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Rod Humble promoted to The Sims label lead
When we last spoke to The Sims' studio head, Rod Humble, he was applauding the franchise's retail success. Now the exec has another, albeit more personal reason to celebrate, having climbed up another rung on the corporate ladder, laying claim to the role of The Sims' brand's executive VP. The move follows the recent hiring of Jeff Green, who left the world of game journalism last month to throw his body on the gears of EA's expansion factory as well. Humble replaces former lead, Nancy Smith, who EA notes will handle "special" The Sims-related projects before eventually moving into a new as-yet-undefined role in the months ahead. We offer congratulations, and suggest he celebrate his new position by locking co-workers in the bathroom or pushing them in the corporate pool before deftly removing any means of escape.
Asphinctersayswhat?
Look, we consider ourselves experts around here. Bungie tries to put one past us? Heck nah! Case closed. But then this little ditty hits our inbox and we're totally stumped. What is this? A game? Is this supposed to get us excited about something? You ever get the feeling, like, there's this whole other planet of other people who play other games...? Yeah, we got that feeling right now.
Here's how they're making The Sims into a movie
You probably wondered, when you heard about a Sims movie, how they planned to turn a game with literally no plot into a film. Here, according to producer John Davis, is the plan:"... So this is the way I did it: The Sims, as you know, you can control your imaginary world, right? And in our movie, a young man, a 16 year old kid or a 14 year old kid and his friend get their hands on this thing called the Sims Infinity Pack, right, which is kind of this very strange video game store which was there just for that moment, and seemingly wasn't and all that. But what they realize is that they can scan their world in, because this is the most life like, real Sims game ever. And as they are playing this they are all of a sudden realizing is what they are playing on the game is having an effect on the real world. So in effect, through the game, they are able to control their world. It's wish fulfillment, and obviously it turns against them."It's a larger quote than we'd normally post in full, but we didn't want you to think we had tampered with it in any way. So as not to make this post take up any more real estate on the front page, we've put our mature and insightful critique of the film's concept right after the break.
GFW's Jeff Green leaves 1UP for Sims team
Jeff Green is the kind of game journalist we want to be when we grow up: Seasoned, funny and imbued with the perfect blend of skepticism and passion, even after 17 years on the job. Now, the former CGW and GFW editor and (just as importantly) GFW Radio/Brodeo cornerstone is leaving Ziff-Davis to join The Sims development team.We have too much respect for Green to use this as an opportunity to note all the high-profile names that have jumped the Ziff-Davis ship recently. We'll only say that we'll miss you Jeff, and we wish you all the best.[Thanks, Jonah]
GC 2008: The Sims 3 hitting real and virtual shelves on Feb. 20, 2009
EA has announced that February 20, 2009, will mark the rather momentous occasion of stereotypical gamers finally venturing into the brightly lit outside world ... in the game. It's the day The Sims 3, the latest interactive simulation of an annoying, fickle, selfish and lazy race of creatures, will be distributed -- both physically and digitally -- to a bunch of annoying, fickle, selfish and lazy creatures. If you'd like to append "supercilious" to that list of adjectives, you should consider purchasing The Sims 3 Collector's Edition, which will include an exclusive in-game "Italian-style" sports car for you to maneuver through your envious neighborhood (no wonder those floating diamonds are green). Also included in the package will be a Sims Plumbob USB drive, a tips and hints guide, The Sims 3 Plumbob stickers and, oh yes, the game.%Gallery-18710%
EA looking 'way outside the game space' with Spore
It seems Spore has a shot at the big screen. No, not that 60" LCD monitor that cost you nearly all your limbs, but that one you view in the dark with a bunch of popcorn-munching strangers. According to Reuters, EA is looking to connect upcoming everything-sim Spore with television and film, hoping that the right deal will add momentum to the game's marketing machine and boost sales. "With Spore, we're looking way outside the game space, such as TV, movies, etc.," said the game's revered designer, Will Wright. "We're basically planting the seeds to spread Spore out to a much wider group of people than would ever play a computer game." The aggressive, multi-medium marketing is thought to be prompted by EA's last round of disappointing financial results, with the publisher chasing down audiences in a bid to regain its top publisher throne. With Will Wright's latest, sights are being set even beyond the huge popularity attained by The Sims."Longer term, I think the brand of Spore potentially has a wider net to cast than The Sims did," notes Wright. We also reckon Spore is the easier one to adapt into an entertaining film, what with all the kooky aliens and spaceships.
