The Sims is one of the top five EA franchises

[AnnaIME]

The Escapist has an article (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117159-EA-Blames-Casuals-For-Falling-Old-Republic-Subscriber-Numbers) about the falling subscription numbers of "The Old Republic" MMO. This was near the end:

EA shogun, John Riccitiello popped up to add that while The Old Republic is counted amongst EA's top ten earning franchises, it's not in the top five.

"So it's a business contributor, while important, is not as important as Medal of Honor or Battlefield or FIFA or Madden or The Sims or SimCity," he said, "but it's more important than Tiger Woods PGA Golf."

So now we now. The Sims is one of the top five EA franchises.

I would never have thought The Sims franchise to be very important to EA. I thought they saw us as just a niche market.

[EmotedLlama]

Um, The Sims is the highest selling PC franchise. So, yeah, we're HUGE.

[matrix54]

This has been news a for a very long time.
Very, very long...

[smorbie1]

still, we are kind of a niche market when you think most of the games out there are sports or questing games. Sims is the only life simulation game I can think of.

[matrix54]

It's one of a kind, yes, but we aren't all that niche. It falls under simulation. People don't play it because it's a simulation game though, but because it's fun and has broad appeal. That alone makes it loose it's niche category for being a life simulator, but I do see your point.

[taizhu]

Sims is definitely a one of a kind game, but it has had the record for the top selling PC game for a very long time. Also, Sims tends to outsell many of the "popular" console games in the market.

I think the Sims 3 franchise is very important to EA but they can also afford to neglect us. Other games are more hit and miss. The sims is pretty much always a hit. So EA treats us well by cultivating the community, inviting community members to their offices, allowing gamers to make commercials, holding townhalls, etc. Very few games provide that level of outreach to players. On the other hand, I think the Sims fan community is so loyal, that EA lets itself be lazy. Sims fans will buy no matter what.

Personally, I may skip a few stuff packs--but I never skip buying sims expansion. It has been this way since The Sims.

[jeffrompas]

What I think they meant: They make more monies for us. Surely the problem is with the customers if they stopped subscription after the first billing cycle, right? They must be casuals, right?
Wow EA... Just wow...