Just like June, this month was one with mostly just screenshots and not too much special news. A few of those things are the Urbz BBS launch at the beginning of the month, some fresh Sims 2 information, a batch of 54 screens, and the new Urbz logo. There was a lot more of that, but also some - though not too many - special things that happened in the seventh month of this year.
For example, the rating for the Sims 2 was revealed. PEGI, the European rating agency for video games, rated the game 7+ for most countries, whereas the US agency ESRB rated it T for Teen (13+). There was also a lot of discussion about the Sims 2 DVD edition. While it would definitely be available in the US, but Europeans were disappointed they couldn't get it (until recently, as it's been released late 2004). It was first officially mentioned in a developer chat, followed by some information from GameSpot. That was followed by a doubtful post, which in its turn was quickly forgotten about after some unofficial confirmation. In an update of that, it was stated the DVD would be available in North America only, denying the fact of a UK release. We let you voice your opinion through a poll about the matter. That was all that was said about the DVD in July.
Of course we didn't sit too still at all during the summer. Part 3 of How do you play Yours was posted, this time covering the cheapskates' way: cheating. A few days later, we regretfully said goodbye to Jen, who is now spending more time with her family. But there was good news too: Neil joined to moderate the knowledge base. But that was far from all he did. He made a 3 episodes long tutorial called "Hot Date: How to Build Yours." But Neil also made an article about things that could go wrong in the Sims 1. As the end of the month neared, Andy would post the fourth part of his "How do you Play Yours" series as well, this time covering the story-telling mode.
Other news that was remarkable is that it was predicted that there would be no competition against the Sims 2 during the holiday season. The game was also shown during EA's Hot Summer Nights event, formerly known as Camp EA. This was one of the first times members of the press would actually see the game in action. After that GameSpot posted part 9 of the Designer Diary for the Sims 2, and Lucy Bradshaw talked about new features of the Body Shop. Content theft was quite a major issue at the time, and Maxis came with some solutions for that. But still, there's one fairly important thing that happened that month...
For example, the rating for the Sims 2 was revealed. PEGI, the European rating agency for video games, rated the game 7+ for most countries, whereas the US agency ESRB rated it T for Teen (13+). There was also a lot of discussion about the Sims 2 DVD edition. While it would definitely be available in the US, but Europeans were disappointed they couldn't get it (until recently, as it's been released late 2004). It was first officially mentioned in a developer chat, followed by some information from GameSpot. That was followed by a doubtful post, which in its turn was quickly forgotten about after some unofficial confirmation. In an update of that, it was stated the DVD would be available in North America only, denying the fact of a UK release. We let you voice your opinion through a poll about the matter. That was all that was said about the DVD in July.
Of course we didn't sit too still at all during the summer. Part 3 of How do you play Yours was posted, this time covering the cheapskates' way: cheating. A few days later, we regretfully said goodbye to Jen, who is now spending more time with her family. But there was good news too: Neil joined to moderate the knowledge base. But that was far from all he did. He made a 3 episodes long tutorial called "Hot Date: How to Build Yours." But Neil also made an article about things that could go wrong in the Sims 1. As the end of the month neared, Andy would post the fourth part of his "How do you Play Yours" series as well, this time covering the story-telling mode.
Other news that was remarkable is that it was predicted that there would be no competition against the Sims 2 during the holiday season. The game was also shown during EA's Hot Summer Nights event, formerly known as Camp EA. This was one of the first times members of the press would actually see the game in action. After that GameSpot posted part 9 of the Designer Diary for the Sims 2, and Lucy Bradshaw talked about new features of the Body Shop. Content theft was quite a major issue at the time, and Maxis came with some solutions for that. But still, there's one fairly important thing that happened that month...
"Special features are wireless multiplay mode, touch-screen input, and some special features not available in any of the other versions of the game."EA announced the Urbz. Again? Yes, but this time for Nintendo's new platform, the DS. The platform was shown at the E3 in May, and the Urbz would be one of a few EA games to be available at its launched. The gameplay would be similar to the GBA version of the Urbz, but with several unique features including pets and extra min-games. Of course the game would also make use of the new technical features a lot. Although not by far, this is in our opinion the most important news of July.
With less than two months before the release of the Sims 2, August was a month that was mostly filled with Sims 2 news, screenshots, videos and interviews. It was also the month with the most newsposts - 75 articles were written in its 31 days. There were some pack shots, updated system requirements (and again and again), a first ad, bloopers and of course very many screenhots. Our German affiliates SimsZone.de also had their share and reviewed the game thoroughly by posting many articles at a high rate.
More important Sims 2 news during August was that the Sims 2 would use the VP6.2 codec to encode recorded videos with. There was also news of a new, unique position of A&R to be filled at Maxis. We were also told that Mark Mothersbaugh would take care of some tunes in the sequel. And after the press had a chance in July, the big audience in the UK would be able to play the game on the UK Sims 2 Tour.
And then there was the Urbz. Except for a pack shot (and some more) and news about toys, there wasn't too much about this game in August. Mostly the usual Urbzdays, and of course batches of screenshots and such. The hype was all the Sims 2.
When it comes to this site itself, it was quite an active month. Neil started off with posting an article on how to tweak the Sims 1. Part 2 and Part 3 of his "Hot Date: How to Build Yours" were also posted, and if you followed all three episodes you would be almost fully qualified in building a proper downtown area. Andy also finished his series of "How do you play Yours?" Part 5 was posted at 25 August, followed by a poll about the topic. But we didn't just post some articles...
