An interactive multiplayer version of The Sims is coming to Facebook.
Posts by Rexer
Jun
16
Just three days following the release of the latest expansion pack, the fourth for the Sims 3, Generations, Electronic Arts on Friday released a video trailer for the next: The Sims 3: Pets.
May
24
Oct
6
IBM Launches Its Version of SimCity BY Ariel SchwartzMon Oct 4, 2010
Virtual city planning is fun; just ask anyone who has spent hours entranced by Will Wright’s classic game, SimCity. That’s why it isn’t just professional urban planners who will be excited to see CityOne, IBM’s new city simulation game. It’s intended to help officials, agencies, and developers solve real-world problems ripped from the headlines–such as climate change, electrical grid management, banking and retail supply chain crises. In total, there are more than 100 scenarios in the game.
Unlike SimCity and its sequels, which allowed players to start from scratch, CityOne lets you navigate a fully-formed city. It makes sense–in the real world, city planners don’t usually get to build new landscapes from the ground up. They have to deal with already-messy realities.
A sample scenario, courtesy of IBM:
Water Crisis Management: A city is struggling as water usage increases twice as fast as the population, supplies are becoming strained and possibly polluted, and the municipality is losing almost half of its water through leaky pipes. On top of all that, energy costs continue to rise. To complete the mission, players must come up with a way to deliver the highest water quality at the lowest cost in real-time.The free game is proving to be popular. Over 8,000 people have pre-registered since it was announced in May, and hundreds of players across the globe have started playing since CityOne launched on Monday.
Can we harness our love of games to make real change? Decide for yourself–CityOne is available here.
Aug
17
Gamesradar reports on the newest expansion pack for The Sims 3. For the first time, Sims are able to leave the suburbs and live the high-rise lifestyle downtown!. Excerpt:
The Sims 3: Late Night – Good clean debauchery
The Sims franchise has always taken place in an idealized world, with your Sims enjoying huge houses with nice yards in a relaxed neighborhood with a small town feel. But it’s always been limited to the suburban ideal – what about those of us who want to vicariously live the big city fantasy? Enter the Late Night expansion for Sims 3, where you can design a penthouse in the sky with a hot tub on the roof, the perfect spot for skinny dipping with vampires…
For more, see the original Gamesradar article at http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/the-sims-3/preview/the-sims-3-late-night-good-clean-debauchery/a-20100813154719339066/g-20061106113750640058. Then, discuss in our Simphoni Forums.
We just caught up with this, as reported by GameSpot:
Maxis hiring for PC online simulation gameThe Electronic Arts-owned Maxis studio will announce an action role-playing game set in the Spore universe at Comic-Con 2010 next week, but the developer is also seeking to employ an individual to work on a new online simulation game for the PC.
Might Maxis attempt to resurrect The Sims Online?
A job listing spotted by Superannuation asks for a development director for an unannounced “next-generation online simulation game” at the Maxis studio in Emeryville, California.
The rest of the article can be seen at http://www.gamespot.com/news/6269152.html?…mp;subj=6269152
The EA job listing can be seen at https://jobs.ea.com/search/view.do?id=a0z50000000IafoAAC
May
29
Gregory of Monte Cristo Games announced in a post at Simtropolis on Tuesday that Monte Cristo will be closing its doors within the week. The license for the sale of Cities XL has been purchased by a third-party publisher, who will be identified soon. The news was also reported Thursday at Big Download.
Monte Cristo announced the North America released date for Cities XL. Discuss in the forums at http://www.simphoni.net/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=16117&view=findpost&p=399440.
North American players, rejoice! Monte Cristo is glad to announce the release of Cities XL in North America on October, 9th.
The product will be available on our secure website www.citiesxl.com through:
- mail order of the boxed version covering USA and Canada (Shipping will be free of charge!)
- digital download
The following digital download network will also support Cities XL: Steam, Direct2Drive, Trygames, Impulsedriven, Gametap
Check back on our website often for more info on special promotions and more partners!
The Cities XL Team.
North American players, rejoice! Monte Cristo is glad to announce the release of Cities XL in North America on October, 9th.
The product will be available on our secure website www.citiesxl.com through:
- mail order of the boxed version covering USA and Canada (Shipping will be free of charge!)
- digital download
The following digital download network will also support Cities XL: Steam, Direct2Drive, Trygames, Impulsedriven, Gametap
Check back on our website often for more info on special promotions and more partners!
The Cities XL Team.
At SIMphoni we just recieved word from MaxisCactus at Maxis if a new Spore API. She says,
“Here at Maxis, we’re working on some features that will help you enrich your fansites by creating your own Spore applications.
We’re collecting these features into a web-based Spore API. Using simple web services, you can access our huge database of creations and creators. We have samples and quick-reference sheets to get you started. If you have questions, feedback, or want to announce your awesome app, head over to the Spore forum.”
You can find everything you need to get started here:
This Saturday night in North America, while you are pacing the floor in anticipation of Spore’s release on Sunday knowing our European friends are already playing it, you can watch a two-hour-long documentary special on The Discovery Channel television network, entitled, “The Future Is Wild and the Making Of Spore“. It will play twice on Saturday, September 6: once at 8pm Eastern time, 7 Central, 6 Mountain, and 5 Pacific, then again four hours later at 12E, 11C, 10M, and 9P. These are the only two times the program is currently scheduled to be aired. An advance description of the two-hour special states,
“Documentary, Special, (2008) A look into the future of how the world evolves millions of years from now and how this special inspired the video game Spore.”
The Discovery Channel is the flagship of Discovery Communications, LLC, which provides primarily educational programming to 810 television subscribers in more than 170 countries. Its sister channels, The Learning Channel (TLC), Animal Planet, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids, The Science Channel, The Military Channel, The Travel Channel, BBC America, BBC World, and others, each provide 24/7 educational and historical documentaries.
SIMphoni does not yet have information about showings in other regions of the world, but those of you with Discovery Channel access should check your local television listings for broadcast times.
