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News Archive - September, 2004
Return to the News Archive.Wednesday 1 September 2004
Sims 2 Movies
Written at 02:01 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
A couple of new movies of the Sims 2 have been posted at 2 sites. The first one is from our affiliate WorldSims. It briefly goes through the history of the Sims 2 since the announcement. It's about a minute long, and shows the major dates (The Announcement, E3 2003/2004, the Sims 2 University and going gold). Between that you see a couple of screenshots. See its newspost for the download. Furthermore, GameSpot has posted a bunch of blooper movies from the Sims 2. Go to the Media Page and check out Official movies 7-10. They show smoking Sims, twisting feet and hands, Simmy insects, kids on a bed, and finally Sims dancing to wherever you send them to. So if you want to have a laugh, check out the clips. Note that the things shown in the movies will be fixed in the final version of the game.
Donation Flush
Written at 02:31 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
We've reset the donation files again. All the files that were locked are now unlocked and downloadable for free. One new file, the Vista Zone has been added to the donation files. If you make a donation, you'll be able to download this file. By donating to the Sims Zone you will support both us and the RGA, an organisation for little people in the UK. See the donations page for more information. Note that due to the flush we're not able to give you any additional files if you pay $5 or more, but if you send us an e-mail you'll get a password for the next time we upload new donation files as well (if you paid enough of course).
The Sims 2 Sponsor Bumpers
Written at 11:57 by Neil - 3 comments.
Programme Sponsor Bumpers for The Sims 2 have been spotted in the UK by yours truely. The bumpers, which appear at the beginning, end and end/start of parts of TV programmes, aren't exactly particularly exciting (just the Sims 2 logo on a black background with a link to a web address) and last no more than five seconds.
Currently, the bumper has been seen on Sky One and it is sponsoring UK airings of the US hit show 'Malcolm In The Middle', which is one of Sky One's most popular shows (behind The Simpsons of course which is already sponsored by somebody else). The bumpers carry a web address, http://www.september17th.co.uk which has been active since early July. The site, with its unique method of navigation (a spinning disc on the right hand side), has screenshots, trailers, MP3s and links to UK fansites (including this one). Sky One is an encrypted TV channel available in the UK only on Sky Digital, channel 106 and cable. Sims 2 Designer Diary - Bloopers
Written at 13:33 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Following the blooper movies, games site GameSpot has posted the 10th designer diary for the Sims 2. This time Lucy Bradshaw, Executive Producer of the game, gives some more blooper screenshots taken during development. Needless to say, that these bloopers don't represent possibilities in the final game. Besides the odd things, you will also be able to see an old version of the interface of the game. There isn't too much text going along with the screenshots, and not all screenshots are new (some were posted in an earlier earlier mail), nevertheless it's a bit of a look inside the Sims 2. Check out the entire article for all the details.
Sims 2 Chat
Written at 13:37 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.
Next Thursday, 2 September, there will be another Sims 2 chat. Although last time she didn't make it, Lucy Bradshaw is said to visit the chat this time. It'll be held at the usual time of 3pm PST, which is 6pm EST, 11pm GMT and midnight in Europe. Lucy will be answering your questions about the game, and about the gold status of the game. You can enter the chat room from about 10 minutes before it starts, at the official chat page. If you can't make it, the transcript will of course be posted some time after the chat.
Urbz (Consoles & Handheld) Screenshots
Written at 14:09 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
It's only days ago that WorthPlaying posted some screenshots of the Urbz. They've added some more screenshots: 6 of the console version (PS2, GameCube and X-Box), and 10 from the Handheld one (GBA, DS). Click the thumbnails below for the large versions.
Console:
 Handheld: 
Thursday 2 September 2004
New Poll
Written at 02:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
A new week, a new poll. Last week the question was how you play the Sims, based on the series of editorials by Andy. The Cheating style is by far the most popular, with 42% of the 383 votes. The Traditional style got 95 votes, which is approximately 25%. The creators are third with 13.5%. Fourth is the Story Telling style (over 9%), closely followed by the Homeworker style (about 8%). The remaining 2% picked the "I don't" option.
This week, we have a poll about the console version of the Urbz. The names of all locations have been revealed in a movie earlier this week, hence we'd like to know which one you think sounds the best. Tell us on the right or on the latest poll page. Sims 2 Articles
Written at 02:06 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
A few new Sims 2 articles have been posted again. The first one is a hands-on preview of the Sims 2 from London, which GameSpot got to play at GameStars Live, which is being held from 1-5 September. GameSpot tells about the Burb family: John, Jennifer and daughter Lucy. The aspirations, and especially the life score, is being highligted in the Hands-on Preview. Furthermore, there's an article which is about games in a more general manner, but it also mentions The Sims:
"College professors and other high profile scholars are paying more and more attention to video games. How is this attention affecting both the games industry and institutions of higher learning?"You can read the entire feature at this page. Finally, SimIGN part 2 has been posted at IGN PC. This is the follow-up to the article posted earlier, and continues where they left off previously. There are still a few articles in the series to come. But for now, just read part 2. Sims 2 Strategy Guide Details
Written at 02:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Prima Games, creator of many Sims strategy guides, has posted the details of the strategy guide for the Sims 2. The book will have 368 pages, filled with the following content:
UrbzDay - GBA Version Gone Gold
Written at 20:14 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
This week's Urbzday comes with good news for GBA owners: the GBA version of the game has gone gold. 9 Screenshots have been posted, but we already showed you them yesterday. The blog is about this as well, and also mentions the console version is on its way to beta, and confirms once again that Bustin' Out was the number one game for the GBA from EA. Other news is that there will be another "mobile phone version of The Sims," with which probably the N-Gage is meant. A PSP version of the Urbz is still unsure, although EA has announced their next step in mobile gaming, talking about the Sony PSP, Nintendo's DS, and Nokia's N-Gage.
