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News Archive - March, 2004

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Wednesday 3 March 2004

EA Doesn't Like N-Gage?

Written at 13:33 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Remarkable news comes from GamerFeed. According to that site, EA President John Riccitiello has compared Nokia's N-Gage to a dog. He states it "just feels stupid" and that the game deck/cell phone has flawed. Yet EA has 5 titles planned to be released on the N-Gage later this year, of which The Sims Bustin' Out is one. Reccitiello has said unit productions of those games are "non-meaningful" thus far. An upgraded N-Gage edition will be released around Christmas 2005, and a "real judgement should not be made" until then, says Nokia Chief Executive Jorma Ollila. Riccitiello also said that Nokia will once be successful in the gaming industry, but they "haven't figured it out yet." For the whole article (and a few more quotes), click here.

Wright talks to Game Students

Written at 13:54 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Gaming is big, and students all over the world are anticipating to get in the gaming industry. "God" Will Wright, founder of Maxis and designer of SimCity and The Sims, has kicked off a speaker series at the Art Institute of California. He held a multimedia presentation and spoke one-on-one with game students about a wide range of topics, of course including the success of The Sims and SimCity. But he also spoke about how he designs the games, and the future of the industry. Those studying Game Art & Design or Visual & Game Programming helped host the event as well. For more information, click here. Thanks to WorldSims for the tip.

Thursday 4 March 2004

New Poll

Written at 14:30 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

With a slight delay, we've added a new weekly poll. Last week we wanted to know how long you think the life of a Sim in TS2 should be, and besides the 14% voting they won't turn on aging, 50-100 days was the most popular with 29% of the 543 votes. Between 100 and 200 days became second with 26%, and 200+ days third with 17%. For the other results as well, click here. And as said, this week we have a new poll again. What do you think of all the screenshots of The Sims 2 released so far? Let us know and vote at the right, or at this page.

SimDay Report

Written at 14:43 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This SimDay comes with not too much compared to others. As (almost) usual, there are some new MP3s from Bustin' Out. This time there are 3 from the GBA version. You can click here to download the new songs, as well as all the 27 old ones. Next there is some news from probably the biggest fansite of The Sims in the world: TheSimsResource. They're launching a new easy installation tool for their site next weekend, and will be celebrating that with a Super weekend. Over 6,500 of their downloads will be available for free. Visit TSR for more information. Then there's news from the BBS. The first thing is a compilation of messages from user Pavlog_dog, who "peers into her crystal ball" and reveals secrets about Maxoids, but also delivers some recipes. Check out her posts at this page. Another link to the BBS is given, to a thread-in-rhyme. If you can say in rhyme what you'd like to see in The Sims 2, or read what others want, click here. Finally some Sims 2 stuff, which isn't really new. The official site has now also posted recent material like some screenshots and filmstrips. They've also posted an archive of The Sims 2 Newsletter (the Inside Scoop), with all the e-mails sent there of the past few months. If you aren't subscribed to the newsletter, lost the e-mails or just want to read them again, you can do so right here. That's all again for this week, more (including a Sims 2 chat) next week.

TSO Trial Credit Card Problems

Written at 23:24 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.

Recently, EA sent out a fresh trial of The Sims Online to FilePlanet, and it's been posted there for more than a week. However, there have been some problems, when apparantly a credit card was required to play the 14 day trial. In some cases credit cards have even been charged $1. EA has fixed the issue though, and this statement comes from MaxisKitty, community manager of Maxis:

"There has been some confusion regarding the TSO free trial. We had an error occur with the registration process where a credit card was incorrectly being required. We have since fixed the problem; a credit card is not required.

"If you use the same registration code that was emailed to you when you downloaded the game, you will be able to log on. Select the option to “Subscribe Later” when you register. Your free trial will be enabled.

"Thank you for your patience."

If your credit card got charged when trying to use the trial, it's best to call your credit card company and ask for a chargeback. The trial is free for 14 days, after which you can buy a serial number from TSOGameCodes.com, where you can also download extra game time. You can download the trial from FilePlanet.

