Sometimes it’s a smart move when a game studio decides to prepare themselves for the future. Nothing is worse than being left in the dust seeing an idea that was initially yours being lucrative outside of your control, or even having someone capitalize on your laziness, resulting in having to fork over some cash to secure your own investment.

In order to avoid either case, EA has made a big play with their Sims franchise by registering domain names for a potential 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th iteration of the game. They can be found by visiting theSims followed by the number of the game (ie. theSims4.com).

While the success of The Sims 3 on the PC and Mac has cemented the idea of a sequel, doesn’t it seem a bit ambitious to be registering three more games after that? While I am sure EA has great faith in their franchise’s legs, I am a stronger proponent of the “you have to walk before you run” mantra of jumping on ideas. What is keeping any reader of this news from going out and registering theSims8.com in hopes of being paid a decent sum from EA? Keeping your reach as close to your chest as possible demonstrates a humility in your product. By saying that you are going to take this journey one game at a time, fans will have faith that you are more invested in their experience than their wallets.

With The Sims 3 having not even been released for consoles yet, the audience reaction to the new game has yet to be tested. PC and Mac sales just aren’t what they used to be. You can throw everything from a new expansion pack to some medieval action at PC gamers and they will eat it up. The options are slim for PC games like The Sims, and if you grew up with The Sims, you grew up with them on PC. Console gamers are less apt to purchase a game because of the sheer number of games being thrown at them, especially in a very busy fall season.

EA will undoubtedly be developing Sims games for a long time to come and their foresight demonstrates that. Though it could be looked at as a rather bold move, it's really not at all and the buying domains costs them little to nothing to secure them, especially when the business world is very cutthroat. Covering all of your bases is a must and I cannot blame EA for wanting to protect their diamond haloed friends.

What do you think of four more potential Sims games Ranters? Are you even looking forward to playing The Sims 3? Let us know in the comments below.

The Sims 3 releases for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS on October 26th, 2010.

Source: Destructoid