"Often in the video game industry, the size of a studio fluctuates in response to business conditions," an EA spokesperson wrote in an e-mailed statement. "In this case, EA has taken action to reduce the workforce at Maxis as we focus the business and focus Maxis. EA remains fully committed to Spore and other IP within Maxis, with games planned for launch in the next few months, including Spore Hero, coming to the Wii for the first time, and Spore Hero Arena on the DS. All eligible employees will receive severance and outplacement assistance."

The layoffs were in the Emeryville studio, which is Maxis headquarters and the base of operations for Spore development. The Sims franchise, which was born at Maxis, is built out of EA's Redwood Shores offices, where The Sims 3 was created by the Sims Studio team.

Layoffs at Activision's Raven Software were also confirmed today.

We'll have more on this story as it becomes available.

In honor of Mother's Day, we celebrate moms in gaming – from the bit parts to the big players. Some are examples of the best parenting you could imagine; and some are so evil, they're unfit to be called "Mom." Join us now as we separate the June Cleavers from the Joan Crawfords of video game mothers.

Mothers in… Role-Playing Games
Role-playing games have the highest number of moms of any video game genre. This is because RPGs have huge, sprawling plots with huge, sprawling towns and a huge, sprawling casts of characters who you may or may not encounter depending on how you play the game. In most RPGs, you see moms as non-playable characters in towns, in flashbacks depicting the hero's reason for revenge. Some RPGs even have them as playable characters or main villains. Sadly, RPGs are also the number one "mom dies" offender, as nearly every RPG features a plucky youth out to avenge a destroyed village that usually has within it a dead mother – or at least one that's been turned into a monster.

There are way more mothers in RPGs than we could count – especially if you're going through side quests, all PC RPGs, all Japanese RPGs that were never released in the US, Final Fantasy X-2 and every single optional flashback for every possible playable character. So we've populated this list with moms who 1) had the most impact on the game's main plot or that 2) appear in the game beyond a single expository cut scene. This leaves us mostly with moms who appear in Japanese RPGs; but be sure to apologize to your dead mother in Fallout 3 for us.

Mada, Dragon Quest V – Mother of the main character: Mada gets kidnapped and becomes the subject of his quest.

Matriarch Benezia, Mass Effect – Mother of Liara T'Soni: Benezia is enslaved and later killed by Shepard in battle, but she makes up with Liara right before dying.

Polka's Mom, Eternal Sonata — Mother of Polka: this country lady is very well adjusted to time loops and apparently never taught her daughter not to talk to strange 19th Century composers she might meet while wandering around at night.

Yohn, Suikoden Tactics — Mother of Kyril: Yohn is a mute demon trapped in the wrong world who sticks around to care for her son, even though he doesn't know who she is for pretty much the whole game.

Gina , Chrono Trigger — Mother of Chrono: In one of the game's endings, Gina accidentally goes into the time portal, thus restarting the whole plot from the beginning.

Jenova, Final Fantasy VII — Mother of Sephiroth (sorta): Jenova is... an alien? We're not even sure she's a she, but "she" spends a lot of time in a jar and looks creepy.

Angeal's Mother, Crisis Core — Mother of Angeal: This small-town lady is very nice to all of her son's friends from the army, even the ones that turn evil and cause her matricide.

Queen Brahne, Final Fantasy IX — Mother of the real Princess Garnet and foster mother to her lookalike of the same name: Brahne gets fat, turns evil, tries to kill her adoptive daughter and later repents and dies in Garnet's arms.

Sarah Sisulart, Lost Odyssey – Mother of Liram: Sarah goes a little crazy and turns herself into an old woman when she thinks her daughter's been killed, but turns back into a hot nerdy chick when she finds out she has grandkids.

Seth Balmore, Lost Odyssey – Mother of Sed: Seth is immortal, but her son isn't, which is sort of weird for both of them. But they're both pirates, so there's some common ground at least.

Best Mom: Yohn… because she's selfless as only a mother can be.