Back to the Urbz, but now on the consoles, there are a few more character descriptions in the Crew section. All those characters are from the Central Station destrict, which is one of the 9 districts in the game. The Buzz section has also had an update with several links to articles about the collaboration of EA and the Black Eyed Peas. They're mostly news posts without much information, from the following sites: All the details can be found at the Urbz Website. Urbz City Guide Updated
Written at 20:22 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
GameSpot has posted an update of their City Guide for the Urbz on the consoles. Info about the first three districts, 125th Street, Gasoline Row and Central Station, was posted in July, and now Cozmo Street (where you'll find the Black Eyed Peas), Kicktail Park and the Foundry have been added to the list. The remaining three districts (Neon East, Diamond Heights and South Side Bridge) will probably be posted about at a later time. Along with that, GameSpot has also published 18 screenshots from the three places to visit, as well as the producer walkthrough video, which we already mentioned earlier. For more see the GameSpace page, or go directly to the City Guide, the Screenshots or the videos.
Sims 2 Update [Update]
Written at 20:39 by ChEeTaH - 5 comments.
The media is hitting the Sims 2 big time, which means updates are continuously appearing. This week's SimDay is small and doesn't bring more than a link to the GameSpot Deisgner Diary. Of course there's also the chat with Lucy Bradshaw tonight, at 3pm PST, 6pm EST, 11pm GMT or midnight in Europe.
But of course there are also some new articles. If you've read - and like - parts 1 and 2 of SimIGN, in which is told how part of the crew of IGN survives when put together in one house. They made 5 Sims of themselves, and along with many screenshots, Part 3 of the series of articles has been posted now. The final article, describing week 4, will be posted later, and a full review is promised as well. New screenshots have also been posted by WorthPlaying. They come with a group of 8, and you can find them on this page. Finally, there's a preview, quite like many others, from RealGamer: "First things first, what made the original so popular? Well everyone wants to play God at some point or other and the ability to control a whole neighbourhood of little people scored an instant hit with the power hungry among us. Everything from building the actual house to deciding when Mr Jones can go to the toilet was involved in the game and watching our little hero's go from a secretary to the president in an over exaggerated career ladder proved too addictive to 99.9% of Sims fans."See the Sims 2 Preview for the entire preview. [Update 20:55] There's another preview at EuroGamer.net. They've been to Edinburgh, at a show which Maxis General Manager Neil Young attended as well, to see the game. There's even a mention of the Sims 3 in the article: "The Sims 3, at some indeterminate point in the future, will - in his [Neil Young - TSZ] mind, at least - be the first user-controlled sitcom." To read about the presentation Neil held in Edinburgh, read the preview. SimDay - Set of Objects
Written at 23:03 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Although at first there was nothing but a link to GameSpot's Designer diary and news about the chat, the official site has now been expanded with a few more downloads. A few second hand furniture objects, weighing 787 Kb in total, will fill your Sims' dorms. A bookshelf, a comfy chair, desk lamp, pennant, a beverage sculpture and a boom-box should make the life of students a lot nicer. You need Double Deluxe or up (it's unsure whether it's compatible if you just have expansion packs from House Party and later), and you can download the files from Get Cool Stuff.
Friday 3 September 2004
Chat News: DVD in Europe, and more
Written at 04:02 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.
There was another little surprise in the chat this week, concerning the people who joined. Lucy didn't come alone, but she was helped by Charles London, designer of the Sims 2. Unfortunately there were quite many technical issues because it was very busy, and many people weren't able to join the chat. Charles also had problems, which means he didn't answer very many questions in the end, but he will be in another chat at a later date. However, the transcripts have now been posted for everyone to read. Probably the major news from the chat is that the DVD will be coming to Europe, but not at the same date as the CD version. A specific date hasn't been given though:
"Sim-Freak: will there be a ts2 dvd edition in the UK?! IF so: Will the DVD version be released in the UK at the same time as the CD version? If not, will we be getting the DVD version at all? If we are, when? In not ... why not?"Other things that have been confirmed (again) are:
Sims 2 in the Press [Update]
Written at 15:40 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
With several events happening at the same time (EGN / GameStars Live and ECTS), the press is getting a good look at many upcoming games. That includes the Sims 2 of course. Several new articles have been written and published again. First of all there's a feature on GameSpy. This week's PlanetFargo is all about the Sims 2. The Sim-Limpic games are nothing at all like the Olympics - they're a lot more fun. If you want to find out who won the Binge Drinking competition, made the best "Woo-Hoo," or got the gold medal in "Knocking Over Garbage Cans," read the Sim-Limpic Games Feature. Another humour article comes from GameSpy's colleagues at IGN. The 4th and final part of SimIGN has been written and posted, along with all the screenshots. It's the ending of a series of articles. Make sure you read part 4 to get to know what happens with the IGN Crew in their fourth week in the Sims 2. They're promising a full hands-on preview later today or tomorrow.
Finally, there's one more hands-on preview from GameSpot. They have the final game in their hands, as they say, and give you their first impressions from a presentation given by Lucy Bradshaw. The full review will be posted at - or a bit after - the day of release, but for now you can read the preview. [Update 23:00] GameSpot has posted more than just the preview. You can also find several new movies (GamePlay Footage 6-10, scroll down a bit). Of course the preview also came with a huge batch of 57 screenshots. Saturday 4 September 2004
Lucy's Mail: Taggin' and Urbz
Written at 11:33 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
This week's mail from Lucy is co-written by Scot Amos, producer of the upcoming console game the Urbz. He tells a bit about the Urbz, and gives us 3 exclusive screenshots of the game. There are also 4 pictures of The Sims 2 producers tagging the "First Up Against the Wall" wall, which has notes of all tasks that had to be done for the Sims 2, as well as the red "Done" stamped on it. You can see Lucy, and others, tagging by clicking the thumbnails in the e-mail itself. You can find that either right below this, or behind the Read More link.
