The Sims 4?

That was my thought Fansee. And doing something similiar to Sims3 where the store is advertised in game.

And given that they love to close down their servers after they stop developing a game, it would mean that the game would be unplayable when Sims 5 came along or they abandoned it.

My big problem with needing online startup/always online/frequently online game is that it relies on the company to maintain the servers whether or not they are making money out of it. EA is notorious for not maintaining servers.

Ah, I hadn't even thought of that, kiri. Yeah. If Sims 2 had required an online connection it would have been unplayable by now. So basically you're not buying the game - you're renting it for 1-5 years or so. Weasely move indeed.

I've heard their is now a mod to let you play Simcity 5 offline, but it's still in testing. If modders can make Sim city 5 offline, I'll bet they can do the same with Sim 4. I think for me it will be a watch and wait approach. See what bugs get reported, see if that online connection is needed to start the game because it sounds like it, and see what modders can come up with.