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The next Sims game is a cross-platform title dubbed 'Project Rene'
Developer Maxis also shed some light on what's coming to 'The Sims 4' and its mobile games.
'The Sims 4' players can now customize their characters' pronouns
EA and Maxis say it's a step toward making the game more inclusive.
Recommended Reading: Speaking Simlish
Recommended Reading highlights the week's best long-form writing on technology and more.
Star Wars is coming to 'The Sims 4'
In the entertainment world, it doesn’t get much bigger than Star Wars. Likewise, in the gaming world, The Sims is another massive, enduring franchise. It’s a new game pack for The Sims 4 that arrives on September 8th.
After Math: With the kids away, it's time to play
Since it looks like the fall school semester is happening whether we’re ready for it or not, you’ll finally have dibs on “next game” on that console your kids have been bogarting for the past quarantined four months. Used to be that if you wanted to reassign the gender of your World of Warcraft’s character, you’d need to shell out $15 — that’s in real cash money, not in-game currency.
12 Sims players will compete for $100,000 on a TBS game show
'The Sims Spark'd' will premiere on July 17th.
'The Sims 4' will stop supporting 32-bit PCs in June
We hope you weren't determined to run The Sims 4 on the same PC you had when it came out in 2014. The developers have warned that the life simulator will end support for 32-bit operating systems and non-Metal Macs in June 2019. Simply put, it's about "growing, improving and optimizing the game." And for Mac users, it's virtually necessary. Apple started deprecating OpenGL visuals as of macOS Mojave, and Metal is the only way EA can guarantee cutting-edge performance and features going forward.
The Sims 4 review: Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end
The Sims 4 is an accessible introduction to the world of virtual megalomania, with an intuitive interface and plenty to explore for series newcomers. But, let's be clear up front: Loyal players of The Sims 3 should stick with that game for a couple of more years, as they will be woefully underserved by what this latest installment in the franchise currently has to offer. As with all the prior iterations of The Sims, this game is the base upon which many, many expansions will be built. I'm going to avoid discussing what's "missing" or speculate on what's coming, and instead focus on what's in the game right now.
Get 'The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection' for free this month
It seems as if this week is a good one to get stuff on the cheap or even for free. First, Marvel announced a promo yesterday which gave access to its Unlimited comics service for 99 cents, and now EA has quietly revealed that it's giving away copies of The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection. You'll need to have Origin, EA's software distribution platform, installed on your machine to take advantage of this deal, but it's as easy as entering a code for old and new users alike. Just don't expect EA to keep supporting the classic game after you install it, since the publisher brought closure to that a few days ago. The Windows download on Origin will be available until July 31st at 1:00AM ET, which means there's plenty of time to let it all sink in and cancel whatever you had planned for the weekend.
Sims 4 gameplay walkthrough reveals Premium membership
EA and Maxis have a new trailer for The Sims 4, and it contains at least one surprise; though maybe not the sort of surprise you're happy to see. During the 20-minute gameplay walkthrough - which you can check out below the break - we see a the image above, which advertises a "Premium" membership for The Sims 4. In case you're having difficulty reading the screencap, here's the text: "The Sims 4 Premium. Save on new packs with early access and exclusive items. Become a Premium member to get early access to three new packs, with exclusive items. Your Sims can throw a spooky costume party, camp in the great outdoors, and toast to the new year in style." The Battlefield series has had Premium memberships for awhile now, and there have historically been Premium editions of Sims games, but a membership would be a first for series - if it comes to fruition, that is. Ryan Vaughan, producer on the game, states at the beginning of the gameplay demonstration that everything seen is unfinished and thus, subject to change before release. To see the full trailer, click that handy "Continue Reading" button.
The Sims 4 will lack toddler life stage, death by pool at launch
Sims series producer Ryan Vaughan has revealed new details about the upcoming burn-the-house-down-when-you-try-to-make-spaghetti simulator, The Sims 4. Unfortunately, this new information brings to light what won't be in the game. In The Sims 4, human larvae will metamorphose quickly, as the "Toddler" life stage that was first introduced in The Sims 2 will not be part of the game when it launches this September. Swimming pools have also not made the cut, meaning that ... wait, swimming pools won't be available at launch? But how will we murde- ... entertain our guests if there's no pool from which to remove a ladder? "While we recognize that some of you will be disappointed that pools and toddlers won't be available when The Sims 4 Base Game launches in September, you should know that we're building an incredibly strong foundation that is capable of fulfilling every one of your desires in the years to come," Vaughan wrote. "Disappointed" is certainly the word: one Sims fan has created a Change.org petition, which as of writing has nearly 7,000 signatures. [Image: EA]
The Sims 4 debuts September 2 [update: trailer]
EA has another entry in its fan-favorite virtual life simulation series The Sims en route to PC. Though EA offered scant new gameplay details on The Sims 4, the publisher did reveal a September 2 release date.
The Sims 4 earns an 18+ rating in Russia to protect children
Won't someone please think of the children? The Sims 4 has been given an 18+ rating in Russia, due to content deemed "harmful" to children. The news was first tweeted by the official Russian Sims account, which later clarified that the rating was given to the game in accordance with Russian law 436-FZ, "On Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development." Official Sims sources have not revealed specifically what content came into conflict with the law, which penalizes information "encouraging children to commit acts that endanger their lives," information that would instill a "desire to use narcotics, psychotropic and (or) intoxicants, tobacco, alcohol and alcohol-containing products," information "justifying illegal behavior," information that contains pornographic imagery and information that promotes "unconventional sexual relationships," among a lengthy list of other offenses. Whatever the offending content, think twice before calling someone who plays The Sims 4 names; clearly this game is pretty hardcore. [Image: Sims Russia]
Jukebox Heroes: Free Realms' soundtrack
There's something about the announcement of a game's closure that draws tons of interest to that MMO, the type of interest that it frankly needed long before now, not a few minutes too late. Even so, I had Free Realms on my to do list for a while now and figured that spending an hour with its score was something that needed to be done. Free Realms had had a lot of fingers in its musical pie, including those belonging to Tracy W. Bush, Atli Örvarsson, David Raiklen, and Aaron Kaplan. As a score, it's very reminiscent of The Sims franchise's soundtracks: whimsical, childlike, and quite light on pounding percussion. The many minigames and themed zones probably demanded a good variety of motifs to be developed. It's a very good score overall although not as wide on variety as I would typically like. Let's give this game the musical send-off it deserves!
