This is disappointing. This is unprecedented
in this website's history. I'm once again having to extend the poll due to a
lack of votes. It's not as if my minimum is particularly high, nor has it
ever changed since I started doing polls on this website. I'm seriously
starting to think I've been abandoned. Either that or the current poll is so
boring that no-one can be bothered to vote in it. If you haven't already
done so, please vote. PLEASE! Those that have already voted should know that
the poll will now end on Saturday 10th January 2009, as long as enough
people have voted by then.
Incidentally, I've changed some of the wording in the poll box - it's now
"Vote with explanation" rather than "Vote with comment", to try and make it
more obvious of it's purpose and to distinguish it from how you can comment
on the poll's results once they're released. Basically Vote with Explanation
is your way to explain to the world why you chose that option, or in this
poll's case, why that is. So you could choose "I just visit the website
every so often" then explain that "I just come here to check the news once a
week. I don't really want the news delivered to me as I get enough email as
it is and I don't use feed readers." Or you could choose "I don't", then say
that "I just came here by mistake and am not at all interested in The Sims
news". Well, I hope that clears that up.
Merry Christmas from Me and The Sims Audio Team
Thursday 25th December 2008 | 3:01 pm GMT/UTC
I'd like to wish all my readers a very Merry
Christmas - so, Merry Christmas everybody!
I'm not the only one though - The Sims audio team have put together what
I think is a Simlish version of "Oh Christmas Tree" to wish you a Happy
Holiday. Listen, and, if you want, download, using the link below
yesterday's news post on TheSims2.com.
>
News at TheSims2.com
The Sims 3: More new screenshots and another new blog post
Monday 22nd December 2008 | 6:25 pm GMT/UTC
The Sims 3 Assistant Producer Grant Rodiek has
added a new blog post to TheSims3.com, where he talks about storytelling,
and tells the story of one of his Sims:
I almost always create a character based loosely on myself,
perhaps because I can empathize with him, or maybe I just have a fascination
with seeing how my life could turn out differently. Grant Duders is
typically a Workaholic who Loves the Outdoors, is a Green-Thumb and
Bookworm.
Update: TheSims3.com has
been updated with only the Desktop PC system requirements (i.e. no specific
requirements for laptops), plus a list of supported video cards and some
additional notes.
>
"The Sims 3 Minimum Hardware Requirements" at TheSims3.com Update Ends
In other The Sims 3 news, designer Jennie Hozman has added a new
blog post on TheSims3.com, where she talks about some of the households in
Sunset Valley:
When brainstorming about who the Sims in
Sunset Valley would be -- their back stories, traits,
relationships, careers, and appearance -- some of the things
we considered were: What types of Sims do we, personally,
like to play? What kinds of family stories make us say to
ourselves, “Oh, I’ve got to get in there and help these
people out” or “I really want to see what their life is
like”?
So, does your computer meet the system requirements? Do
the family descriptions in Hozman's blog intrigue you, as
she hopes? Comment below!
Current Poll Extended
Saturday 13th December 2008 | 6:52 pm GMT/UTC
Due to a poor number of votes, the current
poll has been extended by two weeks and will now finish on Saturday 27th
December, assuming enough votes have been received by then. Hopefully the
main reason for the lack of votes is due to some issues with the forms not
working for a time, rather than visitors not bothering to vote. Vote now to
the right of every page of this website.
The Sims 3: New screenshots, Q&A, video
Friday 12th December 2008 | 3:16 pm GMT/UTC
IGN have posted a short-ish Q&A with - you'll
never guess - executive producer Ben Bell:
IGN: Will the game ship with a single town, or will it be
like The Sims 2 and ship with several pre-made neighborhoods? Will you be
able to create your own town, as well?
Ben Bell: We are shipping with a single town that players can modify
and tweak. We're not quite ready to discuss our future plans for additional
towns and player editing but as always with the Sims you can expect a few
surprises!
Well he told Kikizo at least one of those future plans
(that an extra neighbourhood will be available to download
for anyone who registers the game) just the other day.
>
"The Sims 3 Devious Q&A" at IGN
EA have also made five new screenshots available, which
you can view on the screenshots page, as well as a new
video, showing a Sim going on a little heist:
Are all these Q&As answering your questions, or are they
all the same? Is this video funny, or rubbish? Comment
below!
Sign in, Review, Discuss!
Thursday 11th December 2008 | 11:51 pm GMT/UTC
My website just got a whole lot more
interactive! Thanks to Google Friend Connect, you can now sign into this
website (at the top of every page) using a Google, Yahoo!, AIM or OpenID
account, then discuss the news, review games and articles, and more!
> Review Apartment
Life!