Worst Mom: Jenova… because she's emotionally unavailable. And responsible for Sephiroth.

Mothers in… Fighting Games
Fighting games have a fair few mothers among their playable characters. The plot structure (or lack thereof) leaves room for all kinds of people to enter whatever world championship fighting tournament of the week is going on for various reasons that don't necessarily make any sense. So if you can have a panda, a geisha, a cyborg and whatever the hell Voldo is supposed to be enter a tournament for personal gain, a mother doesn't seem like such a weird contender. Here's a list of a few prominent mommies:

Sophitia, Soulcalibur series – Mother of Patroklos and Pyrrha: Sophitia is an Athenian who fights on behalf of the Greek God, Hephaestus, to regain Soul Edge. The sword entwines itself with her daughter's spirit, forcing Sophitia to spend eternity defending Soul Edge from anyone who tries to claim it. She's protecting her daughter.

Michelle Chang, Tekken series – Mother of Julia: Michelle fights in one of the Iron Fist tournaments to rescue her kidnapped mother and then adopts an abandoned baby named Julia. Then Julia goes on to fight in an Iron Fist tournament to save Michelle when Michelle gets kidnapped. Circle of life.

Dural, Virtua Fighter – Mother of Kage: Dural probably started out as a good mom when she was human, but then she got kidnapped and turned into an evil cyborg. That knocks her out of the Mom of the Year running.

Jun Kazama, Tekken series – Mother of Jin Kazama: Jun is the Chosen One, a wildlife activist, and a single mom. Over the course of four games, she somehow found time to save pandas, birth a son, thrash a bunch of her extended family and possibly fake her own death or perhaps dies for real when her house burned down.

Nina Williams, Tekken series – Mother of Steve Fox via in-vitro fertilization: Nina is a world class assassin who gives birth to a son while in cryogenic sleep. Though it appears she couldn't care less that she has offspring, she does neglect to assassinate him. That counts as maternal instinct, right?

Maria, Dead or Alive series – Mother of Helena: Maria is a world class opera singer who had an affair with the head of a sinister corporation. She later took a bullet for her bastard daughter onstage in the middle of an aria… what a way to go.

Crimson Viper, Street Fighter IV – Mother of Lauren: C. Viper is a working mother in the spy profession. Her life's goal is destroying the weapons produced by a sinister corporation, but somehow she made room in her busy schedule to have a daughter.

Justice, Guilty Gear – Mother of Dizzy: No one's really sure how it happened – least of all Dizzy, who was found abandoned at age 3.

Best Mom: Maria… because nothing says "Mommy loves you" like taking a sniper's bullet to the heart.

Worst Mom: Crimson Viper… because she's a workaholic. Did she even call her kid after fights? No!**

Mothers in… Action/Adventure and Survival Horror Games
Here's where the role of the mother in video games become complicated. Because these types of games usually have a more focused plot than fighting or role playing games, adding a mother usually means casting her in a narrow role that doesn't include speaking parts. Occasionally, these moms even wind up as antagonists by default. However small their part, though, these mothers sometimes make an appearance worth mentioning. Here are a few notable examples:

The Queen, Ico – Mother of Yorda: She basically had a daughter so she could sacrifice the kid and live a bit longer. I guess some species do eat their own young, but jeez…

Annette Birkin, Resident Evil 2 – Mother of Sherry Birkin: Depending on how you play the game, Annette either hid the G-Virus in her daughter's locket or cures her daughter of the T-Virus. Either way, she did abandon her kid during a zombie apocalypse. Poor form, Mom.

Amelia Croft, Tomb Raider series – Mother of Lara Croft: Like her daughter, Mrs. Croft has issues with touching ancient artifacts she probably shouldn't. Luckily, Lara learns from her mommy's mistakes and everybody's happy… until Lara has to shoot zombie Amelia when they meet up in Underworld.

Mrs. Sanderson, Chibi Robo – Mother of Jenny: Mrs. Sanderson has real marital problems that cause her to lock herself in a bathroom and threaten divorce, leaving all the housework to Jenny and her toy robot.