Friday 5 March 2004

2 Awards for The Sims

Written at 19:20 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The Sims has won 2 awards, again. Yesterday the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences held the "7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards". They gave away 36 awards in different categories. Maxis was nominated twice, in the categories "Family Game of the Year" (for Bustin' Out) and "Computer Simulation Game of the Year" (Superstar). As you can guess, Maxis has won in both categories. EA took home another 9 awards, making a total of 11. This is the third year in a row that a Sims title was nominated for an award in this show, but the second year that Maxis actually won anything. Last year, Maxis won in the categories "PC Massively Multiplayer / Persistent World" (TSO) and "PC Simulation" (Unleashed). The "Computer Innovation" award, which Hot Date was nominated for two years ago, went to Black & White in 2002. But 2002 wasn't a complete loss for Maxis: Will Wright got into the AIAS Hall of Fame back then, as you can read here. For more information, visit the IAA Website. Thanks to WorldSims for the tip.

Sunday 7 March 2004

Mail form working again

Written at 00:05 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The recent update to the e-mail form, to allow bigger attachments to be sent, caused an extra error to appear in the form. That bug unfortunately made the form completely disfunctional, and e-mails would not be sent without any error messages whatsoever. That bug's been fixed now, and you can properly e-mail us again. If you've sent us an e-mail using the form recently but haven't received a reply yet, please take your time to e-mail it again and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience.

Tuesday 9 March 2004

Interview with Lyndsay McGaw

Written at 14:10 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

A lot of people are working on The Sims 2. Luc Barthelet has decided to let the fans know more about them. So this week there's something different than screenshots from Maxis. Instead he sent us, and several other sites, an interview with Lyndsay McGaw, who is assistant producer for The Sims 2. Of course we have posted that interview, which you can now read right here. Enjoy it!

Wednesday 10 March 2004

Back on a new Server [Update]

Written at 13:42 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Some of you may have noticed some downtime the past couple of hours. That's because the site was transferred to a new server (we're now with a host that offers more bandwidth than our previous one for the same price), and we had to take some time to make sure the files etc. on the new server were all up to date. Everything has now been transferred, and a few files which were deleted without me knowing about it have been restored as well. That means it's now possible to post comments to community news again. Furthermore, we now have a couple of subdomains so you can access parts of the site even easier. They work for both our .co.uk and .com domains, but I'll list them as .co.uk here:

Of course all the old URLs still work as well. Furthermore nothing should be different than before, except that you may notice some difference in the loading speed of the pages. If you notice any errors on the site, please e-mail me with as many details as you can give me. Thank you.

[Update 14:15] It seems that the subdomains aren't working for everybody yet, but that they in some cases show a "Default Plesk Page". That page doesn't come from us (since this server doesn't run Plesk), and I don't know what is causing the problem exactly (it could be that the DNS databases aren't all up-to-date yet). We hope that this problem will solve itself automatically within the next few hours.

B.A.T. Chat tonight

Written at 16:34 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As many of you will know, Maxis holds a chat every two weeks. This week is one of those weeks, but it's not a Sims chat. Instead it's a SimCity chat, about the Building Architect Tool (B.A.T.). Unusual is also that the chat will be held today(!) instead of on a Thursday. The time is the same as usual, 3pm PST (11pm GMT, midnight in Europe). Sims and Sims 2 questions will not be answered. You can login from this page.

Thursday 11 March 2004

New Poll

Written at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The Sims has been compared to Big Brother a lot, and in a way is a reality video game. But there are many reality shows on TV, too many to list. We've made a selection of popular shows, and wonder what your favourite is. Let us know and vote on the right, or at this page.

The previous poll was about the screenshots of The Sims 2. As many probably expected, the "Awesome! They rock!" option won. And big time: it got 72% of the votes. "They're looking quite good" came second with 'just' 21%. "I think they're alright, but not too great either." got 12 of the 220 votes, which makes 5%. "I don't really like them" and "I'm not interested in them at all" were tied with 1 vote each, making just 0.45% of the total amount. The "Blah, they look crappy" option got one more vote than that, and stays just under 1%. A nice overview can be found on this page.

