How many years should a new The Sims game come out?

idontknowmate

The Sims came out on 2000.
The Sims 2 came out on 2004.
The Sims 3 came out on 2009.
The Sims 4 will come out on 2014.

It seems that the cycle is every 4-5 years. Is it long enough?

Personally I thought it is not long enough. I think the Sims should follow the console generations and come out with a new game every time a new console comes out. Even though The Sims is not for the consoles, it kind of coincides with the coming out of new technology. Anyone have thoughts about this?

luckycrth91

It was just before TS3 came out that 64-bit tech became a bigger option for consumers.

16-bit tech disappeared right before TS came out.

Who knows, by 2018...we might have better technology on a tablet/smartphone than a laptop computer.

AdrieCm

I think 4-5 years is enough. Things change very quickly and games like this can get outdated very quickly.

CK213

-Changing/new technology
-Computer limits as the EPs come out
-Shrinking customer base as the years go by
-Adapting to new markets
-Inflexibility of the old gaming engine to new customer demands
-New games coming out that might attract the target market even if they aren't in the same genre


Determines how long a Sim series last. So far that's been 4-5 years.

Staruna

4-5 years is perfect.

Production starts a few years before the game is even released. So by the time 4-5 years pass, the engine is outdated.

Icarus

That's more than long enough. PC games in particular need to keep up with technological progression. Console games don't experience this pressure because the hardware on consoles doesn't change over the entirety of the console's lifespan, assuming there's no mass re-issue of hardware due to a defect. The capabilities of any given console are stagnant. This isn't true with computers. Only a two year span can see huge changes in widely used and available hardware. My computer has an octa-core (8-core) processor that was purchased relatively cheaply (about $100) a few months ago; the first commercial octa-core processor was only released in 2011. That is the rate of progression that PCs see, and companies that make PC games absolutely need to keep up. TS3 is well outdated after five years. TS3's existence was first confirmed in 2006. iPhones didn't even exist in 2006. The engine is horribly outdated now, seven years in the future. It's time to move on to bigger, better, and more current things, and 2014 is the perfect time to do it.