Sunday 5 September 2004
Sims 2 News
Written at 01:02 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
There's a bit of Sims 2 news again today, as almost every day since the game went gold. In today's issue: a hands-on preview, videos, a bit about the website, and an interview with Will Wright. The preview is from IGN. After their feature series of SimIGN, they now have a full 3-page preview. It's mostly about the personality - especially the difference in it - of the Sims in the sequel. Aging and DNA are also told about, and of course some screenshots are included. There's also a video, made with the in-game tools to record, and edited with the Windows Movie Maker. Download the "SimIGN in Action" video from the Videos page, or just read the hands-on preview for more.
More news inside! Sims 2: Mysterious New Guide
Written at 21:37 by ChEeTaH - 5 comments.
The game isn't out yet, and even the strategy guide still isn't shipping, but, a new item from Prima Games has appeared in several online shops, including Amazon US and Amazon UK. It's called "The Sims 2: Episode 2 Strategy Guide" and will be released in February of the next year. It's still unsure whether this is for the Sims 2's first expansion pack (which will be released early 2005 as well, according to Neil Young in a previous chat), or whether this is a second release of the initial strategy guide, which will be released along with the Sims 2. All that's known about the guide so far is the title, and that it'll be 240 pages (at least that's what Amazon's product description says). A picture whatsoever also has not been published. Of course we'll keep you updated, but if you know you'll want to get it, you can already pre-order the book from our shop.
Monday 6 September 2004
Not Completely New Screenshots
Written at 00:54 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
A few new screenshots of the Sims 2 have been posted by a new Dutch games site, Games.Fok.nl. The set of 3 may look familiar, as they've been released with the latest scoop newsletter and WorthPlaying (see this news), but in a slightly different angle or a later stage in the game. Click the thumbnails below to see the "new" screenshots in their full glory.
Watch Will play the Sims 2
Written at 02:05 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.
Spanish fansite The Sims Express has found a new clip, in which you can see Will Wright play the sequel to the best-selling PC game ever, the Sims 2. It's a bit longer than 90 seconds, and completely in Spanish. The video can be viewed from this page at antena3, where you can also see a few pictures with Wright on them.
Tuesday 7 September 2004
SimsZone Review: Toddlers and Children
Written at 02:03 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.
Our affiliate SimsZone still hasn't finished writing up their review of the game. They got 2 new parts up again, this time discussing two stages of the life of a Sim: Toddlers and Children, following the pregnancy and baby stage. As usual, the screenshots can be found in the original review (the "Kleinkinder" and "Kinder" articles are the new ones). Quite a bit of information is given again. For the highlights, translated to English, read on.
Sims 2 FAQ: First cheat Revealed
Written at 02:11 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.
Just over a week before the release of the game, the first cheat has already been published by EA. For those who want to turn off aging, you'll have to press Control, Shift and C at the same time (as with The Sims 1). Typing "aging -off" will turn off aging, and logically "aging -on" will turn it back on (notice the minus sign!). Furthermore EA has also explained how to use SimCity 4 cities as neighborhood maps for the Sims 2 (not how to create them though!). Included with that is a precise list of what's imported and what's not:
"Now, your SimCity4 terrain will be your new neighborhood. Most of the terrain features created with the God mode tools can be imported, including foliage (except for palm trees); however, fauna (animals) are not imported. Only original SimCity 4 road bridges or SC4 Deluxe small steel arch bridges, manually laid roads/street that are straight, right angle bend, cul-de-sacs, and T & 4 way intersections are imported as streets into Sims 2 neighborhoods. Diagonal roads and railroads are ignored and not imported. Practically all other placeable features are ignored upon import: zones, elevated roads/highways/freeways, buildings or other facilities, airports, landmarks, etc."But there's more. Sims will have bars above their heads, to show the progress of a certain action. They come in different colours: purple for skills, green when they're repairing something, or light blue when a Sim is making homework assignments. For more details, and more questions and answers about the game, visit the Sims 2 FAQ at EA Customer support. Thanks to our affiliate SimsZone for the link. About Will Wright
Written at 20:45 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
The Guardian has posted an article about Will Wright (44), in which you're taken back to his youth as well as the present. They say The Sims 2 will set the crown on Will's career. "Such fortune barely seemed likely for a small town boy growing up in Georgia." As some might know, Wright skipped through 3 universities in 5 years, but never graduated. At the age of 22, Will made his first game on the Commodore 64, followed by SimCity in 1989. The doll-house concept, later renamed to the Sims, originated a bit from when in 1991 the house of the Wright family burnt down, and they had to start all over again. Of course the article also tells a bit about Will's other hobby: robotics. Peter Molyneux (the brain behind games like Theme Park, Dungeon Keeper, Black & White and more) is also quoted. He says that the Sims shows what a genius Will is - and that the game showed the gaming industry not to focus only on violence, murder, etc., but also on the everyday life and the American Dream. Read the entire article for everything. Thanks to Frank Laughlin for the link.
Sims 2 Video, Website Screenshots
Written at 21:06 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.
The official Norwegian Sims 2 site has revealed a few pictures of the upcoming Sims 2 website. It's unsure whether they're from the European sites, mostly in a similar style, or the American one - or both. It does show some resemblance with the exchange mockup Lucy Bradshaw sent a few weeks ago. As part of the new graphics is also in Norwegian, it's likely to be used at least for European sites. Click the thumbnails below to see the full size screenshots.
