I don't see that as a large problem for this title in particular (though it can be a problem for other titles). The Sims has always been a unique experience that people pick-up for that unique experience. Console versions of The Sims franchise have never been that great in comparison to the PC version and the PC version gets the most purchases and expansions and etc. I see The Sims 3 to continue to be a driving force on the PC platform and amass a large number of sales like any Sims PC title before it (unless in some inexplicable way, the game is bad, though that is highly unlikely to occur). The Sims titles always have stayed in the charts for years upon years and are usually really good at scaling to computers with different amount of power under the hood (nothing like running the original Sims on a Pentium III or the second Sims on a not that powerful laptop). This scaliability allows a greater number of people to pick-up Sims titles.
Even though many casuals have started to get into the console arena, the PC is a very strong casual force. The Sims 3 appeals to the casuals and even some of the more "hardcore" gamers (FPS and action fans cannot deny the fun of trapping Sims in houses and tormenting them).
The unique experience of The Sims franchise has not been able to be replicated on another platform to be as good as or better than the PC version - this will make the growing prevalence of consoles amongst casuals not be a major factor in the sales of this title.
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Thanks for the clarification!
I don't see that as a large problem for this title in particular (though it can be a problem for other titles). The Sims has always been a unique experience that people pick-up for that unique experience. Console versions of The Sims franchise have never been that great in comparison to the PC version and the PC version gets the most purchases and expansions and etc. I see The Sims 3 to continue to be a driving force on the PC platform and amass a large number of sales like any Sims PC title before it (unless in some inexplicable way, the game is bad, though that is highly unlikely to occur). The Sims titles always have stayed in the charts for years upon years and are usually really good at scaling to computers with different amount of power under the hood (nothing like running the original Sims on a Pentium III or the second Sims on a not that powerful laptop). This scaliability allows a greater number of people to pick-up Sims titles.
Even though many casuals have started to get into the console arena, the PC is a very strong casual force. The Sims 3 appeals to the casuals and even some of the more "hardcore" gamers (FPS and action fans cannot deny the fun of trapping Sims in houses and tormenting them).
The unique experience of The Sims franchise has not been able to be replicated on another platform to be as good as or better than the PC version - this will make the growing prevalence of consoles amongst casuals not be a major factor in the sales of this title.