Thursday 1 December 2005

Focus Groups Rescheduled

Written at 01:27 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The official site has reported that the focus groups, which were to be held this week, have been rescheduled. Rather than taking just one day, Maxis is now spending three to get feedback on the Sims games from fans. Starting yesterday (wednesday) until Friday 1 December there will be several focus groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you live in that area, then you're allowed to join in. You can still sign up, though you'll have to be quick, by following the rules in the official newspost.

Saturday 3 December 2005

Rock Ground Textures

Written at 01:46 by Jendea - 0 comments.

I posted some new ground textures today for your sims2 gardens, beaches or parks. Five repeating rock textures. I hope you enjoy!
Click on the picture to check them out or you can also find them under my section:jendea

Tuesday 6 December 2005

Open for Business is Official

Written at 00:17 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Tim LeTourneau, senior producer of the Sims 2 expansion packs, has sent a new community update today. He has the news that "Open for Business" will be the official title of the third expansion pack for the Sims 2. Until now it was only known as a working title. Tim tells why Maxis chose to make the business expansion pack, and the first two screens and a movie are included as well. Besides that there is also some more information about the features of the pack. There will be over 125 new items in the pack, with which you can make shops that sell products ranging from clothing, electronics, and toys to flowers, baked goods, robots and more. For more precise details, read the product page at EAPlay (thanks to SimTimes). Read on for Tim's e-mail, click the thumbnails below for the screenshots, or download the movie by following the link below. QuickTime is required to watch the clip.

• Movie: High Resolution (3.3 Mb)
• Movie: Low Resolution (951 Kb)

Read More!

Sims one of Greatest Games

Written at 00:24 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

GameSpot maintains a list of the greatest games of all time - in their opinion. Will Wright already had one of his titles on that list, SimCity, but now the Sims has also been added. Besides a basic description of the game, the site highlights the humour and character in the game. Because the game is so open-ended, timeless and "continually entertaining" and not in the least place that it was revolutionary, it's one of the greatest games, says GameSpot. Reading the entire article will give you a little more insight as to why GameSpot put the Sims on the list - so read it if you want to know.

Join "How do you Play" Campaign

Written at 00:42 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

You may be familiar with the Sims Played By campaign, also known as "How do you play". Many players have already shared their experiences with the various Sims games, but now Maxis has opened up the campaign for everybody to share their stories. You can submit an online form, after which you'll have a chance to see your story on the campaign's website.

Holiday Giveaway Week 3

Written at 00:57 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Last week was the third week of Maxis' Holiday Giveaway, and as in the weeks before it has resulted in two downloads, a fact and a blooper. The downloads are Christmas Lights by XtremeHoliday, and a Gingerbread House, two objects from the Christmas Party Pack by MaxoidMonkey. The factoid Maxis has given away is about the chess game in the PC version: it's an actual game that Bobby Fischer (white) played against Max Euwe (black) back in 1960. In the blooper you can see the Grim Reaper taking a little necessary break.

Thursday 8 December 2005

The Sims 2 (PSP) Ships

Written at 01:04 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

EA has officially announced that - just in time for Christmas - they have shipped the Sims 2 for the PSP platform. It'll officially be released in North America this friday. The European release date will either be next week (16 December) or in two weeks (23 December) - the press release mentions both dates. We'll give you a final confirmation of the European release date as soon as possible. The game has 20 new locations over five neighborhoods, set in Strangetown to visit, and 100 secrets to reveal. Besides that it's also possible to collect and trade secrets, perks, potions and inventions. For more details, read the press release or our preview of the game.

TS2 PSP in Europe December 23rd

Written at 13:13 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

After asking around, we've received confirmation from EA Europe that The Sims 2 on PSP will be released 23 December in Europe, with possibly a little bit of variation in the day depending on where you live. Where North Americans will be able to buy the game this week, that means Europe (and Australia) will have to wait another two weeks before they're able to buy the game. The official UK site has also corrected the release date from 16 to 23 December. Check out yesterday's press release for more information.

Sunday 11 December 2005

Holiday Giveaway Week 4

Written at 20:40 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Week 4 of the official Holiday Giveaway is over, and as before it's given 2 downloads, and a blooper. Of the 12 promised objects from the Holiday Party Pack, 8 have now been given away. That means that the final four downloads will be released on 13, 14, 15 and 20 December, and so there are no more bloopers and factoids left. The last blooper is a Sim sinking away in the floor. Other than that, the Maxis crew has made a special, Simlish, holiday song.