Small SimDay [Update]

Written at 12:33 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

It's SimDay again, but this time it's not very big. The main news is that there are two brand new screenshots of The Sims 2. Swinging and swimming Sims can be seen now, in close-up with the new camera mode. To view those shots, click here. Then there's a link to a thread on the BBS started by SimMasterKatikins. If you can tell why you want The Sims 2 using the first leters of the colors of the rainbow (R, O, Y, G, B, I, V), or want to read why others want it, click here. And although the (not so very busy) chat last night was about the SimCity BAT tool, there was one interesting question asked about how The Sims 2 and SimCity might work together:

Da_Fitz: "Is there a possibility that houses created in The Sims 2 could be exported as lots in Sim City 4?"
MaxisMyke: "There is a possibility, the Sims2 engine has the capability to do it, but it would require quite a bit of work to get it done properly. I doubt we will ship with this functionality, but its possible for an expansion."

You can read the complete transcript on this page on the SimCity website. Finally, there's a "Spring Garden Show" on the official site next week. If you think you are the best at creating gardens in The Sims, then make one using the game and expansions. Take pictures and create a family album on the official site. Submit the link to the album before "midnight Sunday, March 14 (probably in PST, which means it has to be in before 8 am on Sunday - or Monday if Maxis means the midnight at the end of Sunday - in the UK, or 9 am in Europe). The 25 best gardens will be selected and shown on the official site next week. For all the ins and outs, be sure to read this page.

[Update 12 March, 18:25] Maxis has updated the site a bit more. First of all there's the interview with Lyndsay McGaw. Maxis has posted this on their own website. You can click here to read it on the official site. The final part of the SimDay, is the Bustin' Out CD. All the music was already available for download, but now you can also download the cover art to make your CD look perfect. You can download these arts separately, together, or even together with all the music. Click here for all downloads.

Friday 12 March 2004

Sims 2 Site Intro Changed

Written at 18:52 by ChEeTaH - 4 comments.

It's happened before, and now again. Maxis has changed the flash intro on the Sims 2 website, and it's showing 10 new Sims (on 5 'slides') again. If you want to see some more fancy dresses, suits or haircuts on some groovy Sims, it's time to check that intro. You can find it on the flash index page of the Sims 2 website. Our affiliate SimsZone.de has also posted the pictures as separate screenshots. You can find those right here.

Saturday 13 March 2004

Sims 2 Artwork and Screenshot

Written at 02:35 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.

Maxis has published a new artwork and a screenshot today. The artwork wishes everybody a happy St. Patrick's Day, while the other screenshot shows how much fun Sims can have in a spring garden, complete with pool. And if you pay attention to details, you'll notice the progress bar above the head of the kid in the pool. This probably means that children have skills too, with (probably, as in The Sims 1) the body skill being trained by swimming. Maxis has not yet talked about that though. You can view the images in their full size by clicking the thumbnails below.

Sims 2 User-made Artwork

Written at 14:16 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Our affiliate Sims Extremos has sent us an exclusive piece of art, in which you can see all the Sims in the current Flash intro on the official Sims 2 site. You can click the thumbnail below to see the graphic in its original size. Thanks again to Sims Extremos for this one.

Bustin' Out N-Gage Preview & Movies

Written at 21:52 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Bustin' Out is coming out for the N-Gage in the second quarter of this year. As usual, gaming sites post previews, screenshots, and media. First of all there's a preview at GameSpy:

"Ruling over your sim and handcrafting the world around him or her is quite the experience. There are countless variables and options, so no two players will have the same experience. The Sims: Bustin' Out has already proven that the series can work its mojo on a handheld platform, as the GBA version was extremely well received when it released late last year."

They conclude with that this game may be the most important title for the N-Gage of 2004. As we reported before, EA thinks slightly different of it. Another gaming site, GameSpot, has posted some screenshots and 3 movies. Visit GameSpot's GameSpace page of the game for all their content. Finally, keep checking the N-Gage site for more information. We'll keep you posted. Thanks to SimsExtremos for the tip of the GameSpot movies.

Wednesday 17 March 2004

Sims 2 News

Written at 00:18 by ChEeTaH - 8 comments.

Luc's weekly e-mail has arrived again, and he's told us Maxis is "hard at work driving the bugs from The Sims 2, all so that we can bring you the best, most fun, and completely addictive simulation game on the planet in exchange for a wee nip from your pot o' gold.". Complete in St. Patrick's Day style (all green), he also told us a bit about the recent artwork and screenshot:

"To commemorate St. Patrick's Day, we have two brand new images for your enjoyment - the first [the artwork - ChEeTaH] features a cast of characters engaged in at least a couple of favorite pastimes common to pubs the world over, and the next features [that's the screenshot - ChEeTaH] a family called the Shenanigans enjoying a warm St. Patty's Day celebration in their back yard, bedecked in green apparel (except for one poor soul who looks like he's about to get a good pinch as a result of his unfortunate wardrobe choices)."

