the-sims-2
Latest
Tim Sweeney's beef with Intel and PC gaming
Are PCs good for gaming? The short answer is yes, Tim Sweeney (of Unreal fame) is wrong because computers play many of the best games the platform has to offer without much struggle. Games like The Orange Box, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, The Sims 2, Company of Heroes or The Lord of the Rings Online all run fairly well without too much muscle behind them. His primary complaint (and ours too, actually) is that integrated graphics chips which are installed on the computers that stores like Best Buy sell, are in no way capable of playing the newer games sold at the very same stores. Intel is largely to blame for this, but of course if you've ever looked into buying a brand new video card, then you know they're not the only culprits of PC gaming's issues.
TMBG, Natasha Bedingfield headline Sims 2 FreeTime soundtrack
We generally don't get very excited about Sims 2 expansions. Don't get us wrong, we love the game (who doesn't), but the thought of dropping $29.99 for a few digital pairs of slacks just seems a little excessive -- there are real pairs of slacks we would invest in, had we the extra income. However, when looking over a recent press release for the game's latest addition, Sims 2 FreeTime, something radical caught our eye -- the game's soundtrack would feature Simlish remixes of actual recording artists, including the Twin Quasars of Rock themselves, They Might Be Giants. Joining the Giants are Brit-pop princess Natasha Bedingfield, the small indie army of I'm From Barcelona, and a handful of other international artists, each providing a Simlish remix of one of their popular songs. It's a pretty awesome mix of off-the-mainstream tunes -- perhaps it will inspire Harmonix to explore some alternative jams for Rock Band DLC. Like, for instance, anything off of "Flood".
Sims 2 and H&M bring us adver-gaming v2.0
If you can't get enough of your Sims, but you're starting to think they're looking a bit drab in their fashions -- well, buck up kiddo, 'cause SimsGamer tells us you can now pre-order the Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff to dress your Sims up for summer. The game releases June 5 and will cost (wait, this can't be right) $20? Remember how we're always told that advertising in games is supposed to bring cost down? There was even a Morgan Minute about the subject and we're still waiting for it to be true. You'd think that this "expansion" would be given away free at H&M. It benefits the company and extends the life of the three-year-old game. But, if EA is selling it at $20 there must be plenty of people who are going to plunk down the cash for what amounts to an ad for H&M that you play. A brilliant move by H&M and EA to charge customers for advertising if it works, good show.
'Sims' credit card will buy everything but a life
The official Sims 2 site is featuring a page of four different Visa credit card designs inspired by the game, encouraging fans to vote for their favorites. The site gives no info other than the cryptic announcement that the card will be "coming soon." While many Sims players seem to think it's a late April Fool's joke, so far it appears to be real. That means you'll be able to spend real dollars with a card promoting a product that turned consumerism into a game. Anyone else's brain exploding right about now?
Milestone: Sims' Hilary Duff campaign
We might have glossed over EA's deal with all-purpose-pop star Hilary Duff when it was announced earlier this month, but we're forced to call attention to a new photo spread of the digitized Duff (starring in Sims 2 Pets) because, one, Ludwig demanded we pay rightful homage to his idol; and two, this is a significant milestone in the games industry. Correct us if we're wrong, but isn't this the first time a publisher has pulled in a female celebrity to market its game to other females? (We exclude Mary-Kate & Ashley because they push their own Olson-branded games.) While we can't shake the ickiness of this deal, we have to acknowledge that EA landing Duff has opened up games marketing to a new realm of possibilities. Is there more profit in pursuing the ladies' dollar?
Sims 2 Pets will be shedding on the Mac
See Sim Spot run. See Sim Spot chew your Sim's shoes and then chase the Sim neighbor's Sim cat up a tree. Life is about to get a lot hairier for your Sims, but at least Mac gamers will be getting their creature comforts in November, just a few weeks after PC owners. The Sims 2 Pets is the fourth expansion pack in the series, and will feature over 80 breeds of dogs and cats. Better get out the Sim vacuum. See also: Sims on a plane
Sims on a plane
Electronic Arts is working with Pogo.com -- purveyor of casual internet games -- and in-flight entertainment company DTI Software to expand its dominance into the air. Even on flights, the jabbering tone of Simlish will pull you away from loved ones, sleep, and work. DTI expects The Sims 2 and a handful of Pogo's games will be added to its in-flight service by Q3 2007. Specific rollout will relate to individual airlines, but DTI tells us that it expects the games to be offered on portable media players throughout the cabins. These games are often free, but pricing will also be determined by carriers. Most of all, we want to play our DS Wi-Fi in the air, but Boing's Boeing's Connexion has recently been shelved. While other WiFi options might fill that market, we like seeing these casual games offered to people who don't travel with handhelds. Anything that gets gaming exposed to non-gamers seems good.
Sims 2 wins best Mac game award
Aspyr Media's latest newsletter features a summary of the company's participation at last month's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, where they took home the Best Mac OS X Game award for The Sims 2. Also recognized in the Apple Design Awards was runner-up Wing Nuts 2: Raina's Revenge from Freeverse. While Apple isn't doing much for Mac gaming on the hardware front, Aspyr discusses their plans for using OS X Leopard's XCode developer toolset in future Mac game releases. You can download the Universal Binary update for The Sims 2 here.
How much is that doggie in the window?
We all know that Nintendo banked with Nintendogs. Though this idea had already been toyed around with by Ubisoft and their games Petz, (which later lead to Catz and Dogz for the GameBoy Advance) you would be surprised at how many folks didn't get wind of virtual pets until Nintendogs. Seeing the success of the game, other franchises want a piece of the big fat pie. Enter The Sims 2 Pets. Granted Sims fans were introduced to the idea of pets in the original Sims 2 and The Sims Unleashed so it is quite possible to point the finger at Nintendo for stealing taking the idea further. Interested? Check out a few screenshots and a trailer to get a glimpse of what it's all about. Personally, I don't see why you just wouldn't get a real life pet to love, feed and play with but maybe that's just me.
Best selling PC games: AoE 3 and Civ IV battle for top spot
For the week ending November 13th, here's the best sellers list for PC games in the U.S. 1. Age Of Empires III 2. Civilization IV 3. Call Of Duty 2 4. Star Wars Battlefront II 5. World Of Warcraft 6. The Sims 2 7. City Of Villains 8. The Sims 2 Nightlife Expansion Pack 9. Battlefield 2 10. Call Of Duty 2 Collectors Edition As is obvious from the list, Civilization IV and Age of Empires 3 are deeply involved in a strategic battle for getting the most cash out of gamer's wallets. Age of Empires 3 has been out over a month now but is still topping the chart. With Civ IV being out just under a two weeks, has it already lost the momentum required to knock AoE 3 off the top spot?
