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The Urbz: Sims in the City sneaks out
In all the hubbub about Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Everquest 2, it sure is easy to lose track of other upcoming titles. Somewhere in this frenzy The Urbz: Sims in the City has been shipped to stores. This would usually cause quite a stir, but these days we had to find a press release to get the scoop. Weird. The marketing guy puts on his shades in this excerpt and inserts the word "cool" (please note the (TM)s)... "The Urbz(TM): Sims in the City(TM) is all about three things: cool city style, building your reputation, and living the dream in a 24/7 city that never sleeps. It gives players the opportunity to create and control their sims in a completely unique way and in a very different environment," said Sinjin Bain, Executive Producer and Vice President.
The Black Eyed Peas coming to a Sims game near you
If you like The Black Eyed Peas, you'll be happy to know that the band will be making an appearance in The Urbz: Sims in the City. Electronic Arts, A&M Records and iTunes have teamed up to offer the first cross-media album featuring a single band. The band will appear in the game itself, where they'll provide nine tracks that will be available on iTunes with a special download card. The intriguing part of the deal is that the tracks will be recorded in the creepy, but convincing, language of The Sims games - Simlish. That should make the album eligible for the New Age section of your local music store.
Official DS launch titles!
Nintendo has announced which games will accompany the DS for its North American launch. The first wave is short, but sweet. You'll have your choice between Super Mario 64 DS, Spider-Man 2, Madden 2005, the Urbz, and Mr. Driller. Also due out by the end of November are: Asphalt Urban GT, Feel the Magic: XY/XX, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Ping Pals, PictoChat (built-in), Rayman DS, Ridge Racer DS, & Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005.
EA expands its horizons with Urbz toys
Taking a hint from the Japanese, EA is cashing in on the game-to-toy phenomenon. The gaming giant has plans to release a line of Urbz figures to coincide with the release of the game. EA is looking to market to the large number of females (especially "tweens") who enjoy the original Sims games. It's a decent scheme (i.e. there's a lot of potential money to be made), as both the game and the toys will help sell each other. Atomic Toys is set to handle the manufacturing bit.