Ex-Mrs. Hopkins, Bully – Mother of Jimmy Hopkins: This woman lacks both fashion sense and parental priorities. She ditches her kid at a boarding school to run off on a honeymoon with a new husband and then sends Jimmy a fugly sweater at Christmas.

Maggie Monday, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse – Mother of Andrew Monday: Like Jimmy Hopkins' mom, Maggie could use some priority adjustment. She lets her son's city get sacked by zombies and then becomes a zombie herself so she can marry Stubbs. This basically leaves Andrew with a wrecked city and a zombie for a stepfather. Thanks, Mom!

Ma Cipriani, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories – Mother of Toni: Toni never called his Ma while he was in hiding. Given that she dates guys who are into paraphilic infantilism, I can see why. Ma puts a hit out on her son and then calls it off in a fit of maternal pride when Tony finally becomes a made man.

Best Mom: Amelia Croft… because not even good moms get it right all of the time and how was she supposed to know that sword would teleport her, her husband would die and her daughter would be left an orphan?

Worst Mom: The Queen… because what she did to Yorda is way worse than what Joan Crawford did to her daughter. You think being hit with wire hangers is bad? Try being turned to stone.

Mothers in… Shooters
Here's where you barely see any moms at all. The shooter genre is reserved for masculine things like guns and aliens and spies and other stuff that doesn't leave much room for maternal influences. You'll find a lot of dads in shooters, though – but Father's Day isn't for another month, so sit tight.

*SPOILER WARNING: BioShock, F.E.A.R. 2, Metal Gear Solid 4*

Jasmine Jolene, BioShock – Mother of Jack: Jasmine was Andrew Ryan's mistress and a "dancer" which is 60s code for "prostitute." Even if she didn't accept money for sexual favors, she was certainly in a hurry to accept money for her freshly-conceived embryo. That's worse than the fairy tales where parents trade firstborn sons for magical enchantments.

Dr. Bridgette Tenenbaum, BioShock and BioShock 2 – Mother of all the Little Sisters and the Big Sister: Tenenbaum didn't give birth to any of the poor darlings, but her research created them. She eventually stepped in to foster them and shower them with toys and secondhand cigarette smoke to make up for the brainwashing.

Eva, Metal Gear Solid 4 – Mother of Liquid and Solid Snake (kinda): Eva would have gladly had Naked Snake's babies the ol' fashioned way, but the Patriots had other plans. She eventually serves as surrogate mother to the clone babies Liquid and Solid and starts calling herself Big Mamma to compensate for having nothing to do with mothering them.

The Boss, Metal Gear Solid 3 – Mother of Revolver Ocelot and the US Special Forces (which one do you think she's more proud of?): The Boss probably had no business leading the Battle of Normandy while nine months pregnant. But despite being a bad mom to Ocelot, The Boss wins major motherhood recognition as a Mother Goddess figure to at least half the cast of the Metal Gear Solid series.

Alma Wade, F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin – Mother of Paxton Fettel, Point Man and countless telepathic clone soldiers: Alma became a mother at the tender age of 15 against her will. It's hard to tell if she harbors any feeling for her offspring conceived in captivity – bloodlust sort of obscures any tender intent. However, in Project Origin, Alma's grown up a bit and appears to have invested in being mother to the protagonist's baby, which she deliberately conceives.

Best Mom: The Boss… because out of this sorry lot, she's easily the best role model.

Worst Mom: Jasmine… because she sold her only son to his father's enemy before the son was even born. That's like the opposite of mother-like behavior.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions
Sora's Mom, Kingdom Hearts — She has one line and the whole first part of the game is about her son trying to build a raft to run away from home. Clearly the parenting thing isn't working out.
Mother Brain, Metroid — "She," if that's what that thing in the jar can be called, is an alien with no maternal feelings whatsoever.
You, Fable II, The Sims games and Harvest Moon games — Even if you play as an upstanding paragon of parental vigilance, you're going to be guilty of neglect at least half of the time in these games.

