EA Announces Plans for The Sims 2 on Consoles, Handhelds and Mobile Phones REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Apr 19, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that The Sims(TM) 2 is in development for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox(R) video game system from Microsoft, the Nintendo GameCube(TM), and for all handhelds including PSP(TM) handheld videogame system, the Nintendo DS(TM), the Nintendo Game Boy(R) Advance and mobile phones. The Sims 2 on the PC swept the nation in Fall 2004 by becoming the fastest selling game of all time and the No. 1 PC game of 2004 with sales already over 4.5 Million copies worldwide. Maxis-EA is redefining this highly-acclaimed franchise and will deliver classic open-ended gameplay along with exclusive new features. Aspirational gameplay and fully customizable content will give players the most authentic Sims experience to date on console. This innovative gameplay will allow players to make their dreams come true while avoiding their innermost fears. And, for the first time, players will be able to take direct control of their Sim without having to use their cursor. All handheld versions will feature unique storylines and will ship simultaneously with the console games. "Fans have been asking for The Sims 2 on console since it launched on the PC in September last year. We are thrilled to finally be able to bring it to them," said Sinjin Bain, Executive Producer EA/Maxis. "The Sims 2 will be everywhere this fall, giving players on consoles and handhelds all new ways to take control of their Sims and tell all new stories." The Sims 2 console and handheld versions are scheduled to ship in the Fall of 2005. For more information, please visit www.thesims2.com. About The Sims(TM) The Sims franchise celebrated its fifth anniversary in February, 2005. The game skyrocketed to the top of the charts when it began shipping to stores in February 2000 and quickly become a universal gaming and cultural phenomenon. The Sims PC based product and expansion packs were the best selling PC games of 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. Translated into 17 different languages, The Sims has inspired seven top selling expansion packs. They include: The Sims(TM)Livin' Large, The Sims(TM) House Party, The Sims(TM) Hot Date, The Sims(TM) Vacation, The Sims(TM) Unleashed, The Sims(TM) Superstar, and The Sims(TM) Makin' Magic. Combined sales for the franchise have topped 45 million units life-to-date. In September 2004, The Sims 2 launched as the next generation sequel selling over 5M units worldwide. The Sims(TM) 2 University shipped as the first expansion pack in March 2005. For more information on The Sims 2, visit http://www.thesims2.com About Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) (NASDAQ: ERTS), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA GAMES(TM) and EA SPORTS BIG(TM). In fiscal 2004, EA posted revenues of $2.96 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com. Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, EA GAMES, EA SPORTS BIG, Maxis, and The Sims are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo GameCube, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. Microsoft and Xbox are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE: Electronic Arts
Hmmmm, was really excited to read this about 30 mins ago, but have read on the EA Games website that lots of people don't think it's a great idea due to a console not having as much memory as a PC, and also that the graphics wouldn't be as good, so it'd be a watered down version so to speak. Now I'm no technical expert, and not a big gamer either. Don't even have a PS2 yet! Really only into TS2 and have a PC that only just meets the requirements of TS2, so have to have a lot of the game graphics turned off or very low to get the game to run at a relatively decent speed. Turn anything on though and it's painfully slow Been hoping for it to come out on PS2 or some other console for a while now, in the hope that I could get to see all the stuff that I've been missing on the PC version. Seems that won't be the case though, and it looks like I either have to put up with my slow(ish), not fantastic on graphics, version on the PC or else find the money to upgrade my PC - but don't really understand all that stuff to do it in the first place!!! Ahhh well, never mind, worse things happen at sea eh! BTW - Fab site! Jayne
I think there's a lot of presumptions going on. Especially with the new PSP out, and Nintendo/Microsoft gearing up to show off their new stuff to counter Sony, I don't believe there is much truth to that statement.
This is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. It'd be like regular TS2....only very dumbed down and completely unmoddable, meaning, aggravating and annoying. And with horrible UI. Getting a root canal sounds preferable to playing this atrocity. EA should just stick with their console sports games.
if you really stand back and think about it, it really wont be any different than "The Sims" already out for Gamecube, PS2, etc.. add on the 4 floors, basements, and whatnot and you have your ts2 console game.
I got a e-mail about this happening. And believe me I don't think it could be a bad/good idea. For one children actually have the tolerance for the handhelds/consoles/mp3 But I think it would be cool for them. But because alot of adults play this game. It probably won't be that good! But since originally it is for teens.