Also, a new Japanese trailer has been posted by the official Japanese site. It's from EA, and two Japanese guys and a girl show you the game. Of course in-game material is also shown. It weighs 36 Mb for the High Quality version, or 20 Mb for the Low Quality one. With thanks to SimsZone for these links. Sims 2 Release Date Confusion
Written at 22:02 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Although it's been set for quite a while already, there again is a bit of confusion concerning the release date of the Sims 2 (officially 17 September, just 10 days from now). Many American shops have the game listed to be released 3 days early though, as many games will start selling the game on 14 September, the common Tuesday. When it can be narrowed down to just a few shops doing so, they can be fined $5,000 per sold copy, but that doesn't go when many shops start selling the game early. Maxis warns Americans that although some might be able to get the game on Tuesday already, other shops might not start selling the Sims 2 until later that week. No matter what, 17 September will be the day that everyone will be able to get the Sims 2. For more information, read this thread on the official BBS.
New House Added
Written at 23:23 by Carrie - 0 comments.
 I have added a new house for lot 5 today. This one is called Bermont Estate and requires all of the expansion packs. Check the file out! Ask Will a Question
Written at 23:59 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Will Wright is making a tour through Europe to promote the Sims 2. On the UK site, the official mods have started a thread, in which you can ask up to 3 questions to Will Wright. The best will be selected and will be asked to Mr Wright himself later this week. If you want to ask your questions, post your questions on the Sims UK site.
Wednesday 8 September 2004
Sims 2 News
Written at 00:43 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Besides the news earlier today (review update, FAQ and first cheat, a Video and Website screenshots and Release date confusion), there's some more news. First of all, The Sims 2 is one of the games in the "Games for Windows" list. Microsoft has launched the Game Advisor which will check your system to make sure you meet the minimum system requirements. Internet Explorer 6 required. Thanks to SP Zone for the find.
Furthermore, the Spanish fansite Sims Express has posted a few scans from magazines recently. The first 3 are from the same magazine (Micromanía), the last is a separate one, from "Zone 01". Although the text is in Spanish, those who aren't fluent in that can still watch the pictures, even though the quality isn't great. Click the thumbnails below to see larger versions of the scans, or visit Sims Express for the full size ones (the ones posted here have been scaled down to save bandwidth). 
Sims 2 Make a Baby Screenshots
Written at 02:02 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
The official Sims 2 site has posted 2 new screenshots from Creating a family, taken when a child is made from 2 parent (adult) Sims. Click the thumbnails below to see them full size. Thanks to James Magenta for submitting this.
Sims 2 Website News
Written at 13:46 by ChEeTaH - 6 comments.
There's a bit of news about the Sims 2 official website again. The Showcase will be disabled for uploading later today (or it already has been). Unpopular Sims, i.e. the ones which get a low rating or haven't been downloaded much, will be deleted in the next few days as well. The high-rated ones, as well as those downloaded a lot, will be kept. That's done to save storage space a bit. Next week the new website will launch, with a bunch of new features, all for the release of the Sims 2. For more details, visit the showcase page or read this thread in the BBS.
Spoiler Info from Sims 2 Strategy guide [Update]
Written at 21:06 by ChEeTaH - 4 comments.
Some people already received the Sims 2 strategy guide from Prima. It has some useful information in it, but be warned: this info goes quite in-depth and may spoil the fun for you exploring the game yourself. The info includes some cheats (including money and camera cheats), some details about the career tracks and how to do basements. If you haven't already ordered it yet, you can order the strategy guide from our shop. Read on at your own risk for the details...
Urbz Developer Diary
Written at 23:08 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
GameSpy has posted the first developer diary of the Urbz. Similar to the Sims 2 diaries, the Urbz team gives a little bit about the game away. In this first issue, it's all about the reputation (rep), and what you can do with it. There isn't much in the article that hasn't been told before. If you want to know what you can do with rep, or how to earn it ("through friends OR enemies"), and how to start setting trends, then just read the 2-page article. Next time they'll discuss how to earn cash with the jobs/mini-games.
Will Wright Videos
Written at 23:25 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
The Swedish site (official) has posted 3 videos with Will Wright, designer of the Sims and SimCity. The videos were recorded out on the streets of Sweden. In the short videos Will thanks the thesims.se people, he tells what games besides the Sims he plays, and he says what questions are asked him the most. You need an EA.Com account to login, after which you can download the videos from the videos page. They're 17.6 Mb in total (1.8, 8.1 and 7.7 Mb), so downloading might take a little while depending on your connection. You need the videos titled "Will Wright hälsar" (Will Wright thank-you), "Vilka spel gillar Will?" (Which games does Will play?), and "Vanligaste frågan?" (Common questions). They're big for their length, but that won't stop real fans.
Thursday 9 September 2004
Another Sims 2 Review
Written at 00:52 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
They're popping up like mushrooms in autumn: reviews of the Sims 2. Another one has been posted by GameBiz. As almost all others, they're very impressed with the game. "Wow" was the first thing the editor wrote down in his notes - which must say something. The user interface is friendly, and the eyedropper tool is, as Tim LeTourneau, whom GameBiz got to interview, stated a "godsend". Noticable is the following paragraph, which talks about possible online features of the game, which were first mentioned by Neil Young in a chat in July:
"What would be brilliant and a very high-tech idea, would be an in-game eBay where you can sell your 2nd hand couches and televisions, make some spare in-game cash out of it, or even design your own items and then sell them within the game. Unfortunately, unless we missed something, this won’t be in The Sims 2, but is possibly an integration idea for The Sims 2 if it ever goes fully online."The editor also enjoyed creating Sims, and says creating a family takes quite some time (at least half an hour). They again mention the Fawlty Towers house from the presentation (most likely GameStars Live) with the Manuel's sister Manuella. Finally they mention the amount of animations: 13,000. Not even anybody who's worked on the game has seen them all. The conclusion is that the game is huge and will blow your socks off. Read the entire review for details. New Poll
Written at 02:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Last week we asked you a question about the Urbz. And it's true, close to 60% of our visitors isn't even interested in the game at all. The Sims 2 is obviously taking away all the focus. Nevertheless, 40% voted on one of the areas, with Diamond Heights being the most popular (11%). Third in the list is all of them sounding equally great (7%). 125th Street and Kicktail Park ended up with just over 4% each, 15 of the 350 votes, and are on a tied fourth place. Next in the list are Cozmo Street, Neon East, South Side Bridge, Central Station, Gasoline Row and finally the Foundry. For the exact results and amount of votes for each option, see the results page in our archive.