If you haven't seen them yet or just want to gaze at these images again, click here.

Thursday 18 March 2004

New Poll

Written at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Last week we asked you about your favourite reality TV show. Out of 317 votes, 88 people (28%) said they don't watch any of the shows listed. The most popular show among Sims fans all over the world is Big Brother, with 51 votes (16%). Survivor came second (49 votes, 14%), and then The Osbournes or similar shows (34 votes, 11%). Back To Reality is the least popular with only 1 vote, which is far less than 1%. For all results, click here. This week we stick to TVs. Instead of asking about you, we would like to know your Sims' favourite TV channel. Let us know which one's watched the most in your game, by voting on the right or at this page.

Bustin' Out (N-Gage) screenshots

Written at 02:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

A Spanish Gaming site, Meristation has published a couple of screenshots of Bustin' Out on N-Gage, together with a preview. Although I don't read Spanish, and thus cannot tell you what they're trying to say, you can check out the screenshots. Click here for the first page of the preview, then click the "Page 2 de 3" link at the bottom for more, and then "Page 3 de 3" for even more screenshots.

SimDay: Not much

Written at 13:32 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

It's SimDay again, but not a very big one. Maxis is preparing for their move which will happen next week. However, there are a few things to mention. First of all the two graphics which we showed you last weekend. See that news item for those graphics. Next is the Bustin' Out CD. If you've followed it well, you already have one cd with all the art. The art for the second CD has also been posted, and you can now download that with or without the music of that CD. Click here to get it. If you don't have the first CD yet, you can download it from the same page. Altogether it's about 120 Mb. Finally, there's the Spring Garden Show, which was announced last week. If you want to see those beautiful Spring gardens, click here. That's all already for this week, and next week there won't be a SimDay due to the move. Maxis will be back on April Fool's day, so prepare for some kind of prank from them in 2 weeks.

Sims 2 Screenshots [Update]

Written at 20:07 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.

Maxis has published 3 new screenshots, which will probably be included in the next e-mail of the newsletter. They show you what you can do with CaSIE, and how the "Sims 2 Body Shop" can be used to "add your own designs to Sim parts." Since it's been quite long ago that Maxis really talked about CaSIE, perhaps we can expect a release of it in a couple of weeks. Of course that's unconfirmed and it could also still take months for all we know. If you like to see some serious face paint on some Sims, make sure to check out this page. Click the first three thumbnails to see the new screenshots. Thanks to Sterics at SimsExpress for the tip.

[Update 22:45] Maxis seems to have taken the images offline already. We've taken the opportunity to post them after all, like several other sites have already done. Click the thumbnails below to see them completely.

TSO comes to Japan

Written at 21:08 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

In the March issue of the TSO newsletter, Maxis has said that The Sims Online will be released in Japan next Saturday. Together with that announcement, they've also launched a Japanese website for TSO. This is slightly odd, as the game still has not been officially released in Europe yet. The game is considered a failure by many people, yet EA tries to gain more players this way. Japanese players will live in the same cities as all existing players. It's now possible to type in Japanese character in TSO. On another note, there's a new interview with a TSO developer (Walter Ianneo) at this page. If you want to try out the game, remember to download the free 14 day trial from FilePlanet.

McDonald's Object online

Written at 23:49 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Remember the McDonald's Preview CD of The Sims 2 that was given away quite some time ago? After posting some content already on 10 February, the popular website Snooty's Sims has posted a Sims 1 object from the same CD. You can find it on this page.

Friday 19 March 2004

The Add-on Handler: Translators wanted!

Written at 20:22 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

If you would like to help out the international Sims community, but don't know how yet, here's a chance! I'm looking for people who would like to translate one of my programs, The Add-on Handler. The next version, which is in progress, will have the option to be translated to other languages, using language files. That is to help all those people who are not so familiar with English to use the program just as easily as everybody else. I'm looking for people to translate the program for me, as my knowledge of foreign languages isn't too great. Read on (click "Read More" if necessary) for more information...