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Hash naba fla: EA reveals first info on The Sims 3

10:27 PM on 03.19.2008, Nick Chester 36 comments

     Electronic Arts

It's March 19 and as expected, Electronic Arts have revealed the first info on The Sims 3. As one of the best-selling PC games of all-time, it had better be good, don't you think? Based on these screens and the info EA have provided, things are looking good so far, if not kind of familiar. 

The first features announced are the game's new seamless, open neighborhood, an over-hauled Create-A-Sim, new and more realistic personalities, and "unlimited customization." Is it me, or outside of the seamless neighborhood bit, couldn't this be used to describe The Sims 2? Sounds good to me. 

The Sims 3 will hit PCs next year, and I guess it's only a matter of time before a version is also announced for next-gen consoles, the Nintendo DS, the iPhone, and the Sega Dreamcast. Full press release and new feature details can be found after the jump.

EA REVEALS FIRST DETAILS OF NEXT-GENERATION FLAGSHIP PC GAME, COMING IN 2009

The Sims 3 Gives You Complete Freedom, Inspiring You With Endless Creative Possibilities

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today the first details on one of interactive entertainment’s most anticipated games, The Sims™ 3. Featuring a brand new engine that has been in development for nearly three years, The Sims 3 allows you to immerse your unique Sims in an open living neighbourhood right outside their door. The initial feature-set unveiled includes the new seamless, open neighbourhood, new Create-A-Sim, new realistic personalities and new unlimited customization. The Sims 3 will launch globally in 2009.

The Sims franchise has long been recognized for its appeal to a universal audience, both male and female, and at any age. Its broad appeal and loyal The Sims community has vaulted the franchise to an impressive 98 million games sold around the world and translated into 22 different languages. Celebrated for its creativity, humour, and community, The Sims franchise has become a global and cultural phenomenon since its inception in 2000.

Now, The Sims 3 is being designed to be the next-generation flagship game from The Sims Label.

“In The Sims 3, Sims can go beyond the boundaries of their home lot, and immerse themselves in an open, living neighbourhood, interacting with other Sims using our new deeper personality system,” said Rod Humble, Head of The Sims Studio. “It is this type of open-ended gameplay that inspires endless creative possibilities. In addition the new goals and rewards systems will give players of all kinds from core gamers to storytellers the ability to enjoy long-term gameplay.”

New Seamless, Open Neighbourhood—Explore the Neighbourhood Freely.
See the sights with your Sims! The new seamless neighbourhood architecture allows your Sims to roam freely around the neighbourhood and visit their loved one and friends—or foes. Discovering other Sims homes and families, traveling around to new locations like City Hall or the local park will create a whole new way of life for your Sims. Storytelling options will multiply as your Sims stroll downtown to meet new acquaintances, head across town for lunch, spy on their neighbours and bump into the boss when they least expect it.

New Create A Sim—Create Any Sim You Can Imagine.
In addition to the open, living neighbourhood, the all-new Create-a-Sim interface will feature easy-to-use design tools that allow you to make truly detailed Sims that are more realistic than ever. Create-a-Sim gives you the incredible freedom to customize just about any Sim you can imagine. From thin to full-figured to muscular—everything in between and even the extreme! In addition to determining your Sims body shape and size, you will also be able to fine-tune every feature on their faces, customize their hair style and select their skin tone, all from a vast selection of options. With so many choices to choose from, it is fun to create more realistic characters that look like you, someone you want to look like, or even a famous personality.

New Realistic Personalities—Every Sim Is A Unique Person, With A Distinct Personality
With the innovative and proprietary Realistic Personality System in The Sims 3, you can attribute each character with five distinct personality traits, helping shape your Sims behaviour and how they interact with others and their surroundings. This new system will empower you to create extremely complex and diverse in-game personalities. Will you create the nosy, inappropriate, kleptomaniac grandmother who loves to meddle in other people’s business? Or the commitment-phobic, hot-headed punk rocker whose rude nature and childish disposition keeps him from scoring a date? In The Sims 3, Sims will go beyond the basic set of day-to-day needs to be distinct individuals with multifaceted personalities, who can focus both on short-term opportunities and long-term goals. With a wide selection of personality traits to mix and match, more than 700 million combinations of Sims await. You never know who’ll meet in The Sims 3!

