If I've learned anything from the wait and speculation from 2 to 3, I'll tell everyone else this: Don't
ever let your hopes for the game hype you up for it... the higher your hopes, the harder you'll crash once you see what it'll really be. Believe me, it hurts.
As for online play idea, geez, they'll really want to nickle and dime the heck out of everyone if that happens. There's just no way it'll survive if they decide to go fully online with gameplay, especially if they don't have a large and dedicated task force to keep the trolls in check. (... since we've seen an example of bad modding in the first Sims Online and of course the BBS) The whole thing smells of a disaster in the making.
