4.Paraliveshas not released a demo or its character creator to players likeInZoidid, so the reception to it is more difficult to gauge, but if it hits all the right points it could prove to fill the gap thatThe Simshas left.
Why The Sims Franchise Needs More Competition
The Sims 4launched in 2014, ten years ago, and has thrived because of the lack of competition in the life sim genre. With no competition comes flaws, such as bugs, missing features that had been present in previous games, loading screens, and barriers to content. All the add-on content inThe Sims 4now costs more than $1,000, and that number will continue to rise with more expansion packs, kits, and stuff packs on the way.
Competition that genuinely threatens to pull players away incentivizes better business practices to keep players.The Sims 4needs to create better expansion packsthat justify a $40 price point, with worlds packed with things to do that feel alive, better gameplay, and mechanics that at least match their counterparts fromThe Sims 3. The success ofInZoiandParalivesmeans a healthier industry, and will ultimately give fans of life sims the power to choose between different games.
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’re able to 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