With just a few days to the release of the Sims 2 now, the reviews are appearing all over the place at a very high rate. You'll have noticed all the news recently about the biggest video game sequel ever. Are you still reading every letter of all the news posts and articles, or do you just skip through the most important news? Or don't you follow the game at all? Let us know and vote on the right, or at the latest poll page. UrbzDay
Written at 21:31 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
This week there's a few new things of the Urbz again. There is a selection of screenshots, but they've been seen before in the GameSpot City Guide (Console shots) and WorthPlaying (GBA shots). The screenshots on the official site have been divided over separate pages now though, which should make navigating through them easier.
What is new, is a movie about the Rep. What Jayde go from nobody (Rep = 0), to Superstar (208) via Trendsetter (100). It's a clip from the console version, and you can find it in the Flix section on the official site. Finally there's the weekly blog. MaxisBoBaxis tells how he spent a saturday playing the Urbz, instead of working on the website. Read that, and watch the video, at UrbzSims.ea.com. SimDay: TS2 Update
Written at 21:43 by ChEeTaH - 11 comments.
This week's SimDay is full of links to articles we've mentioned here already in the past couple of days. One of them is new, and it's from SFGate.com. In an article from the San Francisco Chronicle, the important details of the Sims 2 are once again mentioned. The real reason for the 6 month delay is also there: it all had to do with adding the Aspirations and Wants & Fears features. It was made to attract the more hardcore gamers to the game as well, with some mission-based gameplay. The game is expected to sell 2 to 2.5 million copies this holiday season, according to Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. The complete article also has the three pictures (Will Wright, and two pictures showing "Now and Then") below. Click the thumbnails below to see those, or see them at the top of the entire article.
Friday 10 September 2004
Sims 2 Reviews
Written at 22:05 by ChEeTaH - 11 comments.
For those reading every letter of news about the Sims 2, there's some stuff to go through again. A couple of new reviews have appeared, as well as 2 new articles from SimsZone's review. First of all some Japanese screenshots, from 4Gamer.net. The review is unreadable for me, but pictures say more than a thousand words. Check out the 20 screenshots for more. Another (English) review comes from Inside Gamer Online. Not much news there, and they've got some old screenshots. If you're interested, just read it. Finally there's a gameplay diary at 1Up. They have posted 3 days of the diary already so far, and will be adding more parts soon. Besides the screenshots, there's no real new info there as well. Go on and read through it if you feel like it.
As said, our affiliate SimsZone has posted two more parts of their in-depth review, and there are still a few to go. Visit their review homepage for all the articles and screenshots ("Teens" and "Erwachsene, Senioren, Tod" are the newest articles). As you might make up from the titles, the first part is about Teens, and the second about Adults, Old Geezers and Death. Read more for the highlights, translated to English. More parts of the review are expected soon, as they're still not finished. With thanks to "A TS2 Fan" and SPZone for some of the links, and of course SimsZone for their review. Saturday 11 September 2004
Lucy's Mail: Back to Bodyshop
Written at 11:57 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
This week's mail from Lucy has arrived again, and this time it's all about the Body Shop. She tells a bit about the Body Shop that ships with the Sims 2. All the Sims created with the 'old' version will of course still work, but this version contains much more content as well. There will also be 3500 high quality skins on the Maxis servers already. There is also a new hotkey in the tool, with which you can freely rotate the camera: F3. When in free camera mode, you can put the camera in any position and any zoom you like. As a big surprise, Lucy has also given us a sample of the Prima Strategy Guide. The sample has 6 pages about the Body Shop. It's all in PDF format, and you can download it from this place (2.7 Mb). Read on for the details.
Sunday 12 September 2004
Makin' Magic wins Award
Written at 01:05 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
The last expansion pack for the Sims 1, Makin' Magic, has won another award today. On the Dutch Power Unlimited GamePlay event, games magazine Power Unlimited gave a bunch of awards in different categories. In co-operation with KidsWeek, they gave the "Best Kids Game" award to Makin' Magic.
Sims 2 News
Written at 01:58 by ChEeTaH - 9 comments.
There is quite a bit of news again about the Sims 2. As usual, there are many reviews again. GameSpy is taking it big: After a feature with an interview, and the Sim-Limpic Games, they have now posted two (yes: two!) reviews. Two articles of 5 pages to read, one is the "basic" review, the other an "extended" one which goes more in-depth in the game. You can read the basic review on this page, but as said there's also the extended review to read. After you've finished reading that, you can start reading the next review from their colleagues at IGN. They even have a video review for Insiders. If you're not an insider, then you'll have to do with the 3-page review. Of course all reviews come along with some screenshots. GameSpy rates the game a 5 out of 5, and IGN says it's worth a 9.4 out of 10. Both reviews also mention that the Sims is more a toy than a game - it's a sandbox to see "what happens next." It's also quite remarkable how both sites say it's hard to write a review of the game, covering even the most important aspects. It's just too big.
For even more information, including an estimate of when the DVD version will be released in Europe, read more... Tuesday 14 September 2004
Sims 2 News
Written at 17:52 by ChEeTaH - 16 comments.