The files section had been the same for a long time, and it was not well structured enough anymore. In the background lots of hard work had been going on to improve this popular part of the site. Blood, sweat and tears were put into it, and at 3 August we revealed the result. The file section as it was made then is what's still up on the site now. But as I said this site was busy in August. More than just that happened: almost 7 months after the initial launch, we improved the Knowledge base as well. New features have made it easier to organise the questions, which again should help you find your answer to the questions you have. To help the Sims Zone in staying online despite the bills, we also launched a brand new thing. The Sims shop has been the place for you to buy your Sims games since August. So two major upgrades and a new section, and we still haven't had the most important news?
More important Sims 2 news during August was that the Sims 2 would use the VP6.2 codec to encode recorded videos with. There was also news of a new, unique position of A&R to be filled at Maxis. We were also told that Mark Mothersbaugh would take care of some tunes in the sequel. And after the press had a chance in July, the big audience in the UK would be able to play the game on the UK Sims 2 Tour.
And then there was the Urbz. Except for a pack shot (and some more) and news about toys, there wasn't too much about this game in August. Mostly the usual Urbzdays, and of course batches of screenshots and such. The hype was all the Sims 2.
When it comes to this site itself, it was quite an active month. Neil started off with posting an article on how to tweak the Sims 1. Part 2 and Part 3 of his "Hot Date: How to Build Yours" were also posted, and if you followed all three episodes you would be almost fully qualified in building a proper downtown area. Andy also finished his series of "How do you play Yours?" Part 5 was posted at 25 August, followed by a poll about the topic. But we didn't just post some articles...
The files section had been the same for a long time, and it was not well structured enough anymore. In the background lots of hard work had been going on to improve this popular part of the site. Blood, sweat and tears were put into it, and at 3 August we revealed the result. The file section as it was made then is what's still up on the site now. But as I said this site was busy in August. More than just that happened: almost 7 months after the initial launch, we improved the Knowledge base as well. New features have made it easier to organise the questions, which again should help you find your answer to the questions you have. To help the Sims Zone in staying online despite the bills, we also launched a brand new thing. The Sims shop has been the place for you to buy your Sims games since August. So two major upgrades and a new section, and we still haven't had the most important news?
"The team is tired but happy, and they can't wait until the game is in your hot little hands."The Sims 2 again. It was ready. Done. Completed. At first it was rumoured by GameSpy, but later at 23 August that was also confirmed. The Sims 2 had gone gold. The deadline was made and the game would definitely be released on the stated date of 17 September. It's without much doubt that this is the most important news of the summer, at least August.
Without a doubt, this would be THE month for all Sims fans. Many people had been looking forward to it. There was, as expected, a lot of new information about the Sims 2 again. There was some stuff about the strategy guide, the first cheat, news about a European release of the DVD edition, and already a Mysterious new guide from Prima. Close to the actual release date there was still some confusion as several online shops had put the game to be released earlier than 17 September. Even closer to that day, at 15 September, the official sites were relaunched. Afterwards, Andy posted his first impressions and the first parts of the actual review. News about the first expansion pack was published quickly after the release of the game itself. And besides all that, there were very many news updates, with lists of reviews and new information. Many news posts combined multiple (similar) facts, articles, etcetera as it was simply impossible to post about everything separately. If everything was posted separately, September would've been the month with the most posts in 2004 by a mile. But it got 67 posts (tied with May), just 8 less than August. Still a second place though.
But what about that other game... The Urbz: Sims in the City? Well the GBA version went gold and GameSpot updated their city guide. There was also a first developer's guide. Besides that there were some artworks of the toys and the game characters. But the game wasn't out yet, and faded away by the Sims 2 completely.
So what happened to TSZ then? Well, we kept you up-to-date with the latest Sims news as usual. That was simply the major part that month. There were many "Sims 2 Updates," and even more visitors to this site. This site was also featured in a Polish gaming magazine. Several downloads from this site were put on their cover cd. And although the game was finally really becoming outdated, Neil posted a list of Sims 1 bugs and features. General weirdness and other odd things were collected from Usenet, and compiled into a list. And the result of the number of visitors? Another milestone. We hit the 3 million mark 21 September.
But what about that other game... The Urbz: Sims in the City? Well the GBA version went gold and GameSpot updated their city guide. There was also a first developer's guide. Besides that there were some artworks of the toys and the game characters. But the game wasn't out yet, and faded away by the Sims 2 completely.
So what happened to TSZ then? Well, we kept you up-to-date with the latest Sims news as usual. That was simply the major part that month. There were many "Sims 2 Updates," and even more visitors to this site. This site was also featured in a Polish gaming magazine. Several downloads from this site were put on their cover cd. And although the game was finally really becoming outdated, Neil posted a list of Sims 1 bugs and features. General weirdness and other odd things were collected from Usenet, and compiled into a list. And the result of the number of visitors? Another milestone. We hit the 3 million mark 21 September.
"Of course EA has released a press release about it."Ever since it was officially announced at the E3 in 2003, people had been waiting anxiously for the Sims 2. After a 6 month delay in early 2004, the day had finally come. 17 September 2004 was marked on the calendar of many people, and although it was already sold a few days early, it was finally officially released. The Sims 2 was out and would be a huge hit. I think almost everybody will agree when I say this is the most important Sims news of September 2004 - and probably of the entire year.
Written at 01:00 on Thursday 23 December 2004 by
ChEeTaH.
