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161. EA Closes Japanese Studio

Written on Sunday 11 February 2007 at 02:20 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Earlier this week gaming site 1Up heard that EA is shutting down it's Japanese development studio. The studio has so far only released Theme Park for the DS, which was a port that cost only a half year of development, and thus it doesn't have a "great track-record," says an EA employee. Things have gone better since the switch from Xbox 360 and PS3 to the Nintendo DS, but still the studio will be forced to close its doors. The closure was also confirmed and explained in more detail. The official statement from EA reads that game creation in Japan will continue, but with external developers under the EA Partners programme, rather than having an EA exclusive studio in the country. Since it seems "My Sims" (see recent confirmation) for the Wii and DS is being developed in Japan, due to the original Japanese announcement, it's uncertain how this closure affects development that title. The game is also not mentioned in the list of games being developed in Japan (Theme Park DS, SimCity DS and Dragon Zakura DS), but then again there are no confirmed details of where the Sims games are actually being developed (besides the Sims Division). Considering the recent confirmation of My Sims as a release for the upcoming fiscal year (April 2007 to March 2008) it's likely that it won't be harmed. SimCity for DS is also being continued at other studios. EA's publishing team in Japan will continue to market games in Japan.

162. Sims Shorts Winner Announced

Written on Sunday 11 February 2007 at 02:02 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Last year EA UK held a Sims Shorts competition in which you could win your Sims movie being shown throughout Vue cinemas in the UK for a month, as well as a cash prize of £1,000. EA has announced the competition's winner to be "Wild Christmas" by David Cresswell. The 2:30 minute movie is a romantic comedy with a festive twist: a "cheating man talks his way out of a sticky Christmas Eve situation involving a naked woman in a hot tub by using the family dog as an alibi." It won because, as comedian Ben Willbond, one of the judges, said it managed to tell a whole story in a very short time frame. He wanted to see more after it was over, which is the key for him. If you don't plan on going to see a film within the next few weeks - the winner is being shown until (around) 2 March - you can still grab it as download from SimsShorts.com. The movie which kicked off the competition, "When Romantic Things Happen for No Apparent Reason and Everyone is Happy at the End" by Mathew Horne and Ben Willbrond, can be downloaded from the same website.

163. New Online Sims Game?

Written on Sunday 11 February 2007 at 01:49 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Almost ever since the release of the failing The Sims Online in 2002 there have been various rumours of a new online version of the Sims. Even for the Sims 2 some multiplayer options were said to be seen in a second expansion pack for the game. Now there's new fuel for a Sims 2 Online rumour: there's a job posting for a lead game designer for an "all new online game for The Sims." The product is being developed by The Sims Division in Redwood Shores. Two of the requirements of the job also mention player-created content tools. This could be a hint towards custom content for the title, something which has been unavailable in the Sims Online even until now. When the game will be announced and when it'll be released is of course still unknown. We'll keep you updated when there's more to tell about this game.

164. Sims 2 Seasons Box Backside

Written on Sunday 11 February 2007 at 01:49 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Pre-order packages of the Sims 2 Seasons have appeared in some countries already, including Brazil. Sims Fansite O Sim Br has posted a few pictures of the front and back of the box, as well as a calendar pre-order gift. The pictures from Milatx, member of the website, or somewhat unclear, but do give an impression of what the box will look like when the game is released at the end of this month. Check out O Sim Br for the pictures.

165. Maxoid January Blog Update

Written on Sunday 11 February 2007 at 01:48 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

January has been a quiet month concerning blogs from Maxoids. Only MaxoidDrea has done some active blogging, telling about what the Web team has been up to lately. They went to Toys'R'Us during a lunch break to buy new toys: a semi-automatic Nerf gun, a "transformer Lego somethin' somethin'," a pink lava lamp and a 'Happy Bunny' Book. Drea also talks about MaxoidMel's new desk being toilet papered. Read MaxoidDrea's Blog for all the details.

166. Play at Pogo to Win Life Stories

Written on Sunday 11 February 2007 at 01:48 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

A couple of days ago we already reported that you can win Life Stories at Pogo UK. The American counterpart also has a Valentine's action through which you can win the same game. By playing the games Sweet Tooth or Hearts until 14 February (11:59pm PST) you can win a 14k Gold Floating Heart Pendant with Box Chain and Life Stories. There's just one prize of that set, but other than that EA is giving away 30 more copies of Life Stories. Winners will be determined by a random drawing, and they'll be notified by e-mail. Only people in the 50 United States (except Rhode Island) and Canada (except Quebec) and at least 13 years of age are eligible to enter. The promotion page has more information as well as the complete rules and conditions.

