https://simsvip.com/2017/05/09/elec...unity-thriving/

I am sure this will generate a lively discussion.

This is interesting also.
http://essentialfacts.theesa.com/mobile/

Kind of shows that we will buy anything Sims. The 10$ stuff pack is making them alot of money, and we are silly enough to keep buying them even know they are sub-par and bugs NEVER get fixed. I guess we get what we pay for, and I buy them also.

IMO the addition of toddlers, especially with how well done they were, had a lot to do with the increase in players. I know of several players who went out and purchased all the DLC packs they didn't already own after they were added. Naturally that's just off-hand info and not based on any stats but I could see that applying to a lot of people given how much toddlers were in demand.

As for that second report, that's been out for awhile. Yes, it's studies like that one that EA is using to create their strategy for game development. It's why they harp on about playing social games on multiple platforms for example. They like to design games as if they're paint-by-numbers products. IMO it's also why they have had to change The Sims so much. The original idea - a creative design game with pixel people - does not fit that strategy. An online social game cannot allow complete freedom for the player to create whatever they want, and it has to be simplified in order to work in an online environment.

Lots of people saying they're lying about it. I don't think they would (or could) lie about it, but there sure as hell is more to it than just constant, significant growth. I'm stupid, but I'm not nearly stupid enough to believe that TS4 is making it rain for EA. Either that, or I underestimate the amount of awkward 13 year olds on cheap-ass laptops willing to spend their entire savings account (all $87 of it) on TS4 packs.

The best thing about this report is that it, from a logical perspective, should lessen the risk that The Sims 5 is never produced.
"If Sims 4 isn't successful, there won't be a Sims 5", Grant Rodiek threatened some 20 months ago. So since they now say that the community is thriving, I guess we should be free to start hoping for a Sims 5, and speculate and wish what we'd like to see in that game.

Top 20 best selling games of 2016:

Considering the franchise's total sales figures, I assume a Sims game must've been on this list for at least 15 of the 17 years they've existed. But alas, no TS4. Very telling.

I didn't start enjoying the game until it was in its 3rd year not long after GT, later on that same year I just had to go buy everything, so I must one of those people they are talking about.

I noticed that too about the top 20. It is all platforms, but still I am sure even considering that, Sims would have shown in the past I am sure. I also think there was a big boost because of the toddlers. I don't believe there has been steady growth when an employee in a presentation says buy the city EP at full price.

This may mean Sims 5 will follow. Logically, it should. The question is whether EA will get major input from the community to see what is wanted, or just come up with whatever their next vision is and tell us to like it or move on? Will they do something that long time players will see as an upgrade, or just go for whatever will generate the most income in their estimation? We shall see. It will be an interesting next few years. Getting popcorn.

I think TS3 had like 3 spots on the top 15 best-selling PC titles of 2015. Hell, if I recall correctly, TS4 and TS3: Starter Pack were number #1 and #2.

EDIT: TS4 at numbers 1 and 4. TS3 at numbers 3, 11, 12, 15, 16 and 17.

I think when the original came out it was the best selling PC game in the world. (?) And if 4 was number one at one time it is odd to not make it to the top 20 in this new list, but it would be interesting to see a list of 2016 for the PC games.

Remember, TS3 was still in the top 3 6 years after it came out. 3 years after TS4, it's not even in the top 20. Apples and oranges though, I'm comparing PC sales with all sales.

SimsVIP commenters say that EA is a "public business" and would get in "legal trouble" for lying. As much as I disagree with them, surely blatantly lying is not something they would just do.

EA would be really dumb if they lie to shareholders and investors but it's EA

Going by this sales chart TS4 must have sold more than 2 million copies in 2015 and it's only retail sales that are tracked, so digital is extra.
Still impressed by TS3 + Addons sales

4th quarter is Jan to March for EA. Fiscal year for EA starts in May so it's different from the normal cycle.


Yup totaly right. These numbers mean next to nothing when you don't have the hard numbers, but EA knows why the don't like to release real numbers.

EA always speaks 'in code' and meaningless phrases that don't mean a whole lot. I like to compare it to all those commercials on TV that claim that "9 out of 10 doctors agree...". I always imagine that they rounded up 10 PHd's and asked them a question that they couldn't disagree with.

Also about those sales charts: I have said over and over again that it depends on whether they are comparing all video games or just games made for the PC. If they just compare PC games (of which there are relatively few just for the PC), then TS4 looks to be more successful. But if you compare it with all games on all platforms TS4 falls off the face of the earth.

That is PC the other one is all platforms.

more like dying ea blowing it out their asses as usual. only thing keeping the game alive is WW

Hahahahahaha
It's thriving about as much as the elephant population of Mars
No, seriously, I'm not being mean, but for EA to suddenly come out and say this smacks of a desperate attempt to show that it was a success.
"an increase 33% year-over-year in the 4th quarter" is a very selective way of trying to point this out. Very shifty and it tells us nothing about the actual numbers which are important.
I sold 33% more chewing gums this year than I did last year. Last year I sold 2 packets. You see where I'm coming from?

Wow. They legitimately think they're in good standing with the fanbase right now.

This is both funny and sad.

That's because they are, and they have the profits to prove it.

They may not lie directly, but there are always ways to conveniently "twist" the truth to achieve a balance between not lying, but not being truthful either. I don't think it's uncommon for a publicly traded company to twist the truth in such a way, especially if not doing so could hurt your profit and/or public image.

They're talking about Q4 (not any other quarters) because it's the earnings call for Q4.

"Year-over-year" means in comparison with the same period of the last year. For example, if 3 million active players were playing TS4 in March 2016, a 33% year-over-year increases means that 4 million players were playing TS4 in March 2017.



1. The chart ranks games based on units sold, not total revenue generated. Sales of additional DLC, microtrasanctions, etc. do not count as more units sold.

2. The source of this chart is NPD, which tracks digital sales for console games (with a few exceptions), and all PC games sold on Steam. Meanwhile, Origin sales are not tracked/included. Source (the poster is an employee of NPD.)

In short, only physical copies of TS4 games sold counts towards this chart (moreover, base game and expansions such as City Living count as separate entries). The last place of this chart (Dark Souls 3) sold around 700k copies in the US in 2016. This means for TS4 to appear on this chart, either the base game or City Living by itself need to sell more than 700k physical copies in the US in 2016. This is simply impossible duo to how high the digital ratio for PC games are (there are sources that suggest that over 90% of PC games sold are digital; in the US, the "physical" copy of City Living is literally a code in a box as EA no longer bothers to make disks for PC games outside a few select regions). Even using extremely conservative estimation, 700k physical copies would imply over 2 million copies sold in total, and over 5 million when you add sales from the rest of the world (since the chart is US only). No one should be surprised that TS4 base game (or City Living by itself) did not sell more than 5 million copies in 2016.

I still think it was less of a threat, and more of a statement. In order to get the funding and blessing necessary from EA to develop The Sims 5, The Sims 4 has to sell well. I don't feel Grant Rodiek was "threatening" anyone. He was just making a statement saying that if The Sims 4 doesn't sell well, they won't receive the funding they need. Creating games is expensive, and getting a publisher to go on board with an idea if it didn't do well the last time is probably even more expensive.

It's really easy to take things the wrong way, but the truth is what Grant said. No copies sold = no sequel.