This week's downloads are the Proliferating Reindeer and Corporal Filbert. Both are merely decorational items and don't do much besides just standing in the house of your Sims. Download them from the exchange.

The Sims 2 Open for Business Page

Written at 20:49 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The official site has opened up a new product page for the Sims 2 Open for Business, the third expansion pack that'll be out early next year. As expected the game will get a rating of T for Teen, according to the page. Besides the known information, there are also two new screenshots, five small images, and a new movie. You can see the screenshots below - so enjoy.

Friday 16 December 2005

The Sims 2 (Consoles) - Our Review

Written at 03:54 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Christmas is coming up soon, and if you don't know what you want to get then maybe the Sims is for you. Nightlife has been out for a while, there's the Holiday Party Pack that Andy reviewed, but also the Sims 2 on Consoles and Handhelds. We've taken a look at the PlayStation 2 version of the game, which is pretty much the same as the XBox and GameCube ones, and after checking out the game thoroughly, the review is finally ready. Time for us to let you know whether the game is worth it, despite the (minor) issues and glitches:

"Once you're done creating a Sim, you're ready to be thrown in the story. Well... Story might be a bit optimistic. Your goals are based on golden and platinum wants. Your Sim has one of these at any time, where a golden want helps you through the lot and a platinum one unlocks one of the 12 locations. You'll first need to complete the gold wants before you get a platinum one. Although at the beginning of the story you'll only need to control your Sim, and fulfil golden wants of your Sim, this changes after a short while. You have to help other Sims with their golden wants as well, and so progress through the story."

So if you're interested...

Saturday 17 December 2005

Official Site now also for PSP

Written at 02:14 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

After the Sims 2 being released for the PSP, Maxis has added another small feature for users of Sony's handheld. Besides the regular version, there's now also a PSP version of the website. It has a few wallpapers, some music, screenshots and videos, help, and even the latest podcasts (PSP update 2.60 required). Besides that there's also a bit of news on the frontpage. You can access the site through http://psp.thesims2.com - with or without PSP. Thanks to Michael for the tip.

Holiday Giveaway Week 5

Written at 02:28 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The final full week of Maxis' holiday giveaway is over again. There's only one more download to be given away next week Tuesday. This week there were three - no more bloopers or factoids. You can get some Mantle Warmers, also known as stockings, a HoliDine Table for the Christmas dinner (in various colours), and some Mystery Presents, of which you'll always wonder what's inside them. All can now be downloaded from the official site, if you registered your game.

Open for Business T-Mail 2

Written at 03:08 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

One of the last, if not the last, T-Mails of the year has arrived. Tim LeTourneau, Senior Producer for the Sims 2 expansion packs, has given an update on the upcoming expansion pack Open for Business. He says that the team just hit a major milestone (he doesn't say which one exactly), and that there's now a lot of tuning, polishing and gameplaying going on. Included are two screenshots and a 37 second movie. Besides that Hunter Howe, designer on the team of the expansion pack, gives some insight in what goes on behind the scenes and how things work, using several constants. He also mentions business perks, which are rewards for the business owner when the place is running well. All those bits can be found in the Read More part of the newspost you're reading now. For the screenshots, click the thumbnails below, or follow the links to the movie if you wish to see that (QuickTime required).

• Movie: High Quality (3.5 Mb)
• Movie: Low Quality (987 Kb)

Read More!

Sims 2 (Mac) Patch C

Written at 03:14 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

It's no news that games ship with some bugs in them. The same goes for the Sims 2 on the Mac. Aspyr has released a third patch for the game. This patch solves a conflict with NVidia video cards in combination with OS X version 10.4.3. The patch also includes the fixes for the previous two patches, so you don't need those for this patch. You can download the patch from MacGameFiles. For a full list of fixes, including those of the previous patches, check Aspyr's patch page.

The Sims 2 University (Mac) Shipping

Written at 03:20 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Aspyr developer for the Sims 2 on Mac, has announced that the first expansion pack, University, has gone gold. It's currently in Shipping status, and will arrive in stores very soon. This is reported by InsideMacGames and can be verified on Aspyr's Project Status page. The game is identical to the PC version of the expansion pack, and also requires The Sims 2 (for Mac, of course) to be installed. For more information check out the product page at Aspyr's website. You can buy the game from our Mac shop for £16.99 or $29.99.

