The Sims Online was just a little too close to reality for a virtual world

The Sims Online was just a little too close to reality for a virtual world: "Surely the bestselling computer game of all time would have experienced a smoother transition from single- to multiplayer, especially a game with a social needs bar; friendless Sims end up moping around on the couch and experiencing Social Bunny hallucinations. Yet TSO was poorly received.

The fact that EA had nixed user-created content and turned a multitude of flexible worlds into one persistent world did not help. Most disappointingly, the necessities of eating, sleeping, and acquiring career skills ended up overshadowing what should have been the central aspect of TSO: socialization. After five years of stagnation, TSO was demoted to EA-land in February, then closed down altogether last month."