EA inks talent agency deal, more game movies coming
In a season of Hollywood blockbusters, it's no wonder why Electronic Arts would want to sink its teeth into the movie industry's delicious celluloid pie. This morning the company announced that it signed with talent and literary agency, UTA, to help catapult its properties onto the silver screen. EA currently has a movie deal in the works for The Sims, as well as plans to bring an animated version of MySims to TV. In addition, earlier this year EA signed a deal with Starz Media to develop an animated prequel to Dead Space, as well as other unspecified franchises. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, as EA notes that this new deal will "significantly ramp up" efforts to bring its IP to other forms of entertainment, such as movies and television, as well as online, print, and social networks. With some of these projects likely to surface this week in San Diego during Comic-Con, are there any EA properties you could see yourself sitting through with a bucket of popcorn in your lap?
E308: Apartment Pets shining on the tiny screen
As much as we liked to question the philosophical and political ramifications of the Sims 2: Apartment Pets boxart (hey, we take our jobs seriously), we couldn't immediately condemn this latest trailer for abusing the high standards of Fanboy beliefs. Why? Because it's too damn tiny. Fair enough, E3 might not be a bastion of high quality media at all times, but come on. We love pets and apartments, so give us the goods!In any case, squint at the above video for admittedly pretty footage of Apartment Pets, and hope that it might turn out to be better than sucky.%Gallery-24370%
Academic: games and virtual worlds teach better than teachers
An academic named James Gee told lecture attendees at the Games, Learning, and Society Conference in Wisconsin that game and virtual world developers have a better handle on how to foster "passionate communities for learning" than most teachers do. He used World of Warcraft as an example of excellent game design that creates communities that share information and solve problems together.He also referenced Second Life, telling the story of a girl who started using Photoshop to make clothes for her Sims in The Sims. She went on to start a business selling her fashions in Linden Labs' virtual economy. "Education isn't about telling people stuff," said Gee. "It's about giving them tools that enable them to see the world in a new and useful way." Gee argued that game developers know how to do that, and that educators should learn from their example.Gamasutra has some more quotes and analysis, but the sum of it all is that Gee believes that since delivering raw information to students' brains isn't going to work in a rapidly changing, postmodern world, they should be trained to come up with their own unique ideas in response to all the data that makes up the complex system that is our society. So, think emergent gameplay, but real!
MySims inexplicably coming to PC
So, see if you can wrap your brain around this one. In the fall of 2007, EA released a boiled-down version of The Sims on Wii and DS called MySims, which went on to sell 1.5 hojillion copies. Now, perhaps looking to push it to the 2 hojillion mark, EA announced today that on October 27 of this year MySims will be coming to the PC ... so, does that make it a "boiled-up" version?Yes, to be fair, the PC will be getting some new characters and new online features like the ability to play Tag and share your creations with friends. But you know what else the PC will be getting at some point? Sims 3. Just saying.
Sims 2 Store live today, microtransactions abound
Hagimona pana! Guranda epska tali tari ta. Eska, eska, esti toni wa?*turns on Simlish to English translator*Better? Good! EA announced that its Sims 2 Store is now live for US and Canadian shoppers. The online retail location practices the fine art of micro transactions by offering items available in Sims 2 expansion packs and "all-new exclusive" content.The store works by converting real money into "SimPoints" at an exchange rate of $1 for 100 SimPoints, and most items we saw appear to be between 75 - 100 SimPoints. Sims 2 fans can decide for themselves if it's worth micro-transactioning through the Sims 2 Store or picking up the full expansions at retail. The store seems like the type of thing that's perfect if your Sim just needs to have that new shower head and nothing else.[Via BigDownload]
What is the deal with these Apartment Pets?
