The Sims 5 could have “social interactions and competition” according to EA

Almost twenty years later, and The Sims is a franchise that still commands an amazing level of respect from its fans. Whether you’re a fan of playing god or you just bought the original game so that you could sadistically murder your creations by removing the ladder from the pool (Hi mom!), the franchise has been a big and lucrative part of EA’s portfolio for many a year.

The current incarnation of the series, The Sims 4, is starting to reach a point that is nearer to the end than the beginning. The Sims 5 is an inevitability, but what could it do to push the franchise further than ever before? Go for broke on the social side of building your Sims community. In a recent conference call with investors, EA CEO Andrew Wilson spoke about how a “new generation” Sims game could fulfil the need for social interaction and competition.

“As Maxis continues to think about The Sims for a new generation – across platforms in a cloud-enabled world – you should imagine that, while we will always stay true to our inspiration, escape, creation, and self-improvement motivations, that this notion of social interactions and competition – like the kind of things that were actually present in The Sims Online many, many years ago – that they will start to become part of the ongoing Sims experience in the years to come,” Wilson said after engaging the turbo-PR speak engines to maximum.

We are very excited. This is a game that really doesn’t have any competition in its category for delivering and fulfilling these motivations for players and we think is a tremendous growth opportunity for us for many, many years to come.

My best bet? A traditional Sims experience that is augmented by online hub zones filled with all manner of activities within which to compete. And maybe even a chance for friendly Sims from across the Internet pond to wander on over and interact with yours. Until then, there’s still a whole lot of Sims content to be had in The Sims 4 as the game just went full millennial with a Tiny Living stuff pack.

Last Updated: February 3, 2020