A little later than usual (due to internet problems), but again there's a lot of news about the Sims 2. Some shops have started shipping or selling it already, and people will be playing the game by masses before long (if they aren't already). The official site will also be relaunched between 9am and 3pm PST (5pm-11pm in the UK and Portugal, 18:00-24:00 CET) today (tuesday). Flash Player will be required for the site. See this thread in the BBS for more information.
There are also a lot of new reviews, articles, screenshots, and movies. Read on for all of that (and it's a lot this time!). Wednesday 15 September 2004
Official Sims 2 Sites Relaunched
Written at 13:29 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.
Since many shops started selling the Sims 2 yesterday, two official sites have already been relaunched. First of all there's the US Site, which has been given a completely new look. You can login using your EA account, and for several pages a product registration is required. There are several tutorials which you can view without being registered, including one for movie making, creating hoods with SimCity 4, and the Body Shop. There's also a competition to win an AlienWare PC on the front page. As ever before, it can be found at http://thesims2.ea.com.
The other site that has already relaunched is the UK one. They have several things, like a poll, competition to win one of 200 DVD versions (UK only!), links to fansites, the exchange (coming soon) and more. The old address still functions, but the proper URL is now http://thesims2.eagames.co.uk. Other European sites have also relaunched or will do so later this week. If you want to see a preview of what the official site in your country is going to look like, you can check out the Swedish site which has already been relaunched with a complete new look - also replacing the original Sims 1 site, and adding content for the Urbz. Thursday 16 September 2004
New Poll
A grand total of 569 votes is what we achieved in our poll last week. To the question if you still follow all the Sims 2 news, 62% claimed to read every letter and watch every pixel of screenshot and video about it. 21% just checks the major headlines, while 9% is (or was) just waiting for the game. 4% said the never did or will, and finally 3% just checks out the unique things.
This week we'd like to know where you first heard about the Sims from. Let us know and vote on the right, or on the latest poll page. For results of all previous polls, visit our poll archive. UrbzDay
Written at 22:29 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
There's an overload of Sims 2 information these days, but the Urbz is not completely forgotten. The official site has had its weekly update again, this week adding a few new crew descriptions of the Console version to the Crew page. The buzz section has been updated as well, and has links to a new interview with Scot Amos on TeamXbox. There's also a link to GameSpy's Developer's Diary, to which a movie we didn't mention before yet has been posted on their movies page. It's an in-game trailer of 4.2 Mb. This week's usual blog, by Scot Amos, is all about the Beta status of the game, which they're going to reach soon (for the console version, the handheld has gone gold earlier). They've received the 9 tracks from the Black Eyed Peas, and they're adding the final tunes to the game to make it go Beta:
"So, with this final addition of content from Will and the BEPs, and the incredible dedication the team is showing to get all the bits tuned, polished, and debugged, we're perfectly set to make an early November launch of The Urbz. The Sims 2 is out this week (congrats and woohoo!) and is already the talk of the town title dominating the next few months on the PC charts; paving the way for The Urbz experience to show up in the city in November."All can be read at the official site. Sims 2 - Neverending News
Written at 23:36 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.
As if it hasn't been enough yet the past few days, there is still a lot of news about the Sims 2. First of all, we've made a complete list of all currently known cheats. If you don't want to play the game the fair way, view our cheats page to find out how to get more money quickly. Some new cheats are there as well, including one to get §50,000 in one go! If you'd rather extend the game with some downloads, you can go to the official site's Exchange. 1 Computer and 5 topiaries are yours to grab. More goodies are on the Cool Stuff page, where you can find some MP3s, buddy icons, and more. Another thing you can find there is a TV Ad, in QuickTime format. You can find it on the videos page. Another advertisement, scanned from the RTE TV Guide in Ireland, is shown below. It's been sent to us by James Magenta.
Need some help with the game? The customer support section has been updated and many new questions and answers have been added. You can of course also visit our Knowledge base for a lot of help. Furthermore, SnootySims (and several other sites) has posted a nude patch, which removes the blurring when Sims visit the toilet or the shower. It's recommended to back-up files that are patched, and this download may not be appropriate for children. You can download it from this page. The Dutch site SP Zone is also posting a bunch of movies this week, one every day. So far 2 have been posted. You can find them on their front page in the news items tagged with "[Video]". Use the "DOWNLOAD HET FILMPJE" links to download the movies. Finally, the SimsZone review has come to an end. The conclusion has been written and posted. Read on for the English summary. No screenshots this time, but if you still want to read it, visit their review index for the link. The "Fazit" one is this final article, the others are of course still there (with screenshots). Friday 17 September 2004
Sims 2 Update
Written at 16:36 by ChEeTaH - 10 comments.
Today in the Sims 2: The official launch, a few new reviews, and get a copy of the Sims 2 signed by Will Wright. The latter only goes for people who buy the game in the Virgin Megastore in San Francisco today at 5pm (local time). The first 50 people will also get a T-Shirt. Wright will be signing copies for 1 hour, until 6pm. On to the reviews, 1Up is still continuing their gameplay diary for a few more days. They're up to day eight now. To read what they experienced during the game, visit the feature page. PC Magazine has reviewed the game too, and they give it a high rating like many others: 4.5 out of 5. Get the details in their review. GamesDomain agrees with them and rates the game 9 out of 10, with mentioning the downside that there are long loading times, and that there are some camera issues. If you want to read their detailed thoughts, head on to the GamesDomain review.
Still haven't read enough? There's an interview with Will Wright held by CBBC Newsround, all about the Sims 2. There isn't anything that hasn't been told before, but you can read the interview if you want. There's also a picture made at the Game Stars Live show as well, which you can view right here. Finally, the game has now officially been released worldwide. Of course EA has released a press release about it. If you're interested in what's said about the game, with a quote from Lucy Bradshaw, enjoy reading the press release. As I'll be away tomorrow, look for more news this Sunday! New TS2 House
Written at 22:26 by Carrie - 0 comments.
