Today I spent on this site, Macrothinker, doing up the WordPress theme, getting it just how I want it. For those of your who remember my old site, you will recall I created the website design using iWeb. I have given up on iWeb. I cannot figure an easy way to make for comments from the reader using that program. I decided to switch to WordPress. It has taken me about a day to get the files uploaded to the server, transfer the static pages of the original site to here, and get feeling comfortable with the change.

I won’t write much today. It is 4:00pm and my brain is normally dulled by the afternoon. I will leave you with a few thoughts about EA Games and the Sims 3.

I actually thought about purchasing the Sims 3 new expansion pack, Showtime, but it plays into a direction I have no desire to explore: social networking and stage entertainment shows. As I watched this YouTube video, I got the real feel of what this expansion pack is all about:

EA (Electronic Arts), the publisher of the Sims franchise, is no longer building or pleasing an adult fan base. They are aiming at underage kids. I am of the over 30 crowd. I am not into X-Factor/American Idol/Karaoke kinds of socializing and entertainment. I enjoy these shows in limited quantities on TV, but in a Sims game? Come on EA. This direction is juvenile. It is unappealing to a fan base that took over a decade to build.

The Sims franchise is extremely popular with kids. I know of a six and eight year-old who fight for turns at playing it. If this younger age group make up the majority of Sims fans and they buy into this Katy Perry, bubblegum Showtime, I predict EA will have a huge hit on their hands. If the majority of buying fans are from the old school Sims, EA stands to lose a ton of money because I think these fans will protest and not buy Showtime. Is EA banking on the younger generation to keep their franchise profitable while the older aged fan base gets disgusted and walks away?

I am disappointed. I am saddened. I am angry. A game I have loved for more than a decade is moving away from what I always adored about the Sims, what kept me coming back for more. The Sims’ simple formula of meeting up, dating, falling in love, marrying, making a family and seeing these tiny dollhouse people grow old has been lost in a sea of careers, glitz, disco balls, and bad singing.

I am positive this new expansion pack will be a hit with kids under 13. It may even be a hit with the 20-something crowd. These groups do not have a working memory of what the Sims once were. By creating an expansion pack that alienates the older generation of Sims fans, EA has effectively cut away a huge number of buyers. I think this marketing decision from EA business analysts is not only a big gamble but also a big mistake. I do not see the social network fad propelling EA’s profits. EA will miss the mark. The sales returns in March will prove it.

I am going to protest EA’s new “Cherry Chapstick” direction. No matter how tempted by my addition to collect more Sims 3 crap, my dollar vote stops at this expansion pack. Showtime will not grace my shelf.