New Unlimited Customization—Everyone Can Customize Everything!
New and accessible creativity tools in The Sims 3 make it simple for anyone to customize anything, anywhere! From floors to flowers, fashions to sofas, wallpaper to window shades and more, The Sims 3 gives you all the flexibility and options you need to be the architect of your dream house or explore your interior design skills to outfit your ultimate home. Your Sims can make home an ultra-deluxe mansion, a cool bachelor pad, family’s dream home or charming cottage. The choice is yours in The Sims 3.

”The new engine and technologies in The Sims 3 are designed to unleash the player’s imagination with realistic looking Sims who have distinct personalities and a seamless living neighborhood for them to discover,” added Ben Bell, Executive Producer on The Sims 3. “Players are going to be thrilled by the level of realism in The Sims 3!”

LAUNCH GALLERY (13 IMAGES)
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Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 03/19/2008 22:29
Well, I'm sort of a whore to The Sims, so I'll probably be getting this.
Cheeburga's Avatar
Cheeburga at 03/19/2008 22:33
But will it come with everything!?
Nooo, 50 expansion packs await.
Cowzilla3's Avatar
Cowzilla3 at 03/19/2008 22:38
Nabla dabla fla jibba na. Flibble habba hanna.

HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 03/19/2008 22:44
Hahahaha Cowzilla!

This game will sell millions to wives and little girls worldwide.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 03/19/2008 22:52
I feel like this is the same thing that happened with the Worms series. The jump from Worms to Worms 2 was a huge one, and then each iteration afterward was essentially just marginal changes that didn't amount to much.

The Sims 2 was a decent leap from The Sims, but I don't really see how they can take it much further.
Magesx's Avatar
Magesx at 03/19/2008 22:57
OH MAN, THIS LOOKS exactly like the Sims 2.
Missionhomeboy's Avatar
Missionhomeboy at 03/19/2008 23:12
So I'm assuming that there WILL be an Atari Jaguar version?
Clockwork's Avatar
Clockwork at 03/19/2008 23:16
The only thing I realize is different is that the Sims ALL don't look the same. That's about it.
SourGr8pes's Avatar
SourGr8pes at 03/19/2008 23:19
OH HAI SIMS 2.5!

I feel that the Gameboy Color community has been discriminated against, for the denial of a port to our beloved system.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar
Y0j1mb0 at 03/19/2008 23:27
That first Pic looks like PS3's Home if I were to squint my eyes.
amalgamut00's Avatar
amalgamut00 at 03/19/2008 23:32
Does this mean no more expansions for the Sims 2?
HarassmentPanda's Avatar
HarassmentPanda at 03/19/2008 23:52
Comen snala osto tunnen-funnen deg deg, soodl soodl, shweigei, schweifon!
Nessie's Avatar
Nessie at 03/20/2008 00:19
N-Gage port??
Woverine's Avatar
Woverine at 03/20/2008 00:35
so is anyone else disappointed that it looks EXACTLY the same? I want me some crysis like graphics!
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 03/20/2008 00:48
well my GF is going crazy about this...
BlackSunEmpire's Avatar
BlackSunEmpire at 03/20/2008 01:53
Ill be sticking far away from this one. I already have one simulation life to look after.
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 03/20/2008 02:32
Commodore 64 port?

Atari 2600 port?!

ENIAC port?!!!
Timmeh's Avatar
Timmeh at 03/20/2008 02:56
I think I read that these pictures were taken from a pre-alpha version so they may well be improved for the final releas.

