The Sims Online - Preview Info Taken from http://thesimsonline.ea.com The Sims Online is a virtual world built from the imaginations of thousands of players like you -- an unpredictable, alternate reality where you are both spectator and participant. It's due for release later this year. Build a network of friends to enhance your power, wealth, reputation and social standing. Explore neighborhoods, create crazy locations, or host wild events to entertain others. In this massive and never-ending online event you become a Sim, choose your role and find your destiny. The Sims Online Key Features: ---------------------------- Get real ... ridiculous Create and customize your Sim to be just like you-or someone else. Speak for yourself Meet, flirt and get to know other Sims through chat, instant messages and over 60 new expressive gestures. Build a home and a livelihood Build your dream home, the trendiest boutique, or the hottest neighborhood hangout around. Be roommates and colleagues Develop a network of friends, go into business with your housemates, improve the neighborhood, or open a hoppin' club. Live life online to the fullest Select from over 500 new items and skins, designed for online play. And, choose from almost all items and skins from the other Sim games. Life is what you make of it Let your imagination run wild. Choose your online role and play your way in this unpredictable, infinite, online world. What is The Sims Online? ------------------------ The Sims Online is the first online world from Will Wright, the creator of SimCity and The Sims. One thing we always hear from Sims players is, "Wouldn't it be cool if the other Sims in the game were controlled by other real people?" The Sims Online is an online world where the Sims are real. You get to be yourself or whoever you want to be. In this world you have your own piece of land to do with as you please. So, you can create a house, coffee bar, dance club, museum or whatever else you can imagine. You can explore the neighborhoods around you and meet other real Sims along the way. You'll also be able to develop a network of real Sim friends to enhance your power, wealth, reputation and social standing. The Sims Online is a massive online world that you can access at any time. You interact with the world through one Sim that you develop over time. Everything that you buy, build or create will be there when you return. The Sims placed you in control of an entire neighborhood of Sims. In The Sims Online, players create up to three Sims but only control one at a time, meaning that the relationship between a player and their Sim is much closer. The game not only makes it possible for Sims to leave their house but there is a whole user-created world to explore. Not only can each player build a house for their Sim and have friends over to visit, they can also invite friends to move in. The economic and social interaction system is built to take advantage of having thousands of real people playing. The game incorporates text chat, instant messaging and a wide variety of new gestures for your Sim to use when communicating with other Sims. The Sims Online includes almost all the content from the original Sims and each of the expansion packs. It will also include a lot more new content. You'll be able to purchase the game at major retailers and online stores. Similar to other premium online games, there will be a monthly subscription fee and details will follow in the future. We will continue to introduce new content into the game following the launch, so our players can continue to evolve and enjoy the online world. We look forward to starting this journey with you. Welcome! Luc Barthelet Senior VP, Maxis Inside E3 --------- Every May, over 400 makers of interactive entertainment gather in Los Angeles to show off their wares to about 62,000 game developers, retailers and reporters. It's called the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and it was held on May 22, 23 and 24 at the LA Convention Center. E3 is the most fun you can have and still call it work. This year's E3 was the biggest yet for EA -- we showed off upcoming releases like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Command & Conquer Generals; Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers; and all of the new EA SPORTST titles. Some of the biggest titles from EA this year are being developed at Maxis. Maxis unveiled SimCity 4 and The Sims for the PlayStation*2 and, for the first time, invited guests to play live a closed-test version of The Sims Online. The game was demoed in "Club Sims," which was THE place to be at the EA booth. Club Sims was a complete recreation of an imaginary rave club from the game complete with bouncer, bartender, and a DJ mixing cool Sims tunes. Upon entering Club Sims, our guests were invited to watch demonstrators play the game over the Internet in the current internal (within EA) playtest. Each player talked about their Sim and what they were doing in the game. Among some of the favorites were designer Chris Trottier's beauty pageant, product manager Julie Kanarowski's beach wedding pavilion, and producer Jessica Lewis' flying saucer known as AlienWorkshop@Area13. To get through the door of Club Sims, though, attendees needed a special VIP access badge to see the exclusive demo. Something else we did this year was giving out thousands of "The Sims Are Real!" buttons. These are special E3-only buttons, and we had some fun with the variety of Sims we put on them. Media Buzz ---------- Gamespy: "Best of E3: Massively Multiplayer" "The Sims Online is going to hit the mainstream in a huge way - - It'll make millions of people see their PC as entertainment and the Internet as their playground. This is the virtual community that people have been talking about since the dawn of the Internet." Gamespot: "The Top Games of E3 2002" "... judging from what we saw at E3, the game will let you do all the crazy stuff you've come to expect from The Sims--but it will let you do all of this online, and with just about anyone else in the world who happens to be playing." Game Daily: "Future Hit: The Sims Online" "As the title says, this popular series will try to get its loyal fans to go online and build a sense of community." Gamepen: "Hands on at E3: The Sims Online" "I've often referred to The Sims 1.0 as the ultimate people simulator only with AI elements. Now The Sims Online will finally provide that human element that lovers of the game have so been desperately craving. Look for this one to be a winner for many years to come." GameGal.com: "The Sims Online" "I can safely say that women who love The Sims will have no problems making room in their heart for Sims Online." Games Domain: "E3: The Sims Online" "In what promises to be a pioneering year for the massively multiplayer genre, will The Sims Online triumph by being as addicting as its single-player cousin?" MSNBC: "Game rivalries abound at E3 expo" "After seeing a demonstration of Wright's new massively multiplayer extravaganza, it appears that The Sims is even funnier online than it is in single-player." CNN Money: "Six games to watch" "... if any game is going to bring online into the mainstream, this is it." Tech TV: "The Sims Creator Enters Online Territory" "The Sims has become the top-selling PC game of all time. Now it's moving into online territory with The Sims Online. At this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), TechTV's Adam Sessler had a chance to talk to Will Wright about his new game." Tech TV: "The Sims Online (PC) at E3 2002" "This week on 'Extended Play,' we take a look at 'The Sims Online,' the latest development for one of the biggest-selling PC games." Gamespot: "E3 2002: The Sims Online impressions " "We take a tour of EA and Maxis' new virtual online community." Gamespy: "The Sims Go Massively Multiplayer" "The Sims are going online, and they're planning on bringing you along for an experience that's definitely unlike anything you've ever seen." --Patrick Buechner Director of Marketing and PR, Maxis - o -