Devoted fans of the best-selling Sims franchise likely gasped in horroron February 3, after reading EA’s press release, “EA Announces New Ship Datefor The Sims 3.” The game is now set to hit shelves June 2, 2009. It was originally set to be released on February 20. In the world of gaming, short notice announcements like this comes as no shock. Games often have more than one release date before they actually come out.
Sims fans can look forward to something though: a more complete, developed product without all the “kinks.” In a survey conducted amongst Bergen Academy students, an AEDT junior expressed this outlook. “It has to be a good thing if the release date has been pushed back because it means that more work is being put into the final product, which would improve the game.”
The press release had other news that will excite the thirteen percent of Sims players at the Academies who play on a Mac or mobile phone. The press release also states that, “The Sims[3] will launch across the PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch, and mobile devices.”Unfortunately, players of the Xbox/PS2/Game Cube versions of the Sims games, who make up over a fifth ofthe surveyed BCA Sims players, will have to wait at least a few months longer.
Russell Arons, Vice President of Marketing for Electronic Arts Inc.,describes the main motivation for the delayed release across multiple platforms. “The June launch combined with thebreak-through game the team is building gives us the perfect runway to create awareness for The Sims 3...The Sims 3 will be the original IP summer blockbuster of 2009 as we build off the success of the best-selling PC franchise of all time to create awareness with both loyal Sims fans and newplayers.”
There is, no doubt, plenty of success to build upon. The Sims gained the title of best-selling PC franchise of all time in April of 2008, when the franchise reached the 100 million mark for copies sold around the world. This number includes the sales of The Sims and its seven expansion packs, and The Sims 2 and its first five expansion packs. The frequency at which these games are released (seventeen games/expansion packs since launch of original game on February 4, 2000) contribute to the immense number of copies sold, but it also shows the devotion of The Sims’ developers to bringing the fans what they want. Although Sims games are not your typical“video game,” many fans regard it with respect equal to that of any other major PC game. When asked, “what is the greatest PC game/franchise of all time?”twenty-two percent of responders to the Academy survey named The Sims, The Sims 2, or the Sims franchise.
TheSims was a landmark game in itself, but the series really hit its stride with its sequel, The Sims 2. This game is the ultimate “simulation” of life. In The Sims 2, players can create unique characters, build homes, and experience virtually every aspect of life—from building a career to building relationships, from going to school to getting married, from having “WooHoo” to getting abducted by aliens, from being born to dying, and everything in between. The game is a haven for creativity and storytelling. A player can do almost anything with a his or her Sim, even if that means, “trapping people in the pools and killing them,” a feature that one AMST sophomore picked as her favorite. Most players, however, value the game for less sadistic reasons.
The Sims 2 boasted a huge jump in both game play and graphics (see images below). The same jump in graphics cannot be expected for The Sims 3, but an improvement in gameplay is expected. Students named many features they look forward to in the new game, the most common of which were the ability to get out of the house and explore the town, and the seamless neighborhood. The most drastic change from the second game to the third will be this new seamless neighborhood. Players will be able to pan in and out of the neighborhood to control any family they desire, while the rest of the neighborhood’s Sims go on with their lives. In previous games, in order for a family to advance/age, the player had to play in that household. Sims will also be able to explore this seamless neighborhood without running into the infamous“load page.” Besides this, fans that loved The Sims 2 for its custom content tools will be pleased with The Sims 3’s more advanced Create-A-Simand Build Mode interfaces. These new features, along with many more will make their debut in The Sims 3, whicharrives this summer.
For moreinformation on The Sims 3, visit http://thesims3.ea.com/