At this point, you're probably wondering why Cooking Mama isn't anywhere on this list. Apart from the lack of a convenient genre into which to cram the game, there's no evidence that Cooking Mama is even a mother. Do you see her kids at any point in the game? For all the player knows, she's just calling herself "Mama" so she doesn't have to call herself a chef, the poor self-hating hash slinger.

That's all we've got for the best and worst mothers in video games. Think we missed somebody important? Drop a line in the comments. And don't forget to call your mom on Mother's Day!

**CORRECTION: C. Viper occasionally does call her daughter after fights. But the workaholic ruling still stands.

These new screens are meant to showcase a couple of things. One, that if you leave them alone, the Sims will still head out and do the stuff they love, like visiting museums, or the, uh, pool. The other, that you can make vampires in the game.

When asked if he felt like he was leaving his gaming fanbase behind, he said no.

"That's definitely not the case, some of the coolest things I'm thinking of working on are new games," he said.

And those games won't be a total departure from Wright's history of making open-ended simulators. There will be "an almost unbroken lineage" between what he has done in the past and where he hopes to take gaming with Stupid Fun Club, he says.

Earlier today, Wright announced that he would be departing Maxis and Electronic Arts to spend all of his time working at an entertainment think tank developing new intellectual properties for all forms of entertainment from toys to television.

Stupid Fun Club, which was initially started in 2001 as an offshoot of his work building robots for Robot Wars, was dramatically restructured recently in time for the deal he signed with EA on Monday, he said.

"It started out in Berkeley, " he said. "We were all doing Robot Wars together. We started building strange robots and then started doing these fun social experiments where we would have them encounter people and film it to study peoples' reactions."

That led to a lot of ideas, Wright said and people started stopping by to see if they could invest in the company. But Wright said he was reluctant to go down the path of an IPO or start up again, like he did with Maxis.

They started showing some of the ideas to Electronic Arts and the publisher got interested. "They were the perfect VC for us," Wright said.

The relationship Stupid Fun Club will have with EA will, in some ways, be a broad version of the one Steven Spielberg has with the company, Wright said.

Wright says he was fascinated with the concept of the film maker working as an entertainment designer in a field he was unaccustomed to. And Boom Blox, he says, was a interesting product of that effort.

"Boom Blox was remarkable because it was not the game I was expecting from Steven Spielberg, but it was a blast to play," he said. "There were no cinematic, no story, no anything. You could just pick it up and play it.

"He clearly understood games at a level I didn't expect him to."

Wright has been working for some time now trying to grow his understanding of other elements of entertainment as well.

"I've been kind of talking to people about TV shows and movies for awhile now," he said, declining to say which games they would be based on.

When will we hear from Wright and his company again? Perhaps at this year's E3? The designer said he wasn't sure quite yet.

"Give me a few months and I'm sure you'll hear something."

These two suits, reported today by GamePolitics, seek class action status and join a third filed in September over the use of DRM in Spore.

The first suit, lodged by a Pennsylvania man who installed the Spore trial, says that the installation of DRM on a freely distributed program "constitutes a major violation of computer owners' absolute right to control what does and what does not get loaded onto their computers, and how their computers shall be used." The suit says the EULA for the trial made "utterly no mention of any Technical Protection Measures, DRM technology, or SecuROM whatsoever."

The second, filed by a Missouri woman, says that after installing DRM-protected The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, she began experiencing problems with her PC. Backup CDs with Sims 2 game content were no longer recognized by her competer; neither were files saved on her USB flash drive or iPod. She rid herself of the DRM and the problems only by reformatting her PC. She accuses EA of engaging in "unfair business practices" as well as conduct that is "immoral, unethical, oppressive [and] unscrupulous ..."

No, we have not contacted EA for comment. I'm sure they'd either say they haven't read the suit and can't comment on it, or they have and don't comment on pending litigation. Either way, it's out there. Someone's accusing EA of bad business practices in more than just a Reddit thread.

