The Sims has become a major global brand, selling more than one billion copies worldwide and making it one of the most successful children’s entertainment properties of all time.
But in Australia, the popular children’s game has been turned into a hit TV series, starring the likes of James Bond, The Avengers and even an animated series.
While its success has been largely attributed to its “Sim-ish” design and gameplay, the series has also seen a dramatic shift in its audience over the past few years.
The launch of the first episode of the series was met with mixed reviews, with critics complaining of the “in-your-face” violence and graphic content.
And while the game has sold well for EA, its popularity has also been fuelled by the success of The Sims 4, the third instalment in the series.
“We’ve always been passionate about The Sims and we wanted to do the right thing for our fans, and we think The Sims is the right game to do that,” said Matt Smith, senior vice president of EA Australia.
“It has a great world to live in and it’s a game that has been hugely successful for EA.”
The first episode, released in June 2017, saw the arrival of the new Sims 4 and its first playable character, an eight-year-old boy named Leo.
While Leo had an amazing life with his family and friends, the game’s first storyline was focused on the family’s journey to become rich, but also to overcome the challenges of a growing child.
It followed the family as they built their new town and built a house, while trying to raise their three children.
“I don’t think you really understand how much of a challenge it is for families to raise kids in this society today,” Smith said.
“For many parents, it’s been a really tough decision to leave the house, the house they were raised in.”
If you have kids that are growing up in that household, there’s a lot more pressure, and I think a lot of parents feel the same way.
“In the first season, there were four main characters, including Leo and his best friend, Simma.
The show’s third and final season was released in September 2017.
While the plot was fairly linear, it focused on some of the family members’ relationships, as well as some of their everyday lives.”
In the end, it really does focus on the relationships that the Sims have, but the characters are not defined by that,” Smith explained.”
They’re really about what it means to be a family, what it takes to raise a family.
“There was also a change in the way that Sims 4 was released, with a series of episodes released a few weeks before the Christmas holiday season.”
Sims 4 was just released at Christmas and we’re getting a lot better feedback,” Smith continued.”
The Sims 4 has been really well received in Australia and we’ve also seen that there’s been some big success for the Sims 4 franchise.
“A lot of people are excited about the upcoming third instame, The Sims 3: Pets.”
With a sequel to hit the shelves in November 2018, the next instalments will follow in 2019 and 2020, and Smith said there were still a lot to be excited about.
“There are still a few more to come, so there are a lot we’re working on,” he said.
But while fans have been waiting patiently for the next series to arrive, EA has made no bones about the fact that it has been hard at work on its next title.
“What we’re really excited about is to make sure that we have a strong franchise and that we make sure our players are as satisfied with the game as they are with the franchise,” Smith revealed.
“When they see the characters and they see how the game feels, that’s when they will start to really enjoy playing it.”
And the game itself is pretty good, so the players will start enjoying the game even more.
“Topics:arts-and-entertainment,games,simulations-and/or-drama,kids,games-industry-standard,games/video-games,game-designer,adults,thesims,united-kingdom,australia,auFirst posted March 05, 2019 09:21:42Contact John Kavanagh
