The Sims 4is a game that’s almost eight years old, but fans don’t seem to mind since the community continues to thrive on Youtube, Twitch, TikTok, and elsewhere.The Sims 4still maintains its place as the most popular life simulation game on the market and continues to bring in revenue for Electronic Arts.
Fans may not be playingThe Sims 4because it’s the best life simulator, however. In reality, it’s practically the only option on the market that offers the capability aSimsgame does. While the first four games in the series came out at steady intervals between 2000 and 2014, EA has only very recently confirmed thatThe Sims 5is in development, and fans are not expecting to see any progress on the new game for a long time.
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It wouldn’t be true to say that EA releasedThe Sims 4in 2014 and hasn’t touched it since. The company has added frequent DLC, though almost all updates and additions to the base game cost money. Between different versions ofThe Sims 4Packslike kits, stuff, game, and expansion packs, there are more than 45 unique purchasable downloadable content options for the game. The expansion packs, which are the largest and add new areas and NPCs as well as in-game items and events, cost $39.99 each — almost the price of an entirely new AAA game title.
The most recent DLC, Cottage Living, came out in 2021 and fans enjoyed the new content that allowed farming and added animals that players can raise. Still, many fans remain frustrated at EA for putting so much effort into a seven-year-old game rather than developing a better, newer experience. Players have also expressed disappointment in the high price tag for downloadable updates on a game as old asThe Sims 4— for a player to own the game and all expansion packs (without including stuff packs, game packs, or kits) would ultimately cost just under $500.
Competition for The Sims 4
The Sims 4has a monopoly on the life simulator market, mainly because of the breadth of capabilities the game offers to players. While other simulation games generally choose one specialty and stick with it,The Simsgames have always offered several ways to play the game, allowing players to explore all of it or one small aspect. Gamers have the opportunity to play an architecture, design, landscaping, dating, family, college, and career simulator all inside of one game — a feat that other life simulation games likeAnimal Crossingdon’t come close to pulling off.
In 2020, a potential competitor toThe Sims 4finally appeared on the horizon.Paralivesis a new game in development with the dev team calling it a “dollhouse life simulator.” The creators ofParalivesclaim to be huge fans ofThe Simsfranchise and have taken on this project in order to help the genre grow and expand. Fans on social media have expressed extreme excitement about the upcoming game, especially as the development team has released consistent updates and videos, including a new video of the character creation process in December of 2021. The videos of the home and character creation inParalivesshow off extreme flexibility and creative freedom, focusing on issues that fans have had withThe Sims 4for years, including a lack of curved walls and lack of freedom with tattoo placement.
WhileParaliveswill likely be a strong rival toThe Sims 4’s domination ofthe life simulator genre, players aren’t sure when that will become a reality.Paralivesis still in development and while fans expected to see it sometime in 2021, the team behind the game has not confirmed or estimated a release date. For now,The Sims 4remains the most capable life simulator available and maintains its throne.
The Sims 4is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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