Gamer or not, there is one video game franchise that most people can admit to playing - The Sims. The EA hit has seen nothing but success since its original release in 2000, as it was the best-selling PC game for four straight years until its sequel. The third game in the No. 1 PC franchise, The Sims 3, continued this success as the best-selling PC game in 2009.
After a decade, the franchise has finally come to video game consoles; The Sims 3 is available for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Nintendo DS. Assistant Producer George Pigula and Assistant Product Marketing Manager Azure Bowie-Hankins spoke with tableau about the franchise's achievements and success.
Both executives, who have been working at EA with The Sims for several years, admitted to simply having a passion for games.
"The Sims was a different type of game," Pigula said, and when a job opened up within The Sims franchise, he was excited to go into a game with a large fan base.
Meanwhile, Bowie-Hankins admitted to loving The Sims and playing the games since middle school, so the job was a natural choice. "Do what you love," she advised.
The most exciting thing to hear was what the new console version of the games would bring to the franchise. Many people who don't have PCs spoke up and said they wanted to play The Sims, both executives said. And "many" is an understatement. The Sims 3 is largely a community-based game, as the game's community site gets more than 5 million unique visitors a month. The community team moderates e-mails, Facebook and Twitter, Bowie-Hankins said.
You can be sure that fans were zealous in requesting the move to consoles.
"We were excited to finally put The Sims on an HD console, since the consoles now are beefed up and powerful enough to handle The Sims," Bowie-Hankins said. She added that the game's new features will allow players to jump into the game accomplish something quickly, pointing out a fundamental difference in gaming styles between console and PC players.
One exciting addition is the power of Karma. These powers, such as inflicting 'firestorm' and the 'get lucky' power, directly impact lives in The Sims. These new powers will give players more direct control of their Sims and allow them to tell different and possibly more interesting stories.
As far as a multiplayer experience goes, Pigula said one of the greatest things about The Sims is the ability to create anything and share it online with other players. The game is about telling and creating unique stories.
Both executives explained that in The Sims, anything can happen, which may explain the game's popularity. "You can play and always be surprised," Bowie-Hankins said, adding that this gives the game longevity. "You can play in a completely different way before. It's all about your creativity and the story you want to tell."
But one cannot overlook the human element of The Sims, which Bowie-Hankins also acknowledged as a crucial factor that differentiates itself from other games in which fantasy characters play within a fantastical environment. "The Sims offers things that most games don't. We can see ourselves in the game. The Sims characters have quirkiness, but at the heart, they are real people, which makes the characters and the game itself really relatable," he said.
If you're dying to do something you know would get you in trouble, or want to see what life would be like lived famous, reckless or rich, learn some Simlish, pick a platform and buy a copy of The Sims 3. Then tell me your story afterward.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