Off the top of our head, here's a quick list of questions we immediately asked after noticing several odd details with this The Sims 2: Apartment Pets cover: What are those lines on the woman's pants? We swear to Pete, those better not be some damn convertible pants. It is 2008, lady. You should know better. Why is she walking around the building's hallways, puppy in hand, teasing kittens with toys? Is that cat on the bottom right corner cuddling with the PEGI rating? This might be the only creature in the world who has actually taken a liking to the unsightly box. Why didn't this guy block the door when he opened it to grab the morning paper? He could have prevented this gang of animals from spilling out of his apartment. Is that stoic rabbit doing the shoulder lean? Grab a leash and meet us past the post break for more insightful commentary!%Gallery-24370%
The Daily Grind: Realism in MMOs ... good or bad?
When you hear the word "realistic" as it's applied to graphics and/or gameplay, do you cheer or wince? World of Warcraft, Mabinogi, Hello Kitty Online -- these are all titles that make a fantastical graphics aesthetic work well for them. At the same time, Age of Conan, Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa -- these games make a good showing of a more "realistic" style, and people seem to like it.Then again, there's "realistic" taken to an extreme; we're thinking of the way The Sims makes you exercise, eat, sleep, excrete, etc. Now, while The Sims is of course not an MMO, do we want that sort of thing in our fantasy worlds? Does realism attract more people than surrealism? Could you take currently realistic/cartoony games and switch the aesthetic around and make it all better?
The Sims 2 Apartment games coming to PC, DS in August
Though EA puts a positive spin on bringing "the adventure, fun and drama of close quarters of apartment living to your Sims," life has shown us that putting a bunch of gibberish-spouting hipsters into an enclosed living space is a recipe for disaster. This latest Sims 2 expansion, Apartment Life, promises new social networks, character types, buildings and a "reputation meter," but it's all inevitably going to devolve into spats over how we left the toilet seat up or forgot the cat outside in the rain. Again.Incidentally, you'll probably want to avoid doing just that in The Sims 2 Apartment Pets, a matching "apartment adventure" just for the Nintendo DS. The portable pet sim will task you with taking care of a variety of pets -- including "cats and dogs, slithery snakes, hamsters, colorful birds, and cuddly rabbits" -- and realizing that putting them all in the same room is probably not a great idea. Both games are due on August 26 in North America and August 22 in European and Asia-Pacific regions. The Sims 2 Apartment Life will also be available in a Limited Collection, which includes The Sims 2 Double Deluxe ... and that would be The Sims 2, The Sims 2 Nightlife Expansion Pack, The Sims 2 Celebration Stuff and a DVD filled with "tips and tricks." Those should come in handy for defeating the final boss, Death.
Take this, animal-hating landlord
We've already seen The Sims get portable with pets, but now it's time to move those animal-loving sensibilities into trendy, high-rise apartments. Getting very specific with Sim titles these days, EA has announced The Sims 2: Apartment Pets for the DS. Don't leave the penthouse window open for Fido to go barrelling out.Apartment Pets features a bunch of different animals, including cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits and snakes. Question - can you let the snake loose in the loft with all the other furry critters? Can the snake be a King Cobra? Funny if possible, but highly unlikely.You can run your own pet spa, and interact with fellow upstart professionals who fill their lives with a bunch of wildlife. It'll be just like Seinfeld, only Jerry is a nonchalant house cat while Kramer is the wacky next-door macaw.Apartment Pets is scheduled for an August 28 release, and you can check out the first images in the gallery. We urge you to pay attention to your real pets for a while before this one comes along. They don't want some hot-shot hamster stealing the limelight. %Gallery-24370%
EA "thinking about" online features for The Sims, even as EA-Land dies
A recent article in The Times Online offers a few choice phrases from Nancy Smith, the executive in charge of the Sims Division at Electronic Arts, regarding a possible future direction the franchise could take. It begins with Smith saying that the Sims " ... may soon become a multi-player game." Apparently the popularity of virtual worlds and MMOs like Second Life and World of Warcraft is something EA wants a part of, so their idea is to provide " ... more and more robust community features." Aside from the ability to interact with one another, what are these community features? The article doesn't reveal anything concrete, and Smith is very careful not to commit to specifics. In fact, the entirety of Smith's comments seem to indicate both an ambivalence toward the power of online gaming and a desire to be seen as being focused on moving the franchise forward by incorporating aspects of that same power. Add to this the strange lack of understanding of how the online space works for many MMOs, and you've got a conflicted EA on your hands -- the same company that canceled EA-Land, which might have been the perfect test bed for any online distribution/content model EA wanted to experiment with.What's going on here? We'll take a shot at understanding this after the jump.