New Class-Action Suits Target EA, SecuROM, The Sims & Spore Creature Creator [Gamepolitics]

... Will Wright continued to think about what else he could do now that he had discovered this new scale. If people messed around with ants and kept ant farms because, on a certain level, it was easy to see ourselves in them, why not make a digital "people farm"? This, of course, led to the ant-farm-by-way-of-doll-house know as The Sims, the best-selling PC game of all time.

Through these games, Wright struck upon something essential in humanity. Messing with ants is the original "god game." Software simulations are both an extension and a refinement of this behavior. They let us focus our frustrations and desires onto something smaller than ourselves, something over which we can feel supremely powerful. We can single out a few digital people and decide if we want to make their day heaven or hell. Or we can simply watch them go about their tasks, gently nudging them along, content in the knowledge that we have the power to tear it all down at any moment. For beings that often feel powerless in the face of a vast, harsh universe, this is extremely cathartic.

The whole issue is a fun read, with essays on a variety of god game-related subjects.

A God Among Insects [The Escapist]

Clearly, there is very little probative value to this post, I just wanted to write the word DIKTAD (the name of a toy chest they sell). Three years ago my friend Ryan (Flying Squirrel, to those in the know), who now writes for the Sacramento Bee, went to IKEA with me to help me trick out my former shithole (rented for $1095 a month. Housing bubble? What is this you speak of? Rent is a rock solid investment that only appreciates.) We came around the corner and saw DIKTAD and that instantly became our new term of abuse for each other, like "Heat Stick" and "Grandma's Tongue." And now I bequeath it to you. Please call each other that in the comments.

The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Trailer [Simprograms]

To celebrate the beta launch, EA is launching the SimCarnival.com Galactic Game Challenge, with $1,000 cash prize on the line. Judging from the quality generated so far I'd say there's a good chance of anyone who reads Kotaku winning. Hell, there's a good chance my mother could win this.

THE SIMS LABEL ANNOUNCES GAMES DESTINATIONS WEBSITE SIMSCARNIVAL.COM NOW IN OPEN BETA

Play, Create and Share Games Of All Kinds!

REDWOOD CITY, CA - June 17, 2008 - The Sims™, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) http://www.SimsCarnival.com with added content, features and new game creation options. This games destination website has hundreds of games of all kinds and creators are adding more every day. There is bound to be a game that you love — and if not, you can make it! Since its inception in February 2008, SimsCarnival.com has built an active online community where nearly 1 in 4 visitors during Closed Beta have created and published their own games. The tools provided at the site empower players to become game creators at any programming skill level, from novice to Flash developers.

Play
With hundreds of unique and cool games to play, there is a game for everybody — you won't find this selection of games anywhere else. Making games is so easy at SimsCarnival.com, so you will see new and unique games and experiences to enjoy every day. Come and check them out!

Create
Three tools — The Wizard, The Swapper and The Game Creator — are your assistants in game design. The Wizard leads you through the process of creating a game step-by-step with intuitive and fun options designed to help you make the coolest game. The Swapper lets you customize existing games - or newly made games from The Wizard - with your own selection of images, so personalizing a game is at your fingertips. With The Game Creator, and its easy-to-use library of images, animations and sounds, everyone can create cool games. You can also upload games created in Adobe® Flash® that can be viewed, played and shared with SimsCarnival.com community. Flash developers interested in uploading their games to the site should create an account at www.SimsCarnival.com and click on the "Upload" tab from any page. Flash developers will be able to retain branding and links back to their developer site, providing another way to get exposure and traffic for their games.

Share
At SimsCarnival.com, create lists of your favorite games, send a game by email or embed a game on social networking sites or on your personal blog. Games are now truly a social experience and one that can be shared and enjoyed by others.