> Discuss poll results!
> Review my The Sims 2 houses!
Google Friend Connect is in beta (i.e. it is in testing and has not been
"officially" released). If you have any problems, please tell me by
providing feedback, or if you want a reply, by contacting me. I seem to be
unable to view my user profile in Internet Explorer, but it works fine in
Firefox.
> Contact me
>
Provide feedback
The Sims 2 illegally downloaded 1.15 million times in 2008
Tuesday 9th December 2008 | 9:36 pm GMT/UTC
GameSpot reports that The Sims 2 is the second most downloaded game on
BitTorrent in 2008, after Spore. Spore was downloaded 1.7 million times while
The Sims 2 was downloaded 1.15 million times.
>
Spore tops 2008 piracy chart at GameSpot
Kikizo Interviews Ben
Bell
Sunday 7th December 2008 | 11:18 pm GMT/UTC
Kikizo have posted a pretty long interview
with The Sims 3 executive producer Ben Bell:
Kikizo: I'm aware that you have 97 lots max in each neighbourhood. Is
the layout randomised?
Bell: It is a set town, but you can change the location of any of
the houses and you can change all of the people who are there. We're also...
for anybody who registers their game, you'll be able to download a second
town. That's a free perk when you register the game.
Another two screenshots of The Sims 3 have
been released. See a Sim serving coffee and a car battle by clicking below:
> The Sims 3 Screenshots
New The Sims 3 Developer Interview
Friday 21st November 2008 | 12:08 pm GMT/UTC
GameSpot AU Presents Crosshairs has an
interview with The Sims 3 Assistant Producer Grant Roddick in it's latest
episode. The interview starts at about
35:30:
The Sims 3 Official Q&A
Tuesday 18th November 2008 | 3:10 pm GMT/UTC
EA have released some questions and answers
about The Sims 3 to the press, which I've posted in full on this website. It
seems a little repetitive, so that and the wording of some of the questions
leads me to believe it's a compilation of individual answers to fan
questions.
What kind of player activity have
you planned for The Sims 3?
Sims can do things that they couldn’t do before, like
ride bikes, work out at the gym, go to the beach, grab a snack at the bistro
and more!
Web Producer Adam Siegel and Games
Designer Ray Mazza have both added new blog posts over at TheSims3.com.
Firstly Adam talks about the new The Sims 3 community website:
First, we are really excited about the new Exchange. We're
making it way easier and faster to find what you are looking for by browsing
and searching. You'll be able to use keywords and filters to hone in on what
you are looking for, and the advanced search function is crazy powerful.
Plus, we'll let you sort your search results and category listings by date,
number of downloads, and number of recommendations. Yes - members of the
community will be able to recommend items by clicking a thumbs-up icon!
There is no thumbs-down, so this is truly an all-positive rating system!
In the second post, Ray talks about careers in The Sims 3:
In The Sims 3, you can also take a bit of your career home
with you through our new Opportunity system. Opportunities pop up while you
play, giving you the chance to do a bit of extra work for a bonus—added
performance, improved relationships with your coworkers, cash, a raise, or
objects, to name a few.
Poll Results and the 15th November - 13th December Poll
Saturday 15th November 2008 | 4:11 pm GMT/UTC
A new poll has begun. This time I wondered how
you lot read this news. Do you simply direct your browser to this page every
so often, or do you have the news delivered to you? Maybe you don't read the
news at all (but then you wouldn't be reading this, so I'm basically talking
to myself here). Vote now to the right of any page on this website.
Of course, if a new poll has begun, a poll must have ended to make way
for it. Last month, I asked whether you'll get the collector's edition of
The Sims 3, or the regular game, or, you know, neither. The results are in
and it seems the majority or you will be getting the collector's edition.
See the full results by clicking below:
> Poll Results
EA sued over SucuROM
Tuesday 11th November 2008 | 12:48 pm GMT/UTC
Dianna Cortez of Missouri, US, has sued
EA over the inclusion of SucuROM Data Rights Management software with The
Sims 2 Bon Voyage. She calls EA's conduct "immoral, unethical, oppressive
[and] unscrupulous" for including it, according to GamePolitics.
After installing Bon Voyage, Ms. Cortez began having
problems with her computer. She had previously made backup Sims 2 game
content on CDs, but her computer's disc drive would no longer recognize that
content, reporting the CDs as empty. She could not access files that were
saved on her USB flash drive or iPod, either...
