Does the end of The Simpsons Tapped Out mean a new era of Simpsons games?

In the last decade or so, there has been one video game based on the long-running animated comedy The Simpsons. And it’s been one mobile game, The Simpsons: Tapped Out from Electronic Arts. Clearly the game had been making EA enough money that they didn’t feel the need to make other Simpsons games. We thought it would be that way virtually forever, especially as licensed games have always been a mixed bag. With arguably one or two exceptions despite numerous attempts, there hasn’t been an excellent game based on America’s favorite animated family.

Unexpectedly, the news hit this week that after twelve years of being the only modern videogame representation of The Simpsons, The Simpsons: Tapped Out is ending its run in January of next year. That could mean the last Simpsons game is dead and we’ll never get another, but more likely it’s been decided to do something, anything more with the franchise in the videogame space.

But what exactly would that be? Is there that much interest in Simpsons games these days? While about to enter its whopping thirty-sixth season of existence with no signs of slowing down anytime soon, The Simpsons as a property is hardly at its height of power anymore. Rather than investing in a new game, I would think the move would be either a collection of most of the older games for historical appreciation, or a remaster/re-release on modern platforms of one of the few generally agreed-upon good titles (that being The Simpsons Arcade Game, Simpsons Road Rage, or Simpsons Hit and Run).

If there were to be a new game, the smart move would to make something smaller that harkens back to a more nostalgic era of the series. A spiritual follow-up to The Simpsons Arcade Game would be ideal and the blueprint is right there with games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.

Whether it leads to some collections, remasters or ports, or some entirely new games, I do hope the end of The Simpsons: Tapped Out is not the end of The Simpsons in videogame form, there’s plenty of good and cool ways they could be used in the medium.

That’s it for today, I have been playing some Epic Mickey Rebrushed and frankly didn’t think I had enough thoughts on it to write a whole blog entry. I will say this: Epic Mickey Rebrushed is vastly improved over the original, but still has some notable issues (like not giving you much direction on quests) and doesn’t perform too great on Nintendo Switch so maybe get it on any other platform. If you had any affection for the original or thought it had unrealized potential I’d recommend it. This will also be my last blog entry for a little while. I am taking at least the month of October off and likely November as well with plans to come back around when Indiana Jones and The Great Circle drops in December (if that gets delayed I’ll still likely come back in December anyways). So see you not so soon but in a couple months!