Now that Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch and EA is among the many third-party developers that support the Nintendo Switch (formerly the NX), what is the chance that the console version of The Sims 4 will be coming to the Switch alongside the Wii U, 3DS, PS4, Xbox One and PS Vita?

it's bad enough on the pc!

I want us to put The Sims 4 to sleep and focus on The Sims 5. The fact that I wont relive the magic of being excited for a new EP/sims game in ca 2019!

You know, when I think about it The Sims 4 is a lot like a console iteration of The Sims - very watered down.

Regardless, I don't see this happening, for two reasons:

I. The Sims 4 has not seen a console release so far, and is not in a very good state right now. EA doesn't even seem to care about supporting the PC version much, so why bother with a watered-down console version? I mean, if The Sims 4 PC is already so watered-down that I'm comparing it to a console version, how bad would a console-version of The Sims 4 be? That'll give me nightmares!

II. EA may have 'pledged' their support for the Switch. They did the same thing for the Wii U. We all saw where that went. People are getting wayyyyy too ahead of themselves with hyping the Switch. Not that a The Sims 4 release would be hyping the console. No console deserves such a fate.

I wouldn't use the Wii U situation as evidence for anything, to be completely honest. There are a few rumors that EA and Nintendo had a deal that went sour right before release, and it had to do with the online infrastructure. Supposedly, Nintendo reached out to EA for development on the Wii U's online, only to turn away right before the console's release because EA wanted too much control or something. I also wouldn't be surprised if their working relationship at the time was further strained by marketing. The marketing of the Wii U and its games was not good at all, and I'm guessing that EA was not too pleased about that.

I do agree with your first point, however. The game just doesn't have the presence that the previous entries had to warrant a console release.

The lack of third party support for the Wii U ran much deeper than that, though. When all of the other third parties backed out for other reasons, do you really think that EA would have stuck around?

I don't see why people are expecting a turnaround with the Switch. I'm not saying it doesn't have the potential for the good, fun Nintendo games (look at that! Focus on a regular controller!) but as far as lasting third party support goes, I don't see it being too different. The Switch is still going to be much weaker than the other consoles of the next generation.

Of course others backed out of the Wii U, with their test games not doing too well and the console not doing well and all that. However, it was clearly evident that EA had backed off before the console even released and before companies like Ubisoft did. They did very little marketing for their own Wii U games, and in the instance of Mass Effect 3, sent it out to die with its release so close to Mass Effect Trilogy. No, I recognize the Wii U situation was dire. However, as I also said, EA and Nintendo's working relationship turned bad before the console even released.

This isn't to say that we should jump head-on and expect the best. Nintendo's recent history must be taken into account. However, there are far too many situational differences between the Wii U and the Switch to be able to put too much weight into it. My suggestion is to simply keep an open mind, expect nothing, and keep a neutral stance until we see what's up come release.

That said, this is getting a bit off-topic. The more I think about it, the more I honestly don't expect to see another console port of the game in the series at all, regardless of platform. And it isn't simply due to The Sims 4. The brand, as of late, has lost value and isn't as big as it used to be. If EA is going to continue to allot resources to development on the Sims, I can see them trying to keep it limited to Freeplay and PC offerings. And of course, much of those resources are going to be dedicated to micro-transactions and whale hunting.