the-sims posts

The man who created Sim City, The Sims and Spore says he's back making new games but is keeping specific details to himself, at least for now. Eurogamer reports that Will Wright, speaking at GDC 2011 this past week, did say that the games he is working on won't be shrink wrapped in a box.

Wright states that the unannounced game projects he is working on will be " ... a little more diffuse" using both mobile and web platforms. He also hints that the games he is making will be more than just to entertain people, saying, "I'm really interested right now in games that get people more engaged in the world around them rather than distract them from it." Wright's most recent project is the TV series Bar Karma which features audience participation in creating the show's storylines.

The Sims franchise continues to grow for publisher Electronic Arts (its latest game, The Sims Medieval, is due out later this month). Today it was revealed that Mad Catz has entered into an agreement with EA where Mad Catz will release PC controllers and accessories with The Sims branding.

Details on exactly what kind of accessories will be released were not reveal, nor when the products will be coming to consumers. We assume that Mad Catz could have PC controllers, keyboards, mice and more with The Sims-based artwork. Mad Catz has previously released similar products for Call of Duty-based games.

The Sims Medieval is fast approaching its March release date. But this upcoming spinoff of Electronic Arts' people sim series will still have a lot of features that fans of the previously titles will recognize. This latest trailer for the game gives more info on how the team at studio EA Maxis developed the title.

While the game's locations may have been highly influenced by real places and buildings in Europe this game is not a dry history lesson on the Middle Ages. The game will still retain the humor of previous Sims games, even if your character is getting sucked by leeches or being thrown into a monster pit.

Download The Sims Medieval Webisode 2 at Big Download

Will Wright may be a "god" when it comes to creating some of the most influential and best selling PC games of all time (The Sims, Sim City and Spore, among others) but that doesn't mean he thinks games have limitations. In a new article over at CNN Wright is pretty blunt when he states, "Games are not the right medium to tell stories. Video games are more about story possibilities." He pretty much slams story-heavy game like the Metal Gear Solid series with Wright saying, "That's not the kind of game I like playing."

Wright is now the producer of Bar Karma, the new sci-fi themed drama on the Current TV network that does try to tell stories, although those are based in part on suggestions made by viewers via a special web site. So does that mean Wright has abandoned games completely? Nope. According to the article, Wright says that he is "also working on new games" at his company Stupid Fun Club. We assume those games won't have stories either.

Today seems to be the day to announce special editions for games. Today Electronic Arts revealed that it will release a Collector's Edition of The Sims Medieval, the upcoming spin-off of its people sim game series, for Europe. There's no word yet if the edition will be released in the US.

The Collector's Edition will have a medieval-looking book cover that will contain, besides the game, a art and sketch booklet and a kingdom map. There will also be some exclusive downloadable content for the game itself along with other unnamed collectible items. Pricing for the Collector's Edition have yet to be announced.

[Via email press release]

The Sims Medieval, due out sometime in March 2011, is a big departure from the regular Sims franchise from Electronic Arts. The newest trailer for the game gives a very basic overall look at the title which, as you might guess from the title, takes the Sims out of the modern day and sends them back into the Middle Ages.

There's lots of kings, queens, knights and squires in the game and the trailer shows that the Sims humor is still in place. There also appears to be some fantasy elements in the game (a creature's tentacle comes out of a hole, for example). Will the quirkiness of the Sims truly translate to this new setting? We don't have much longer to find out.

Download The Sims Medieval Trailer 2 at Big Download

The PC game industry owes a lot to The Sims franchise. Developer Will Wright's people simulation series, an extension of his Sim City games, remain some of the biggest PC game ever made, sales wise. But there might actually be one or two of you who haven't played the games.

Direct2Drive is making it easier this week by putting all of the previously released games in The Sims series on sale for 40 percent off for the entire week. That includes the latest game in the series, The Sims 3, along with its expansion packs. The next game in the franchise, The Sims Medieval, is due out later this year.

The Sims games have been almost universally sandbox affairs. Make your sim, make your house, and see where things go from there. The newest title in the series, however, wants to make The Sims more of an actual game while maintaining the sandbox nature, and the result is The Sims Medieval. While it looks to bear similarities to The Sims 3, it appears there is more than just relationships and work at play here. Things such as quests, swordfighting, building a kingdom, and magic all appear to play a role, leaving us with plenty of questions as to how they will be implemented.

Download HD The Sims Medieval Trailer
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Linden Lab's people sim-MMO "experience" Second Life has pretty much kept to its own path with little development contact from the mainstream PC game community. That's about to change. Today the company announced that it has hired Rod Humble to be its new CEO.

Humble is well known for his long time work at Electronic Arts where he headed up the EA Play division which included being in charge of the publisher's mega selling Sims game series including the launches of The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. Before EA he worked at Sony Online on the first Everquest game. He has also made a few "experimental" games himself including one called The Marriage.

Linden Lab's press release doesn't make clear what changes, if any, Humble plans for Second Life. Hopefully he has learned some lessons from what went wrong with EA's own attempt at a sim like MMO, The Sims Online.

The latest game in the people simulation series The Sims will be getting some extra content if you purchase the title early. Today publisher Electronic Arts announced plans to release The Sims Medieval Limited Edition which will be available when the game comes out for the PC and Mac this March.

The Limited Edition will let players access three exclusive throne rooms for your Middle Age character, including Barbarian, Dark Magic and Princess rooms. In addition you will get two exclusive outfits set for your Sims Medieval character. One is the Monarch set where you can dress up your Sims to look like royalty. The other is a bit darker; its the Executioner set where you get to wear, among other things, a black hood.