What's New
Based on listening to player feedback, new evolutions are now available in Open Beta, including a playlist function which allows you to stitch together all your favorite games into one experience. Also, new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) will soon be ready to use. The first Flash API will be a high-score API which will allow Flash developers to use SimsCarnival.com's High Score system, which enables daily, weekly, and all-time high scores and player emails. Flash developers interested in learning more about our programs specifically targeted for Flash developers should send an email to SimLeaderAlpha@ea.com.

To celebrate the Open Beta, game creators are invited to participate in a game design challenge called SimsCarnival.com Galactic Game Challenge in which the winner will receive a cash prize*. This is the first of many contests designed to attract great game creators. Start making games today!

Visit SimsCarnival.com today to enjoy games more than ever before!

*Complete rules can be found at http://www.SimsCarnival.com/portal/promos/galacticgamechallenge

In light of "serious games" and "edutainment" discussions, I'm always interested to see what regular retail games are listed as good "educational" titles. College@Home has a pretty thorough list covering a variety of topics; some of the titles are expected (Civilization, Carmen Sandiego) to some slightly more interesting titles (Spore, Age of Mythology, a lot of regular retail sims). Makes me glad I just get to take the fun out of learning for undergraduates — I'm not sure I'd want to herd kids through Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Virtual Learning: 25 Best Sims and Games For the Classroom

[College@Home via Water Cooler Games]

In a somewhat bizarre interview with The Times Online, Nancy Smith (head of the Sims division at EA) said that " in light of the popularity of virtual worlds ... the Sims may soon become a multi-player game." The article fails to mention the failed experiment of The Sims Online, later rebranded to "EA-Land" and scheduled for closure in August. But Smith talks of potential new (and old) modes for online play:

Ms Smith was adamant, however, that The Sims would not break wholly with its past, and would continue to require players to buy and install software on their machines before being able to play. Some virtual worlds, such as Club Penguin and Habbo Hotel, can be played entirely within a web browser ....

The Sims franchise would also continue to explore new revenue models that have become associated with virtual worlds, she said, including sponsorship and the sale of 'virtual goods', as on the fashion-focused virtual world for teens, Stardoll.com.

It's a really odd interview in light of the online element that already fell flat on its face; maybe second time will be the charm for the Sims?

The Sims prepare for a sociable future [The Times via Worlds In Motion]

• As a toddler, gorging on a can of aerosol whipping cream and throwing up.
• As a young man, my girlfriend posing for "Genthouse" Magazine (for the record, I was cool with it. We married.)
• Playing in an old-timer's baseball game as a senior citizen, going back for a long fly ball, collapsing to the ground and dying peacefully as my friends gathered.

Well, here's a site where you can play Alter Ego online. It's been up since 2005, so probably some of you have stumbled onto this before. I scoured Kotaku to make sure we haven't featured it yet. It was truly a beautiful and well written game, created by Dr. Peter Favaro, and worth a look anyway. If you played it when you were younger, looking forward to life as an adult, now you can play it when you're older, to relive simpler days.

Alter Ego [theblackforge.net]

Indulge your Sims with an office that is sure to promote order and productivity with its elegant Vika Hyttan desk, inspiring Kila desk lamp, bold Helmer drawer unit, and Lack zigzag wallshelf.

—-

Dear Former Member of The Sims Online

I would like to introduce you to EA-Land, an online world that is free-to-play, and based on a re-engineered The Sims Online architecture.  Yes, FREE.

(To see an HTML version of the information in this letter please go to http://www.ea-land.ea.com)

I wanted you to know that at the beginning of last year, I assembled a team to improve The Sims Online. After months of ongoing hard work, we can proudly say that we have been successful and we have made this game fun again! I am writing to you because I would like to invite you to rejoin us in the game. You can come back for free right now by REACTIVATING your old account at this page http://ea-land.ea.com/register/free.php and then by downloading the game from the same link. Most likely, your Sim is no more, but if you come back to the game this month, you will get your earned privileges back (gifts, skill locks etc... in EA-Land) when we run our amnesty program at the end of the month.

