The Sims 3 In Full E3 Technicolor

EA Signs Up Talent Agency To Bring Franchises To Movies, TV

The United Talent Agency and Electronic Arts have announced an agreement to help bring internally developed EA franchises to other entertainment media, including movies, animation, comic books and television. UTA, EA's "partner in crime", will represent the developer-publisher as it moves its IP into the "realm of large-budget motion pictures and television series." Let's hope that doesn't mean Madden: The Movie.

The EA-UTA deal is said to "significantly ramp up EA’s film and television slate" which currently consists of a "feature version" of The Sims, a MySims animated series and a Dead Space animated, direct-to-DVD feature. In other words, pretend to be surprised when the Army Of Two movie script leaks later this year.

Hit the jump for the full press release. We'll have additional details on all of EA's Comic-Con related announcements through the week.

Freshy pried from the game's homepage, here's the first trailer for Maxis' upcoming top-seller-for-five-years sure thing, The Sims 3. And yes, it looks better, and the promise of a whole town is certainly a pleasant one, but every time they start to lure me in with those kind of deals, I hear one of them open their mouth, and all bets are off.

Goodness gracious me. Never would have thought the internet would go and make a pastime out of this, but now that it has, what else can we do but run with it? Because, as rubbish as the idea of a bunch of Sims re-enacting hip-hop and R&B videos sounds, it's really not. It's great. There's nine more at the link below, but be warned, a lot of them aren't exactly work/child-friendly.

The Ultimate Argument Settler: The 10 Best Fan Made Hip Hop Videos With Sims Of All Time [Videogum, via Boing-Boing]

The Sim 2 parade continues as EA readies not one but two new explorations into the lives of virtual people with The Sims 2 Apartment Life expansion and The Sims 2 Apartment Pets for the Nintendo DS. The PC version takes your Sim from their posh suburban homes and tosses them into apartment buildings, perhaps simulating America's horrific real estate market. You'll meet new archetypes like sports jocks, bohemians, and gadget-loving techies (raises hand) as you explore the drama of apartment living.

Meanwhile on the DS you'll find an apartment-based pet sim, complete with a snake charming mini-game that involves blowing into the DS microphone. Both games are due out in August around the globe.

As a guy who has lived in apartments for the majority of his life, I fail to see the charm here. Will my Sim be able to keep his pets secret from the apartment management? Can my interactions with my Sims neighbors be confined to peeking out the blinds to make sure they aren't breaking into my car again? Now that's apartment living right there.

The Sims Is Not A Casual Game, Buster

I don't think of it as casual. We were one of the first games that started to attract a broad audience. We were one of the first games that bought in women... To some degree The Sims is more of a toy than a game. People want to create characters, tell stories and explore relationships in a way that is maybe different from their real lives.

The Sims & IKEA Are An Exercise In Tasteful Product Placement

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.

EA's Rod Humble on The Sims, Death and Potty Humor

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has posted a two part interview with EA's Rod Humble on The Sims, among other things — the first half of the interview covers a lot of (non-Sims related) gaming territory, while the second focuses on the Sims. On designing the death bits:

We have a lot of fun with it, so every expansion pack we come to the point where we're adding in some new death states. I remember in Seasons they were putting in the death state of being snowed to death. The person is in a snowstorm, and you see them trying to fight it and fight it, until the fighting slows down [laughs] and he just rolls over and gives up. It shouldn't be funny. But oh my goodness, it is. It's always about mean things happening in an amusing way. There's also a lot of potty humour in it, and we fully embrace that. I think that's a wonderful traditional mode of humour, and I still find it funny watching Sims pee themselves. I make no apologies for it. I think that's a classic genre and endlessly entertaining. [laughs] It makes chuckle just thinking about it!

It's a fun little two part interview, even if you're not a big Sims fan.

Dinner With Rod Humble: Sims Style Stuff [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

EA Kills EA Land, The Sims Online

Just two months ago, EA Land was announced to be the new home of struggling MMO The Sims Online. The good part of that news was that TSO would now be free, hosted at EA Land and was promised to have a host of new features, including user created custom content, web services and social networking tools.

Today, the EA Land blog revealed that it would be shutting down on August 1, ending The Sims Online forever.

The whys weren't given, but speculation from commenters and CNet is that EA wanted to kill The Sims Online without having to kill "The Sims Online." The closure of EA Land—who again?—is far more palatable, brand-wise. Details on outstanding subscriptions can be found at the official EA Land blog.

EA-Land Drawing To A Close [EA Land]
'EA Land' closing just weeks after debut [CNet - thanks DaveKap!]