EA has released a new video where The Sims 3
game designer Grant Rodiak takes us through the Create-a-Sim, explores the
neighbourhood (Sunset Valley), throws a campaign party, rides bikes and
cars into town and does some protesting. Watch the video below:
The Sims 3: New
screenshots, Q&A
Tuesday 4th November 2008 | 1:37 pm GMT/UTC
GameSpot
have posted a Q&A with The Sims 3 executive producer Ben Bell:
GS: How much dedication does it take to
reach the pinnacle of your respective career ladder? Are there any shortcuts
to the top?
BB: If you play your cards right, you might
be able to get to the top of more than one career in a lifetime, but it
would take a lot of hard work, and your sim would need the right traits.
Workaholic sims will be happy if they live at the office, so that might be a
good way to go. There are definitely some shortcuts, and your sims will get
opportunities from time to time that give them a boost.
EA have posted two new videos on YouTube
showing US election coverage made in The Sims 3. In the first video, John
McCain and Sarah Palin have an unscheduled rally in Sunset Valley:
In the second video, Palin and Biden have a fight:
Download The Sims 3's theme music at The Sims 2 UK
EA have released another patch for The Sims 2
Apartment Life, replacing the previous one. It makes quite a lot of changes.
>
The Sims 2 Apartment Life patch
EA
has announced that award-winning composer Steve Jablonsky will score
the theme music for The Sims 3.
In addition to the theme music, Jablonsky’s score is
featured throughout key areas of the game. For instance, in Create A Sim,
the music will reflect the creative nature of choosing from a selection of
facial features, hairstyles and outfits. There will also be a unique sound
to distinguish build and buy modes in which you can create your dream home
and design the neighborhood. In The Sims 3, you are able to visit many areas
of the town for the first time such as the beach, gym, bistro or even a
friend’s home. The music will also follow suit. For instance, when you are
walking by the beach, the sound will coordinate. You might hear seagulls,
waves crashing and the music will reflect the breezy feeling of being near
the ocean. The gym will also feature appropriate music suited for that
specific environment such as fast paced disco tech.
The press release linked below also includes some images (one of
which is above-right) of what I assume is him at work.
>
Press release at TheSims3.com
The web entry is now closed, the votes have
been counted and the results are in. The winner, of The X Factor 2008, is...
Wait a sec. Sorry, this is a web poll not The X Factor isn't it? My mistake.
Right, so the question last month was simply this: Have you bought Apartment
Life yet? Well, nearly 55% of you have, with a further 27% definitely
getting it soon. Click below to see the results.
Semi-related to polls is my survey, which you may have noticed at the top
of the right-hand pane. It's nothing to do with The Sims, because it's
actually for a college assessment, but if you could fill it in anyway that
would be most helpful. UK residents only though please.
> Poll Results
>
Survey
Slightly later than planned, I've launched a
new poll for you. The question? Do you think you'll get the collector's
edition of The Sims 3, or just the standard game? If you're reading this on the
main site, vote now to the right.
Unfortunately I'm going to have to save the results of the previous poll
until tomorrow.
The Sims 3: New screenshots, collector's edition available to
pre-order
EA have announced that the collector's edition
of The Sims 3 is now available to pre-order in the States. The collector's
edition includes the following exclusive extras:
2 GB THE SIMS PLUMBOB™ USB DRIVE
EUROPEAN STYLED SPORTS CAR DOWNLOAD
NEW THEME MUSIC FROM THE SIMS 3
AN EXCLUSIVE PRIMA TIPS & HINTS GUIDE
If you pre-order from the EA Store or a participating retailer, you'll
also get:
Vintage Sports Car Download
The Sims 3 Neighborhood Poster
EA have announced EA Be The One, an event at
Trafalgar Square between October 31st and November 1st during the
London Games Festival, according to MCV. They say that The Sims 3 will be
one of the games on show, though they fail to make absolutely clear it will
be playable, they give that impression. I will try to attend and find out
for myself.
>
"EA to take over Trafalgar Square" at MCV
Gabriella Cilmi's hit debut single Sweet About
Me ("...There's nothing sweet about me, yeah." Yep, it's a song I've
actually heard!) was re-recorded in Simlish and is featured in The Sims 2
Apartment Life. EA have posted an interview with her as well as a video
where you can see the recording taking place. Read the interview by clicking
the link at the bottom of this post. The video is embedded below:
Two new blog posts have been added to
TheSims3.com, Town Blog by Associate Producer JoAnna Lio, and Create a
Style by Associate Producer (again) Jennifer Lane.
>
Blog at TheSims3.com
Back
to Old News Archive
The Sims 3 Assistant Producer Grant Rodiek has
added a new blog post to TheSims3.com, where he talks about storytelling,
and tells the story of one of his Sims:
IGN have posted a short-ish Q&A with - you'll
never guess - executive producer Ben Bell:
GameSpot
have posted a Q&A with 
Top of Page