The Sims Online was made of 12 different cities (AlphaVille, Blazing Falls, etc..), which now all exist EA-Land (this is called 'the merge' by the users!). We have a huge new map: it is 100 times bigger than the previous size of any city. We had to add a whole new zoom level to let users see it. The internet is faster now, so we have been able to let each house have more simultaneous visitors.  A lot of new users are constantly joining us and we expect more. As you have played TSO before, I think that you ought to own your lot in this new land, and I want you to have the ability to grab the best location before we open the gates. As an EA-Land subscriber, you will be able to have several Sims in the same "city" unlike in TSO where you were limited to one Sim per city. Also, if you refer others to become subscribers we will give you extra money in-game each week per person referred. Read more about this at http://www.ea-land.ea.com/blog/?p=826


RE-designed with Smart Users

On our blog ( http://www.ea-land.ea.com/blog ) we explain all the things we are working on and the events we are running in the game. We also have a very active wiki web site (http://www.game-blueprints.com ) managed by the community where you can work with others to design the game. We have already implemented many features designed by the users! The stratics forum community continues to be very active. We have made some big changes to the game, and many more are coming over the next few months. It is difficult to say which of the recent changes are the most important as users have different reasons to play the game, but let me tell you about the changes that I particularly like:


Custom Content

Users now have the ability to upload custom content. Like in the original Sims game, the goal is to let you customize the game completely, but in EA-Land you can see and buy the customizations of the other players! Players have already uploaded several thousands pieces of custom content. I suspect that by some time this year, all of the content of the game will have been replaced many times over by custom content. We started with the ability to upload bitmaps (easiest for the new creative users), then moved on to chairs and sculptures. You can now make your own portraits in the game and "skin" objects like in Sims2 by using your own images. Because we are approving all of the content, this user content is safe to be viewed by everyone! We are working with the main user web sites that have been providing custom content to the Sims users for years (e.g. http://www.TheSimsResource.com) to make sure that their content will be made available in the game.


New Economy

We heard from the community that the economy was broken in TSO. That was true, too many users were billionaires, and the goal of the game was mostly about extracting money from Maxis. I can now say with satisfaction that we have fixed the economy on EA-Land. This took many features, from establishing a real estate market, where users can easily buy or sell lots to one another, and a dynamic object pricing market where the prices of objects purchased from Maxis is based on supply and demand, enabling stores and entrepreneurs to earn a living. We also enabled users to buy the in-game currency directly using secure PayPal transactions. While there is no need for users to do so in the game (we give subscribers money in-game every week), it can help new users build their dream house faster.


Web Services and Social Networks

The internet has changed so much since the launch of The Sims Online in December 2002, we had to change the way we think about online games. We have opened the access to most of the in game information to the internet through web services. For example this enables you to add Google or Yahoo widgets to your computer (or iPhone! ) and see if your favorite lots or friends are online. We are providing you with privacy settings so you can decide if or which of your avatars will broadcast what information to the internet. Sims User web sites are already using this feature to create some amazing community sites. We also built avatarbook, to show how that information can be seen and connected to social web sites like Facebook © (login to the "avatar book" application at http://apps.facebook.com/avatarbook where you can search for MaxisLuc's profile page)


And there's more to come! We are looking forward to seeing you back in the game and having fun with us again!

Sincerely

Luc Barthelet,
"MaxisLuc".

The biggest change to The Sims 3 is that it takes place in a wide-open, constantly changing neighborhood — a much bigger sandbox, if you will, and a much more complex simulation. The town and park you see on the cover image to the right (click to enlarge) exist in the same seamless space as your Sims' household, and what you do outside your home now matters as much as what you do within.

Other changes come in the Sims' reporting of their moods - the maddening individual meters are gone, replaced by "discrete moods", which is supposed to stop the more obsessive-compulsive players from constantly worrying about pissing and eating and instead let them focus on the more enjoyable stuff.
The Sims 3 Revealed [1UP]

It was as always, a treat to watch. It was also, as always, something that leaves you perhaps with less of an idea of what he's on about than before he started talking.

