AL sounds really interesting, but then again so did OFB which got boring in less than a week. Most of the creators of my fave mods have retired, so I doubt I'll be getting AL, unless I see lots of posts saying how great it is. Then I'll decide whether or not I can live without my mods.
As for Sims 3, all I can say is Yuck!!! I am a serious control freak, (I play with Free Will off...), and I don't want my Sims doing whatever the hell they please. I want them to do what I want, when I want. LOL I typically start a family, get all the kids to teen, and send them to college. Then I play the teens through college by age (birth order). When they graduate I play the parents to grave. Then rotate through the households. If time progresses for them when I'm on another lot, then I'm toast. LOL I want time to stop for my Simmies when my RL calls.
I have wasted my money on several console versions of the Sims. They aren't fun with specific goals/challenges. I want to challenge myself. If that is what EA is going for, they can count me out!