167. Stories Website Relaunched

Written on Thursday 8 February 2007 at 05:19 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The official website of The Sims Stories has been relaunched, reflecting the release of Life Stories. The full website has gone live with the welcome kit, Riley's diary, a support page, a newsletter to sign up to and of course basic game information combined with tips for the stories. Upcoming features for the website include message boards (a BBS), photobooks and blogs. Remarkable is that the official website is not hosted by EA, but by Yahoo!. The Sims portal is one of the first entertainment portals that Yahoo! is launching; Yahoo announced they are making small branded sites for video games and TV shows, piloted by the Wii portal since October.

The welcome kit you can download consists of three (separate) downloads to put in your game: a Drum Kit (from The Sims 2 University), a VocoPhonic Karaoke Machine (from The Sims 2 Nightlife) and a Club Cube (also from Nightlife). The links at the frontpage are not completely correct at the moment, though proceeding to the Downloads page will set things right. You need to register your game before you're able to actually get the files. The wallpapers from the same page can be downloaded by everybody. Check out the website at Sims.yahoo.com or www.thesimsstories.com for all the details. If you prefer a lighter website, with Riley's diary not in flash, you can also check out the renewed TheSimsStories.co.uk which has much of the same content, and no game registration is needed for the welcome kit downloads. Due to typos you may have a little more trouble downloading the largest wallpapers from that website though. Some other international websites have also already launched, others are bound to follow soon.

168. The Sims and Vista

Written on Thursday 8 February 2007 at 05:19 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Windows XP's successor Vista has launched a little while ago. For EA a reason to put up a page about the compatibility of the Sims 2 with the new operating system. Since Vista is heavier the game will have some higher requirements and it might perform less well as on the same machine with Windows XP. There might also be some problems with Vista's compatibility with graphics cards. Some cards supported by the Sims 2 are not supported on Vista, which is mostly a drivers issue that the card manufacturers are working on. Besides that there are some issues with the Autorun requiring Administrator access, meaning you'll need to use the Game Explorer or the Start menu to launch the game. For Seasons it's explained that the start menu icons will only appear for the user installing the game (the administrator). New icons need to be added for every other (standard) user that needs to run the game. More details, including specific issues for specific graphics cards, can be found on the Vista Q&A Page on the official site. Thanks to SnootySims for the link.

169. Pets Patch Released - Misc Patch News

Written on Thursday 8 February 2007 at 02:12 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Last week EA finished and released the full patch for the Sims 2 Pets. Following the Body Shop patch in December last year (which has now been retracted) this game solves gameplay issues as well as the Body Shop compatibility problems from the previous patch. There are two versions of the patch, one for the CD/DVD edition and another for the digital download (EA Link) version of the game. Make sure you get the right patch, as well as any previous patches for Expansion and Stuff packs you own to ensure proper functioning of your game. The patch fixes 39 issues, including the following. Go to the update page for the full list.

• Fixed an issue where pointed-ear dogs would become corrupt when moved into a lot.
• Custom college lots will no longer be deleted if no Sims are living on it.
• Influencing Sims to fight another Sim will no longer cause non-werewolf Sims to turn into a werewolf.
• "Barstool by Simulated Comfort" can now be used when 3 barstools are placed side-by-side.
• Selling pets to other playable Sims now cause an exchange of Simoleans.
• Sims can now return home after visiting the Secret Society lot.
• Pet houses no longer move off tile after a Pet Woohoo.
• Infants and Toddlers no longer appear in the "Invite Household" dialogue.
• Sims can now correctly try for baby under the maximum Sim limit.
• Cats no longer can become stuck in the litter box.
• Turned on "HydroBot" and "SentryBot" are no longer deleted after installing The Sims 2 Pets.
• Two or more teens will no longer refuse to go to school if there is no nanny or adult on the lot.
• "Tropico Avian Sanctuary" and "FMCU 3000" objects can now be deleted if the last Sim dies on the lot.
• Sims are now able to call the fire department on an owned community lot.
• Awning can now be deleted from a saved lot.
• Teens and Elders will no longer be promoted without meeting necessary requirements.
• Customer NPCs now change into new outfits that they have purchased.
• Pets Bodyshop is now compatible with older expansion packs.

When installing this patch the CD or DVD of Pets is required. Get the CD/DVD patch or the digital download patch to update your game. For more news about Sims 2 patches, read on. Read More!

170. Life Stories Screenshots

Written on Thursday 8 February 2007 at 01:40 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

With the release of The Sims Life Stories publisher EA has released five new screenshots of the pack. They show some scenes from the game, although nothing groundbreaking or substantially new is shown. Nevertheless you might want to check them out. Click the thumbnails below to see the full large versions of the screenshots.