Sims 4 to be released in 2014

The Sims 4, the latest entry in the beloved franchise of life simulators, will be launched in 2014 for both the PC and Mac, according to Game Industry International and Arcade Sushi.

 

Because of the numerous complaints about the always-online functionality of Electronic Arts’ other flagship title, SimCity, The Sims 4 will be an offline, single-player experience.

 

“The Sims 4 celebrates the heart and soul of the Sims themselves, giving players a deeper connection with the most expressive, surprising and charming Sims ever in this single-player offline experience,” stated the press release. “The Sims 4 encourages players to personalize their world with new and intuitive tools while offering them the ability to effortlessly share their creativity with friends and fans.”

 

The Sims continues to be one of the most recognizable and successful video game franchises in the world, selling over 150 million copies. So far, there have been 3 main games, 24 expansions, and a slew of spin-offs, including The Sims Social, developed by Playfish for Facebook, and The Sims FreePlay, a free, downloadable iOS game.

 

Two more expansions for The Sims 3 are slated for release this year before the official launch of The Sims 4.

 

Learning from experience

 

The recent iteration of the SimCity franchise was met with a great deal of controversy. Server problems early after the game’s release angered fans and critics alike. To make matters worse for players were the game’s nasty bugs and the developers’ own decision to drastically miniaturize the scale of the city, from the once-sprawling metropolis of past games to its current size of disappointingly-not-much-larger-than-a-large-town. Despite these issues, the game managed to be financially successful, selling 1.1 million units within the first two weeks of its release.

 

Will Wright, creator and designer of both SimCity and The Sims, said the issues as pointed out by players were “inexcusable”.

 

“That was basically inexcusable, that you charge somebody $60 for a game and they can’t play it,” said Wright. “I can understand the outrage. If I was a consumer buying the game and that happened to me, I’d feel the same.”

 

The Sims 4 is under development by The Sims Studio and Maxis. — TJD, GMA News