Sims 4 developer warns there won't be a Sims 5 if this one doesn't sell

Good games get sequels and bad games get dropped. It's a fairly simple sort of math, although not necessarily the most consistent, as demonstrated by my ongoing wait for Arx Fatalis 2. Even so, it's rare that a developer is as blunt as Sims 4 Producer Grant "SimGuruGrant" Rodiek was when he said that if you ever want a new Sims game, you better buy the one that just came out.

Realistically, The Sims 5 is about as close to a sure thing as you're going to get in the world of videogames; The Sims is a hugely lucrative franchise for Electronic Arts, and The Sims 4 seems set to continue that trend . But even though it's an easy and even innocuous comment to make in that light, there is a certain ring of "Buy this game or else" to it. Unintentional, perhaps, but hard to overlook.

It was also apparently enough to make somebody reconsider the wisdom of putting those words out into the public, as Rodiek's original post seems to have been deleted. Fortunately, he was quoted by another user , who was then quoted by Rodiek himself. "It's not all or nothing, per se, but something has to pay for 5," he wrote, appearing to soften his stance somewhat. Which is true, and fair—but still a little unusual, wouldn't you say?

We're still hard at work on our Sims 4 review, so while you wait, here's 40 minutes of virtual cohabitation courtesy of the Tyler and Tom. Enjoy!

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.