Amazing Core Gamer Stuff Pooh-Poohed By Focus Groups

The concept was simple: A virtual dollhouse. Will Wright was coming off of SimAnt, and he was looking to do more. Wright at his team at Maxis began working on what would become The Sims, a game that play-tested so poorly that there were doubts it would be released. The game was and of course went on to spawn two sequels and countless expansions, creating a hundred million selling franchise in the process. It's must be very satisfying to be part of The Sims casual gaming juggernaut! Some people play The Sims and only The Sims. While the game's studio head Rod Humble says the best thing about working on The Sims is the "total freedom," he does offer us insight:

The Sims: 100 Million Served

While the majority of the big revelations about The Sims 3 have already been taken care of, today's website update does include some new screenshots, as well as a look at the new personality trait system. Once you create a Sim's physical appearance, you can combine five personality traits together to define how they behave. Want an unlucky, slobbish, easily-bored yet friendly mooch, or a hot-headed, rude, childish and excitable jerk? The ability to fine tune your Sim's personality should make for some very interesting torture sessions gameplay indeed. Hit the jump for a press release full of Sims 3 goodness!

First Sims 3 Details: No More Pee-Meter

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.

The Sims 3 Gets Teased

Sure, we've known that The Sims 3 was coming as early as November of 2006, when EA essentially semi-announced the thing in an earnings report. We also know that EA is planning The Sims 4 and a gross of expansion packs over the next decade, but that's just based on common sense.

Looks like we may get our first real look at chapter three in the amazing Sims saga as early as March 19, just two weeks from today. That's according to EA's teaser site, which provides all the information you've seen in this very post, but it appears that Sim jewel icon rendering is going to be just stunning!

The Sims 3 Coming Soon! [EA]

Probably my utter fascination with Care Bears. I could tell you more than you want to know about Care Bears. Oh, you want to know about Care Bears? ...Yeah, 'cause they live in Care-a-Lot, which is above the Forest of Feelings where the Care Bear Cousins live, which is above Earth... But the Care Bear Cousins aren't even Bears. They're like lions and monkeys and things, but they call them Care Bear Cousins. Yeah... They have these particle beam weapons in their stomachs, and when they get really upset, they fire this Star Wars thing. Yeah, they're cool.

The Sims Online Goes Free With EA Land

While The Sims series has been nothing short of a mega-blockbuster hit for Maxis and publisher EA—well over 70 million(!) copies and expansions have gone out the door—The Sims Online didn't exactly win over the hordes of people who like living fake lives offline. The game stagnated just 11 months after its release, received no new updates and largely faded into obscurity.

But EA is bringing it back. Free.

EA Land will now host the original The Sims Online content, bringing a slew of new features to the massively multiplayer online game. The team at Maxis is now allowing user created custom content, ushering in a new economy, and adding new web services and social networking tools. New Facebook apps and widgets are now available for anyone who wants to have their real life more depressingly connected to their Sim life.

You can read about all the new changes (in Comic Sans!) at the official site or read further for official word from the dev team.

What is EA-Land? [EA Land]

Quite a few titles out this week but I only have eyes and ears for one game... Patapon. I'll also be checking out Lost Planet on my PS3 if I can manage to tear myself away from my little rhythmic friends. What's on your list this week?

Patapon (PSP)
Action plus rhythm plus great art style equals awesome.

Frontlines: Fuel of War (X360, PC)
Battle for control of the earth's depleted natural resources.

Lost: Via Domus (X360, PC, PS3)
Solve the mysteries of the island.

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (X360, PC, PS3)
The Nazi's won WWII and boy are we in trouble.

Naruto: Ninja Destiny (DS)
A Naruto 3D fighter for your DS.

The Sims 2: FreeTime (PC)
Exactly what the Sims need. More free time. Bastards.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PS3)
The world of giant bugs comes to the PS3.

Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed (WII)
Aliens and penis jokes: a winning combination.

Mazes of Fate DS (DS)
Determine your fate in this RPG with mazes.

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (WII)
Live (or die) through Agatha Christie's greatest mystery.

ArmA: Gold Edition (PC)
ArmA: Armed Assault and ArmA: Queen's Gambit together again for the first time.

Heavenly Guardian (PS2)
Animated 2D shooter action.

Puzzle Guzzle (PSP)
Guzzle this puzzle!

I think it's a huge tragedy. I mean, you might as well say PC gaming is World of Warcraft and The Sims... The weird thing is everyone's got a PC, they're just not buying software for it.