Honestly though, I think they look a fair bit crisper than sims 2 screens (from memory at least) and given all the extra customisation and a whole community being dropped into the sandbox this time I don't feel you could do much more without restricting the install base too much.

I've seen plenty of gamers harp on about Crysis' system requirements and the small percentage of people who can run it decently yet when people try to improve things that affect gameplay you all bitch about the graphics. There are more important thigs y'know?
bmaupin's Avatar
bmaupin at 03/20/2008 03:25
This month's Games for Windows Magazine (No, no, I don't pay for it, they just send it, I swear) has a feature on the Sims 3. Yeah it looks pretty much the same, but it sounds like they're making it less of a hassle to look after your sim, there's fewer status meters, less telling them to take a dump, etc.
Aurain's Avatar
Aurain at 03/20/2008 03:41
They're being smart. They know that not everyone who plays the Sims has an amazing PC. Bigger market = Big profit.
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 03/20/2008 04:04
PLAYSTATION HOME SAYS WUT
AfroJoel's Avatar
AfroJoel at 03/20/2008 04:52
PLAYSTATION HOME SAYS WUT
Itchy's Avatar
Itchy at 03/20/2008 05:53
PLAYSTATION HOME SAYS WUT
Scary Womanizing Pig Mask's Avatar
Scary Womanizing Pig Mask at 03/20/2008 06:06
Sounds awesome! Hope they fix the broken aspiration system though.
Jaren Face's Avatar
Jaren Face at 03/20/2008 07:42
It's looking good. It seems less "cartoony" than the Sims 2 was to me, but I expect the core gameplay to be more or less the same.

I don't know, but I find the release of this odd or so. It seemed like the release period between The Sims/Sims 2 was huge... but I feel like the Sims 2 was released not to long ago, even though their in-between periods are roughly the same.

Then again, I haven't really been keeping tabs on the Sims, so...
Tubatic's Avatar
Tubatic at 03/20/2008 08:03
It feels kind of incremental, but its definitely an improvement, and honestly, I think it reflects the way a bunch of people may have already started playing with the Sims2:

- creating themed neighborhoods for a Sim to play in - now the huge load times will be gone when "switching lots"
- always on continuous community: having different and varied personalities that you hope will meet each other and clash
- putting less emphasis on micro management: you can pick up the sims trash for yourself, for example. Also, less stress on making it to the bathroom in time
- less regimented "aspiration" system: works more on "promises" and "dreams" and doesn't lock you sim into being a family guy or a romance jerk.

This all kind of reminds me of the Simsville project, with less emphasis on family fueds and buildings being affected by the "aura" of the town.

I'm interested
dtomek's Avatar
dtomek at 03/20/2008 08:27
@Dexter
Ludicrous statement. Worms Armageddon was a huge step forward in the series. Other than that point taken.
ironmanrules1333's Avatar
ironmanrules1333 at 03/20/2008 08:46
Oh boy I can't wait to buy all those expansion packs again.
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 03/20/2008 08:54
Expansion packs for PC's are similar to DLC on consoles.
Chocobo Knight's Avatar
Chocobo Knight at 03/20/2008 09:51
I dunno. Making them look more realistic just makes them look more generic to me.

So long as they put the Goths in there for me to rip apart, then I might consider purchasing it eventually.
superhobo's Avatar
superhobo at 03/20/2008 10:30
Does anyone else find it funny that when we community blog something that's already on the front page we get slated but when the reverse happens....
Projectexodus's Avatar
Projectexodus at 03/20/2008 11:52
I'm dissapointed with the character visuals. It looks almost worse than The Sims 2! It just doesnt fit in at all!

What I liked in The Sims 2 was to create a house filled with female characters who'd walk around in their underwear.
It would've been so cool to do that in next-gen visuals...
Projectexodus's Avatar
Projectexodus at 03/20/2008 11:56
Well, I do realize that the AI in this game is probably going to be so power consuming that it wont have enough power to use for rendering visuals...

Oh well, back to The Sims 2 for some lesbian fun :P
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