There was always one feature that EA never officially commented on, and that was whether or not The Sims 4 would get a “Store” in the future. And even though they accidentally leaked information about a “Premium Membership” last July, they have yet to address that, or the possibility of a Sims 4 Store.
As I was making my rounds online, I ran into the LinkedIn profile of Sims 4 Interface Designer, Melissa Manlutac-Reese. According to current projects, she’s been working on “In-Game Purchasing UI” since May of 2014.
Since there hasn’t been any official statement by EA it’s best to file this one under Speculation/Rumor. However, could EA be working on a store for The Sims 4? If so, is this a service that would interest you?
UPDATE: Additional testing shows that it is possible to use the “Origin Checkout” feature within the game to purchase additional packs, however it is important to note that the system powering the in game purchases is an Origin based checkout system, which is already available in many EA titles.
Micro-transactions is a lucrative investment for EA and a beneficial value add for The Sims Community as a whole. EA is believed to have generated over 20 Million in revenue from The Sims 3 Store. Working on the assumption that each Sims 3 item averages at about 100 Sim Points or about $1.00 per item, that’s approximately 20 million Sims 3 Items sold.
UPDATE #2 – Melissa Manlutac-Reese has scrubbed her profile of “Gallery and In-Game Purchasing”. Here’s a screenshot of her profile showing the above mentioned line as it was yesterday.
