Drama around Hello Kitty Island

There's been sad times in the Hello Kitty Island community, which sucks.  Everything was super happy and hype last month.  People were having a good time with Wheatflour Wonderland.  Sure, there were some bugs, but fixes are on the way already.

Then, last week happened, and everyone collectively lost their minds.  Sunblink announced City Town would be delayed until next year, and would be paid DLC, and everyone lost their shit.  People expected City Town at the end of the year, and they expected it to be included in the base price.

Personally, I will be honest, I thought it was going to be included with the base game too, however, I'm not upset if they make it as good as Wheatflour Wonderland and stick it behind a 15$ price tag. 

I appear to be in the minority, however, because the Hello Kitty Island Discord and subreddit have been exploding with a ridiculous amount of rage and entitlement.  It really takes me back to the trauma I experienced working in customer support for a major video game company many years back.  It really sucks that both the HKIA community and the Sims community are going through problems at the same time.

The Current Events of The Sims and the Life Sim Genre

 No pretty pictures this time.  In case you've been living under a rock, EA has been bought by some very rich, very unfriendly people.  Those unfriendly rich people are probably going to do bad things to The Sims 4, as well as everything Bioware is working on, and all the sports games they were buying too.

I've been following the Sims since the first one came out when I was in high school.  I haven't always agreed with every decision Maxis and EA made, but for my own mental health and well-being, I'm going to back away from the Sims 4 before they destroy it.  I already own the Sims 3.  I've reinstalled it and recreated my favorite Sims in the Sims 3.  Why the Sims 3?  Because I can run it without internet access or the EA app, which I will be uninstalling, when I'm ready.

Should I quit the entire Sims franchise and never play any of them again?  Maybe, but I grew up with this game series, and it means a lot to me.  So, for my own benefit, I've decided to keep the Sims 1, 2, and 3.  Could I just wait for Paralives to come out in December?  Yes, but Paralives is a small start up game, in early access, worked on by a very small indie team, and I don't want to put the pressure of a 25 year legacy on them.  That wouldn't be fair.  Is Inzoi a reasonable alternative?  Not in it's current state.  I did buy Inzoi at launch, but I regret it because of the heavy use of generative AI, and a total lack of gameplay.

So, for the time being, I'm playing the Sims 3, and watching streamers who play the Sims 1, 2, and 3.  I will uninstall the Sims 4 when I'm ready, and the EA app.