Check out the clip which shows the talk in all of it's more than 30-minutes glory and stay, at least, until you get to his now infamous Russian Space Minute.

Pre-Order the Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff Pack [Sims Gamer]

The cuteness...it is like a fine wine. The game will come out and we'll all take it home, intoxicated by its bubbly personality and charm. By the next morning we'll all be eight year old girls. I've already caught myself drawing unicorns on my notebooks. We must stop MySims before it's too late! Michael Fahey

MySims looks to transform the traditional personal management gameplay of The Sims into a candy colored, town-building, character-customizing affair perfect for the Wii market. Or the assumed Wii market.

Interested parties can check out the official MySims site for more screens or continue on for the adorable, blockheaded press release featuring the first use of "delightful but disorganized" that we've seen on the internet. Michael McWhertor

EA Announces MySims Created Especially for the Wii and Nintendo DS Platforms

Popular Video Game Series Embraces Player Creativity, Customization and Personal Expression Through a New, Delightful Cast of Characters

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that the company is developing MySims , the first game in a revolutionary new line from the developers of the blockbuster franchise The Sims, designed especially for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms.

MySims introduces a charming cast of whimsical characters while delivering the creativity, customization and classic open-ended gameplay that has enchanted Sims players worldwide. Players begin by creating their own toy-like Sim that reflects their personal style and attitudes. From pig-tails and baseball caps to dreadlocks and Mohawks, the options are endless and the style is unlike any Sims game to date. By unlocking cool new clothing, hairstyles and accessories, players explore the game's incredible depth of customization and expression... and the characters are just the beginning!

Transforming the traditional Sims gameplay for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms, MySims moves the player to a delightful but disorganized town where - thanks to the easy and unique controls - they can re-shape everything and make it their own. The town is rundown, but the player can make it much more dynamic. Using a selection of building blocks, unique patterns and engaging creativity tools, players can design furniture and appliances, architect new homes and businesses, and re-define the entire MySims landscape!

As players explore and build up the town, they will get to know dedicated, long-time residents like the always-busy Mayor Rosalyn P. Marshall and Buddy - the mostly-lazy hotel Bellhop. Once things start to look up, they'll meet and choose from a variety of colorful, would-be residents. Will they build a restaurant for Gino Delicioso the Italian Chef, or will they help Ocean Breeze set up his Yoga studio instead?

Design is everyone's domain in MySims. From building a new Pizza Oven for Gino to putting the finishing touches on a new roof for Buddy's busy hotel, each completed task will help the town grow. As it expands to new areas, players will receive special building blocks, decorations and patterns which help customize their unique creations. From furniture and buildings to the town as a whole, every choice informs how residents and visitors feel and behave.

"We want MySims to provide a creative play experience like never before on a video game system," said Executive Producer Tim LeTourneau. "By giving players the tools to create literally any kind of world they want in MySims, we're reinforcing the idea that the players create the magic. Will the town support a plethora of spooky, mysterious townsfolk - or buzz with the laughter and smiles of fun-loving Sims? It's your call! In MySims, what players make... makes all the difference!"

MySims will be available for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms in fall 2007.

Product Specifications
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
Ship Date: Late 2007
Category: Simulation

About MySims

MySims is the first game in a revolutionary new line from the developers of the blockbuster franchise The Sims , designed exclusively for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. Explore a whole new world that's yours to transform with MySims. Socialize with the locals and uncover all sorts of useful and surprising treasures hidden throughout the town. Accessible and intuitive controls make it enjoyable to create Sims, build their homes, and interact with other Sims and their world. For more information check out www.Mysims.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS BIGTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of $2.95 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

The only thing sadder than Britney Spears shaving her head in some misguided attempt at regaining, I don't know, something, are the hundreds of Sims created to gimmick the new, balder Britney.

Searching the Sims 2 returns more than 200 Sims created to look like Ms. Baldy, including this one. So, very, sad. And don't get me started on the Anna Nicole Sims.Brian Crecente