Joystiq hands-on: Spore Creature Creator and the birth of Sporky
click to get up close with "sporky" var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Hands_on_Spore_Creature_Creator_and_the_birth_of_Sporky'; We dropped by Maxis' offices today to get our feet wet in the stand-alone "Creature Creator" component of The Sims architect Will Wright's epic cell-to-galactic-civilization sim, Spore (which hits in September). Set to launch on June 17 in two flavors (a $9.99 "full version" and free downloadable demo, also included with The SimCity Box) the creator could be incorrectly described as a "utility" – in fact, as we found while tinkering with it, the Creature Creator could very well have a life of its own. Read our full impressions after the break.%Gallery-15870%
EA spills the beans on MySims Kingdom for DS
Ever since MySims Kingdom was revealed, we've been patiently awaiting details regarding the title. Now, we've got a bit more to go on, as EA lets us know what this game is all about. It is "a story of adventure, discovery and exploration to help King Roland and his subjects revitalize the Kingdom." Okay, sounds simple enough.The DS version of this game, specifically, will offer several different mini-games and very much resembles Animal Crossing. EA's Rod Humble (is that not an awesome name?), whom heads up The Sims division, said MySims Kingdom will contain "rewarding quests, building houses, bridges or even making contraptions powered by electricity or water." It sounds like the title will have a lot of customization options, however we wonder if it won't be the simple little game that EA promised it would be back at launch. Is this not getting to be a bit too big for a casual title?Be sure to hit up our gallery below for first screens from the game.%Gallery-22825%[Via Joystiq]
TV shows that could be MMOs: Battlestar Galactica
Watching the final season of the new Battlestar Galactica the other night, and getting only a taste of the amazing, chaotic, shaky-cam ship-to-ship action left us wanting more. But even better than a full episode devoted to space combat would be an MMO based in that world. How would that work, you ask? We're glad you did! Keep in mind that this article assumes basic knowledge of the show universe and its characters. If you haven't seen it, get thee to a torrent, or a rental store immediately!First, consider some of the great two-sided rivalries in MMOs: Horde vs. Alliance; AFS vs. the Bane; Humanity vs. Hell -- Mankind vs. the Cylons fits right in. In fact, since the show itself manages to portray both sides as sympathetic, there isn't too much storyline massaging to be done; the universe of Galactica is nicely morally ambiguous. All that really matters is survival.
Bridging the gap between MMO and social networking
Think of it as a mix between The Sims and Facebook, with a bit of EVE Online thrown in for good measure. That's our impression of Erepublik so far. Following a recent trend where the target demographic seems to be the casual, browser-based audience, Erepublik enters this niche as an actual strategic alternative to the normal social networking site.Not only will Erepublik attract a variety of players, but it offers quite a few unique features not found in any one place currently. You can choose among 4 career paths within your country, and most of the environment is created by the users themselves. At the moment, the game is in the invite-only beta stage, but they boast 10,000 users from 43 different countries involved in the beta process now.
