As one of the most popular game franchises in the world, The Sims has a lot of eyes keeping track of any news or plausible rumors. Sims 4 came out in 2014, which is just long enough ago for the fans to get a bit restless about announcements of a continuation in the series. Unfortunately, EA have not released any information about a Sims 5 game as of yet, but there are some rumors running around, some educated guesses, and some very plausible assumptions.
First off, looking at the release years for all previous installments in the Sims franchise, it’s plain to see that new games show up ever 4 and a half years. This would make 2019 the likeliest candidate for the release of Sims 5. Of course, nothing is yet confirmed, but EA is nothing if not obsessed with patterns in monetizing their IP.
So that means that there’s about a year and a half left to wait, if EA will keep to its established pattern. In the meanwhile, they’re still releasing plenty of content for the Sims 4 game, as downloadable packages which enhance the experience in various ways. But the wait for the 5th member of the Sims family might very well be worth it for a very special reason.
Think about it – what if you could look your Sims straight in the face? What if you could walk among them, interact with them, enter the dollhouse completely? Well, that’s what VR technology is for. And it’s a very likely hypothesis that EA will integrate this technology into the next Sims video game. Many multi-billion dollar companies have invested truckloads of time, talent and money into VR development as of late, and Microsoft seems to be leading the charge, with it $299 VR headset. This makes the technology very affordable, and cements its position as the future of gaming.
EA would be shooting themselves in the foot by not developing one of their powerhouse products to be compatible with this technology. Besides, the rumor mill is hinting that Sims 5 will be coming on Microsoft’s next generation console too. The monster-console, titled “project Scorpio”, is reportedly going to be the next level in console power evolution, and will come with native VR support.
Now, of course, all this could be wishful thinking. Regardless, it’s definitely worth saying, because if we wish it hard enough, and speak it loud enough, it might just happen that EA listens and makes it real!