New bedroom sets

Written at 14:32 by MissWendy - 0 comments.

Hello all! I just uploaded 9 bedrooms sets. When designing my sims homes I prefer that their rooms are color cooridinated and matching, so I thought I would share a few of my favorite patterns. Please feel free to leave any comments or request of certain patterns. All sets are recolores of the Maxis originals. You can download them from my section. Enjoy!

Monday 19 December 2005

Mascot with Open for Business Pre-order

Written at 01:46 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.

Open for Business is arriving in the first quarter of next year, and shops have already started taking pre-orders. Our shop is one of them, but EBGames is doing the same. As a gift, they now have a promotion up that if you pre-order the game there, you can get an exclusive Sims mascot and a life-size sculpture to promote that your shop is the best in the hood. It seems the offer is only available in the US. It's not sure whether Amazon or other online shops will have the same offer.

Open for Business Artworks

Written at 01:52 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Slowly but surely the marketing machine around the third expansion pack for the Sims 2 is starting to run. That means there are more and more graphics and such to see. This time it's time for the official Italian site to bring in 5 new artworks for Open for Business. Fansite SnootySims found them, and now they're here as well. Click the thumbnails below to see large versions of the artworks.

Wednesday 21 December 2005

Last Giveaway: Mistletoe

Written at 17:37 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The Holiday Giveaway that went on for over 5 weeks on the official site, is over. Yesterday Maxis posted the final download, a Mistletoe. Let your Sims stand under it, and they'll have to kiss. You can download the 1.37 Mb object from this page on the exchange. For an overview of all other downloads that Maxis gave the past couple of weeks, go to the Holiday Giveaway page. The Mistletoe will probably be added to that page soon enough as well.

Possible Open for Business Release Date

Written at 17:41 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Our affiliate SimsZone has reported that besides the German name and pack shot, there's also a release date. This date was put on the release date list of EA Germany - there is no release date for other territories yet, and this one can still change. So far the game is expected in Europe on 2 March 2006. North America can expect the game in the same week, so sometime between 27 February to 3 March next year. Of course we'll let you know if this changes or gets confirmed.

Thursday 22 December 2005

TS2 PSP Delayed for Europe

Written at 02:36 by ChEeTaH - 5 comments.

The PSP version of the Sims 2 is out in North America and Australia already, and Europe would get it this week. Just before that release though, EA Europe has moved the release of the game to next year. Rather than the game arriving on the shelves this week, you'll now have to wait until 13 January 2006 if you're out to get The Sims 2 on your PSP in Europe. This has been officially confirmed for at least the UK and Germany, but the new date most likely counts for the entire region covered by EA Europe. This should be the final release date for the game, but in case it changes again we'll let you know as soon as possible.

Saturday 24 December 2005

New HolidayCast

Written at 13:20 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Just like with Thanksgiving, Maxis has created a podcast from one of the stories on the exchange. This time dlg1012 is responsible for the story "Grandma got electrocuted by our Reindeer." One of the Maxoids narrates the story, without a special guest now. Go on and listen to the podcast if you want to know how Grandma got electrocuted.

The Sims on a Stamp

Written at 13:28 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The french postal service, La Poste, has recently launched a "Heroes of Videogames" collection of stamps. One of the 10 stamps in the collection is of the Sims. The game is so popular in France, that in the top 10 of most popular entertainment products it's ranked on the eighth place, right behind the novel "The Da Vinci Code." The collection is sold for € 2.65 ($3.09) at the french post offices, or their website. The collection is limited to 3 Million units.

Merry Christmas!

Written at 13:53 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

With the festivities being just a day away, it's time for us to wish you all a merry Christmas. Don't forget your Sims, and go to our Files section to surprise them with some gifts or clothes - or of course some of the downloads that were made for you in previous years. Have a good time with your family and friends, and enjoy yourself. We'll be back after Christmas, but you can keep visiting us whenever you like, for downloads and more.

Saturday 31 December 2005

The News of 2005

Written at 18:22 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

It's the end of the year, and this is almost newspost number 2500. Time for an overview of what happened in the Sims world in the past year. From Hot Coffee to stamps, we've dug through our news archives and picked the top 3 of news topics for every month of this year. If you'd like to know what was big this year, or do you just want to look back at another year of the Sims? Then read the 2005 News Overview. Want to read more? We've still got our News Archive with all items of the past four years in it. So enjoy the read, and have a good new year!