The Daily Grind: Do you want to build or play content more?
Imagine an MMO where you had the power to both create and consume content in equal measure. Now wake up, because you were dreaming and I'm doing a Daily Grind here. But while you're here, let's talk about EverQuest Next Landmark. Those I've talked to who are on board the Landmark train (woo! woo!) seem to be divided as to what they want to get out of the experience. There are those who just want to sit around building and making content, and there are those who would much prefer to explore and see what others are up to. It made me think of The Sims, and how there's the two sides of the title: the building and the virtual life simulator. I prefer the building more there, but some are definitely in the other camp. So if you're given a choice, would you want to either build or play content in an MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
How The Sims got its same-sex relationships [update]
Update: While Graham originally called out lead engineer Jamie Doornbos as the one responsible for same-sex relationships in The Sims, it was actually one of the general engineers, Patrick J. Barrett III, who added it in. The article has been updated accordingly. The Sims was one of the earliest mainstream video games to include actionable same-sex relationships when it launched in 2000. Rather than being a concerted effort on the part of developer EA Maxis, the equal-opportunity Woohoo (a euphemism for sex in the game) was implemented by engineer Patrick J. Barrett III – an openly gay man who had a reputation for getting the programming done. "He just did it," said David "Rez" Graham, The Sims 4 lead AI programmer and a panelist at EA's GaymerX panel on creating more LGBT-inclusive experiences this past weekend. "He just went in there and it was a thing one day" and "nobody really questioned it, which was cool."
Clearing the 'hump of assumptions' in making LGBT inclusive games
A "hump of assumptions" can stand in the way of creating and including lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters in video games today, said David Gaider, lead writer for the Dragon Age series at BioWare. Speaking on an EA-populated panel at GaymerX in San Francisco today, Gaider and colleagues addressed the importance of heeding the demand for diversity and, more plainly, "reflecting humanity" in modern games. Hesitation over tackling LGBT issues, Gaider said, can come from pessimistic assumptions made – both by creators and marketers – about how the audience will react. One of BioWare's earliest gay characters, Juhani in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, was practically snuck into the game. "I think for a long time it was just assumed that nobody would accept it," he said. "That's what the mentality was. It's not like we went and tried to ask permission or anything - we kind of hid it. She never says, 'She was my lover.' She just says, 'We are very close.'" Not explicitly addressing the topic, however, "seemed like a very obvious exclusion" to Gaider. BioWare's next role-playing game, Jade Empire, was less subtle in its depiction of a same-sex relationship, and it faced far less resistance than the team had assumed. There was no long conversation after the team asked, "Why don't we just make the romances available to both genders?" According to Gaider, "that was the whole conversation."
Rise and Shiny: Anno Online
At first, Anno Online reminded me of The Settlers Online, a similar title that was brought to us by Ubisoft, the same publisher. Both games look good and mostly avoid hardcore combat, and both move slowly and concentrate on proper building placement and trade. I have to admit that I grew tired of The Settlers Online because it was hard to keep up with influence from local bandits and the constant destruction of the environment. In Anno Online I don't have to worry about trees or mines or running out of goods, and there are no enemies. The pace of play is slow for sure, but I enjoy it. I can keep the game running all day in my browser with no performance hit and I can even play it on my Samsung Chromebook. It's a game of slow growth and trade, and it's more of a pseudo-MMO that allows players to connect with friends loosely. Still, it's wonderful to look at and it's a quality game. But let's get to the details.
EA and Zynga settle The Ville lawsuits
Electronic Arts and Zynga have settled their legal kerfuffle, which began when the former sued the social games giant for what it called a "clear violation" of copyright laws over similarities between games. Details on the settlement are lacking, but InsideSocialGames has a statement from Zynga that it has resolved its respective claims with EA and "reached a settlement" in the Northern District of California.The legal drama kicked off last August when EA sued Zynga over the similarities between Zynga's recently released The Ville and EA's The Sims Social. The evidence against Zynga was stacked pretty high. This was the first time a giant like EA had stepped into the ring to take on the culture of cloning, which Zynga had been accused of in the past.A month later, Zynga filed a counterclaim against EA over the similarities between CityVille and SimCity Social. We'll update with settlement terms when he receive them.
EVE Online coming to NYC's Museum of Modern Art
New York City's Museum of Modern Art is prepping a new video game exhibit for next year and has selected EVE Online to be one of the first 14 titles included. The sci-fi MMO will join the company of titles like Tetris, Portal, and The Sims starting in March 2013. While attendees will be able to play some of the titles in the gallery, Senior Curator Paola Antonelli said that the staff had to get creative with titles like EVE Online: "To convey their experience, we will work with players and designers to create guided tours of these alternate worlds so the visitor can begin to appreciate the extent and possibilities of the complex gameplay." Antonelli said that all of the selections were chosen "as outstanding examples of interaction design." The museum hopes to expand the exhibit to 40 titles in the near future.