 I have designed my first house for The Sims 2 today. It's called Englewood Manor and is a great starter house for your Sims. Check the file out! Sunday 19 September 2004
Maxis E-mails
Written at 20:41 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
There have been two e-mails from Maxis this week. One is Lucy Bradshaw's weekly mail - the final one this time - and there is one from the Scoop mailing list. The last one doesn't bring any news except 3 screenshots of Sims playing on their AlienWare computers, which you can see below (click thumbnails to enlarge). Lucy has sent us a few things this time, to celebrate the launch of the Sims 2. Included is a movie, a skin of Maxoids, and a bunch of pictures of Maxoids showing what working together for years does to a team. Read on for the entire email with links to those items.
Monday 20 September 2004
The Sims Zone hits Poland
Written at 17:19 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Tuesday 21 September 2004
Sims 1: Bugs, Features, Wierdness...
Written at 02:44 by Neil - 0 comments.
Just a quick note, it is late, to say I have added a new extra for Sims 1 people, a compilation of notes and things about bugs, "features" and the wierd and wonderful side-aspects of the original game, all compiled from Usenet.
Please click here to read. Thank you. 3 Million Visitors - and Counting!
Ever since we started counting the amount of visitors we got, we've now hit a new milestone: 3 Million unique visitors have visited the Sims Zone since 2 February 2002. With several thousands visitors a day (currently even well over 10,000 every day!) we're sure to hit a new milestone sooner or later. Thanks for visiting, and keep coming here for all the latest information and downloads about the Sims, the Sims 2, the Urbz, and all other Sims games!
Thursday 23 September 2004
The Sims 2 - Reviews and more
Written at 00:55 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Some shops started selling it a week ago, and since then many people already got the game. The latest ELSPA charts, based on UK games of all sales, shows that the Sims 2 has already hit the #1 spot in the list. GamesIndustry.biz also reports that this makes the Sims 2 the second fastest selling game ever. Only Championship Manager 4 has sold more copies in such a short period in the UK. Affiliate SimsZone reports that already 25% of the initial 1.3 million (Europe only) copies have been sold. EA is aiming for 2 million copies by the end of the year, and they seem to be well on their way.
But of course that's not all there is. There are a bunch of new reviews as well, posted since last week. We will very soon open up a review index like we did for past Sims games, listing all the reviews of the game we've found. But until then, just visit this list (rating behind the links):
Urbz: DS Screenshots, Console Trailer
Written at 01:17 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
A few new screenshots of the Urbz on the upcoming Nintendo DS platform have appeared on GameCube Advanced recently. You can see them below - click the thumbnails to see the large versions. For console fans there's also something new: a new trailer has shown up. It's titled "Workin' It in Cozmo Street" and, as you can guess, it shows the scene of Cozmo Street. You can download it from several sites, including WorthPlaying (24 Mb), GameTrailers (QuickTime (5 Mb) or Media Player (4 Mb) version) or IGN (3.4/7 Mb).
New Poll
Written at 02:29 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
As usual, we've just put up another weekly poll. After receiving 456 votes last week, the results are in and complete. To the question where you first heard about the Sims from, most people (41%) answered a friend recommended it. The internet got the second place, with 22%. Magazine are responsible for about 11% of the Sims fans, while TV ads got 'just' 5% hooked on the game. 21% of the people heard about it from somewhere else.
This week, we'd like to know what your favourite mode of the Sims is. Do you hang around in the neighborhood or the options all the time, or do you prefer the live, buy or build mode? Or do you like somewhere else even more. Let us know, and vote on the right or on the latest poll page. Friday 24 September 2004
UrbzDay
Written at 00:46 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
The Urbz is "really, really, really close to done" now, but still there are Urbzdays. This week is no different: Maxis provides us with a bunch of screenshots, new crew members, the usual blog (this time by Mike Perry) and a preview. The last is actually from GameSpy. So far their main disappointment are the long, non-optimized loading times, but that should be solved for the final product. It also says there will be 400 objects to buy and put in your apartment. There isn't much news in the review, but if you like to read the preview for the details.
As said, the crew section for the console version has also been updated, now presenting a few more Urbz. In the blog, Mike Perry, Game Design Director behind the Urbz, tells how Scot Amos beat him to finishing the entire game before him. He also gives away the hint to use Power Socials already. Those Power Socials are also used to beat the Villains in the game. He also mentions the start of the game: "After playing the entire game from start to finish, I can confirm that the gameplay strategies in The Urbz work great. You need to make a choice when you get to your first district: take a job, or work the crowd. If you work the job, you can get some cash to spend on furnishings for your new apartment, and also get a valuable Social Move that will work in your next district. If you decide to work the crowd, you can get two new Social Moves that work in your current district, but you might find yourself short on cash."Finally there are the screenshots, which you can see below (click the thumbnails to enlarge them). For all the new stuff, also see the official Urbz site. 
SimDay / Sims 2 Update
Written at 01:34 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
This week's SimDay is - of course - full of Sims 2 news. There is a "new" cheat (which we had already on the list, but with vague explanation): faceBlendLimits [-on/-off]. It will make children you create in Create-A-Family look better, if the parents have very different facial structures. For details, visit our cheats page. Furthermore, there is a link to a special photo album, namely a tutorial to create basements. There's an advanced method (the link on the official site is currently broken, but this is the right one) and somewhat easier is the regular version. Join Billy and Beccy Basement, who show you how to create basements in the Sims 2.
Finally, there's a bunch of new articles (of which only one, the BBC interview, is mentioned on the official site. Click the links below to read all the articles. There are quite a few reviews between them, but from non-gaming sites and without rating (except the FileFront one). Besides that there are 2 interviews to read. Enjoy:
Sims 2 Submissions
Written at 18:40 by Steve - 0 comments.
