Sims moving into next-gen digs?
Source: An e-mail widely circulated among industry professionals. The official story: See below. What we heard: Electronic Arts' The Sims is one of the most successful gaming franchises in history. Since its debut in 2000, it has routinely dominated the PC sales charts every time an expansion or...
Source: An e-mail widely circulated among industry professionals.
The official story: See below. 
What we heard: Electronic Arts' The Sims is one of the most successful gaming franchises in history. Since its debut in 2000, it has routinely dominated the PC sales charts every time an expansion or sequel has been released. Its value as a property is further enhanced because the game's formula of controlling characters in an aquarium-like environment made the series accessible to traditional nongamers.
It was only a matter of time before the game moved onto consoles, which it did in 2003 with The Sims for the PlayStation 2. However, the game's new home proved not to be a perfect fit, because it wasn't quite the retail whopper it was on the PC. Console versions have sold decently enough, though, and several Sims ports and spin-offs continue to be fed into the market with various degrees of critical reception.
Continuing The Sims into the next generation seems to be in EA's plans. An e-mail that was sent out by an EA producer to members of the gaming industry reveals that EA's Redwood Shores, California, studio is looking to hire people for future Sims projects. Among the requisite calls for artists, producers, and software engineers is an opening for a "PS3 Engineer."
We're going to go out on a limb here and assume that "PS3" does in fact mean PlayStation 3. It should be noted that the PS3 was singled out, as there was no mention of an opening for an Xbox 360 engineer. To date, there has been no announcement of furthering The Sims franchise on any platform, let alone next-gen consoles. It's no stretch to assume the series will continue on the PC, but the move to next-gen consoles isn't a given--or is it?
When asked about The Sims coming to the PS3, an EA rep said, "We haven't announced anything at this time." Not to be outdone (and to keep a Rumor Control mainstay in the loop), another EA rep told GameSpot, "We do not comment on rumors or speculation."
Playing the devil's advocate, what reasons would there be to not make a next-gen console version of The Sims? For one, The Sims hasn't been the success on consoles that EA had hoped it would be. And two, development costs for next-gen games are too high to risk a game that isn't a guaranteed big seller.
On the other hand, it is The Sims after all, a franchise that has moved more than 58 million units worldwide, and EA has plenty of money to burn to get a strong foothold in the next-gen market. Though expansions (which are money in the bank to EA) made their way onto the PC with relative ease, moving them onto consoles just wasn't in the picture. However, with microtransactions being "the next big thing" with the Xbox 360 and PS3, a Sims game for those consoles and the possibility of charging gamers $1 for a virtual beanbag chair or whatnot might be too enticing to ignore. And with superior next-gen graphics, wouldn't locking a Sim in a room with no windows, doors, or toilet be that much more diabolical (read: enjoyable)?
Bogus or not bogus?: Nothing is set in stone, but we're leaning waaaaaaay far into "not bogus" territory. Now where's that pink flamingo lawn ornament!?
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