EA is currently seeking candidates to fill a Designer position at Maxis, and the role of this job is to “design and create user-facing content in a brand new Sims title”. While we don’t have solid confirmation of a Sims 4 Expansion in the works, this latest career listing pretty much confirms the obvious.
Maxis is currently working on a new Sims title. What could it be?

It may mean that a new Sims title, as in TS5, is in the works. I'm not sure if they are hiring to make a console version of TS4, as I'm not sure how it would stand out compared to the past console versions of The Sims. Or it could be a spin-off of TS4, but who would want that? Either way, it probably means that TS4 maybe too flawed from the inside to fix it just by EPs/SPs/GPs.

I do like this line in the same post about the requirements:

That would be a new approach for EA to take in this franchise's development

I don't know, this is EA we're talking about. Note also that some of the people had worked on The Sims series since the old Maxis days after EA acquired them, two of those people being Lucy Bradshaw and Lyndsay Pearson. Bradshaw was at Maxis since the late 90s, yet somehow she warped herself into this being that was part of the reasons why they tried to force their views of the "vision" of the games in SimCity 2013 and TS4. And Pearson even had the helicopter in AL named after her, so she worked on TS2, yet she doesn't even know what toddlers are?

for gawd sake someone show this job advert to Twallan! We needs him!

If EA has given up on the Sims 4 but not the franchise, says a lot about the typical big-name developers, it seems.

Maybe it's not TS5 or an expansion but a spin-off like TSM?

I have a strong feeling they still want to do this online The Sims thing

He's not interested:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...721#post4225721

The problem is that an online version of "playing god" just doesn't work, either because the developers give up on fixing bugs, or too many griefers, or a lack of control that players have over their sims...

*has noisy hysterics and hits the gin and tonic*

The Sims Online has been done once and I really think it can be done, it will not be the whole '' The Sims '' experience where you control everything but it would work for sure, and you guys might think I'm strange but I love it. My friend lives in another town and it would be so cool if we could visit each others virtual house, maybe cook diner and then throw parties or just visit other random persons houses, ah :lovestruc

I guess i don't like the idea, because a few years ago some friends of me asked in an accusive manner"You like The Sims?! Isn't that the same as second life?!" And i got very defensive trying to explain it's not the same. I didn't even know abot TSO back then, because i guess that was quite similar to Second Life.

Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess. It could be "third time's the charm" for online Sims.

I thought "new sims title" could be applied to an EP?

they make sim5 already? sim4 must be really failure

It's either an expansion or something like The Sims Castaways, or Medieval(I believe Medieval was well received? Never played it.) Small possibility of Sims Online, but I doubt it.

No way they are doing sims 5 already. unless they are planning that far in advance.

My first reaction was "They are going for an online game once more."

My first question was "Does that mean that TS4 will be abandoned?"

I don't know Lucy Bradshaw but I do know people like her. She and others around her must be seriously pissed off by the way things have been going for a year or so and they will do anything to prove that they were right after all, that a MMO is the only way to go. The question here is how much leverage they (still?) have; only someone with solid inside knowledge of EA could answer that

For a while I've felt that we have already seen the best of TS4; ghosts and pools were relativečy easy to add but is the game's engine strong enough to be developed the way TS2 and TS3 were? Twallan is out (I understand him perfectly) but more indicatively, Pescado is still sitting on the fence: he has obviously at least had a good look at the game and did not like what he saw; and he also hates Origin, with good reason. But there are are modders right here on MTS that, I hope, could provide an answer.

And there are other possibilities as well. The only thing that at least seems to be true is that EA is looking for an "outsider", which can only mean that they are, for some reason, in a really tight spot ATM.

But on the other hand, this might just be another of their tricks.

I gather you've seen the Sims 4 online gallery then, my spikey little friend?

It is a shining example of what happens when you put a tool that can create boobies, fat stomachs and currently, for some unknown reason, pregnant people and put it in the hands of teenage boys!

I'm not risking my beloved Sim families in that kind of environment!

I think it is possible that they plan that far in advance. I know they do plan years in advanced in the animated movie business and games are similar. It takes years to design and animate a complex project. But, I'm not sure that this means they're working on Sims 5 or not. Maybe...?

Sometimes developers hire teams to work on certain aspects of a game in order to continue making progress. For example, they'll have a team work solely on expansion packs while having another team that only works on fixing bugs and polishing up the game further. If anything, this shows that Maxis is behind when it comes to progressing in the Sims 4, because they're most likely working on bringing back elements of the game that didn't make the cut do to time restrictions (which eats time away from expansion packs). The Mac version is also not out yet, which it might have something to do with that also.

The Sims 4 was orginally supposed to be online. It was called Olympus. Apparently Maxis spent 6 years developing this project to make the Sims 4 online to follow suit with SimCity, but EA axed the project after SimCity turned out as badly as it did with the community. It's said that The Sims 4 that we own today was only in development for a little over a year (which explains the missing features and why it's so limited).

Some hints of this:

- The return of the loading screens (open world wouldn't have been as smooth online).
- The towns in The Sims 4 are setup similar to how the regions are in SimCity.
- The UI is not only designed the same as SimCity, but it also uses the same programming concept.
- The removal of toddlers (most likely didn't have time to develop them with time constraints). Also why teens are the same height as adults, they most likely didn't have enough time to develop teens properly.
- The removal of family trees and story progression (the story progression would have been the interactions with the online community).
- Sims disappear off of lots (a good chunk of animations removed).
- It's said that community lots were supposed to be like "hubs".
- Why the towns are so small and the reduced lot sizes.
- The removal of terrain tools (the same thing happened to SimCity).
- This list goes on.

Sims 4 online concept video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2IPZDJ-pt0
A little dramatic, but: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcIdKqvMD00
SimCity Regions: http://www.simcityhub.com/wp-conten...city-Region.jpg
The Sims 4 Town: http://simscommunity.net/wp-content...08/Untitled.jpg
Some more proof of Olympus concept images and Sims 4 content: http://4put.ru/pictures/max/857/2633254.jpg
And: http://honeywellsims4news.tumblr.co...s-what-happened
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Between the gallery and pretty much having to rebuild The Sims 4 (while most likely using certain things from Olypms), it explains why the developers also have been so consistent with talking about money and time restraints. This also explains why they removed CAST and many of the Sims 3 features.

I don't think they're working on The Sims 5, Is easier that they're doing some separated sims stuff like My Sims.

This position isn't new, it's been posted twice now since January, so it's definitely not The Sims 5 -- The Sims 4 was still almost a year from being published when they started advertising. But they are working on a concurrent Sims title according to this resume from October 2013.

My guess is it's the first expansion.

Oh it's not just the teenage boys, there are enough teengae girls who produce CC-caked, ugly as hell monstrosities who have descriptions like "This is Twila, she has a wild streak, but is sensitive at heart PLZ download" and crap like that.

If there was a new Sims Online, judging by the current Gallery, its population would consist of 99% "hawt" YA female Sims, celebrity Sims and Berry Sims. No thank you.

I think a spinnoff would be kind of neat, depending on the kind of spin-off, but then again Sims spinn offs are always really flawed like Sims Castaways laking the possibility to create additional lots and Sims Medieval being....well the epitome of Rabbit Hole, CYOA pretend-content and you couldn't even build your own castle for Pete's sake!