Hello everyone!
With the wonderful Sims 2 now out we have our very first set of The Sims 2 submissions for you. This Morocco Shirt is a treat for all your sims to wear. And for the lady this jeans set is a cool addition to any wardrobe! If, you are unlucky enough not to have The Sims 2 yet, then here are 10 very funky avatars you can download, and add you all the forums you visit, and annoy all your mates with on your favourite instant messaging program. Check them out here. Saturday 25 September 2004
The Sims 2 - The Sequel Has Landed - My First Impressions
Written at 02:50 by Andy - 0 comments.
Sunday 26 September 2004
Sims 2 Sumbissions
Written at 14:05 by Steve - 0 comments.
It's only been two days, and already I have some more files for you to further expand The Sims 2.
From the creator of the jeans set, which has been downloaded 229 times already, I now bring you some modern outfits for your Sims in the shape of: Modern Outfit 1 Modern Outfit 2 Any Star Trek fans out there? You're not? Well that doesn't matter, this skin of Dax from Star Trek Deep Space 9 will add to your game, regardless of whether you know who she is or not! Download her here. Finally, thanks to Dave we have out very first Sims 2 house submission. This unfurnished house certainly looks the part, but can you furnish it to really make it the part? Download it here. If you've been busy making addons for The Sims 2, or The Sims 1, why not submit it to us for the whole Sims community to enjoy. To submit any file simply e-mail it to me here, along with a screenshot, your name, and a brief description of what it is you are submitting. Tuesday 28 September 2004
Sims 2 Update - New Record
Written at 01:46 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
There are more articles of the Sims 2 again. First of all, The Sims 2 has already broken its first record, by being the biggest game launch in EA history. Within the first 10 days since the release, it's sold over 1 million copies. Over 50% of that was sold in Europe. We already reported last week that the game had topped the UK charts, and sold 25% of the first 1.3 million copies (I said they sold 1.3 million copies by mistake at first, it was just 25% of that that day). The Sims 2 is obviously one of the most anticipated games of this year, and it's getting high ratings from many magazines and sites. For more information about this record, see EA's press release.
Then, other articles. More reviews, a humourous article, and an interview. Frank Laughlin pointed to an SlashDot article that mentions an interview with Will Wright on the Daily News Tribune. The big lesson to learn from that is to stop playing the game, when you're taking better care of your Sims than of yourself. But there's more (in random order):
Wednesday 29 September 2004
Sims 2 Not Working? Try This...
Written at 02:02 by Neil - 6 comments.
Based on my own personal experience over all of last week when my nice shiny new copy of Sims 2 decided it wasn't going to play anymore, I present my solution to this problem in a new Extra. It may help if you don't see any messages about DirectX 9 adaptors or even if you don't see any messages at all, rather a black screen when starting Sims 2.
Note though that the article assumes, in the latter parts, that you understand what I'm going to be waffling on about so you may wish to supply the Extra to somebody who knows about these things. I'd love to know if the extra ideas help you out - do let me know :) Click here to read the extra - Sims 2 Advanced Troubleshooting Technique Type Stuff :-) The Sims 2 - The Sequel Has Landed - Part 1: Getting Started
Written at 02:58 by Andy - 3 comments.
Thursday 30 September 2004
First Sims 2 Expansion possibly in May
Written at 01:01 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
The first online shop has already put up the Sims 2's first expansion up for pre-order. GameStop has it up for $29.99, with a release date of 1 May 2005. It doesn't have a name yet, though "Episode 2" is a possible one, as Prima's strategy guide which is to be released in February is called that. Details are still very vague, but of course we'll keep you updated on this. You will be able to pre-order the expansion from our shop as soon as Amazon lists it as well. Of course you can already pre-order the guide, or order the Sims 2 and its strategy guide from there.
Friday 1 October 2004
New Poll
Written at 00:14 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
It's been up for almost 24 hours again: this week's new poll. This week we want to know from you what kind of tool for the Sims 2 Maxis should release first. If you'd rather be able to make meshes for Sims sooner than anything else, or perhaps walls, floors, roofs, or objects, then check out our poll on the right, or on the latest poll page.
For last week's poll: the live mode is by far the most popular mode of the Sims. 44% prefers that place over all others. Second is build mode, which 22% voted for. 13.5% chose buy mode, followed by 4.5% for the Neighborhood screen. 3.5% hangs out in the options all the time and finally just about 1.5% prefers the photo album editing. 11% doesn't have a favourite section in the game. 461 people casted their vote. For the detailed results, see the results page. UrbzDay
Written at 00:44 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
This week's UrbzDay comes with some new pics, movies, crew and of course the blog. The blog, and some pictures, are about the Atomic toys. Atomic Toys will put some toys in stores in November, based on characters from the Urbz. There will be two product lines, one with 20 characters from the Handheld version, another with 18 characters from the console version of the game. A new update about the progress of the toys' development will be given in a few weeks, for now you'll have to do with 12 pics of the sculptures. One of them, number 13, is a bit hidden from the site. Although it doesn't represent the toys - it seems to be a bit messed up - we're showing it you here. Click the thumbnails to enlarge the images:
Besides that, there are 2 videos in the Flix section, and new crew members are presented for both the console and handheld versions of the game, in the Crew section. You can find all of that on the official site. Urbz Trailer, Screens and Artworks
Written at 01:17 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Besides this week's UrbzDay, there is a more on the Urbz, coming from IGN PS2. They've posted a new trailer of 14.4 Mb (or 26.5 and 132.6 Mb for QuickTime versions, Insiders only). You can find it on the videos page. Furthermore, we have the following screenshots and artworks (5 characters, each with and without shadow) from the console version for you, straight from EA:
Screenshots:
 Artworks: 
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