By Kieron Gillen on August 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm.
We can hardly believe it ourselves. Electronic Arts are going to be releasing expansion packs for the Sims 3. No, really. The first is a pack where the expansions include expansion content. LIKE! visiting destinations like France, Egypt and China (CHINA! – RPS In-Gag No-One Else Gets Ed). In other words, it’s about traveling to famous real world locations. Which, at a stretch, makes this the Sims answer to Deus Ex. While a free 1000 points for the store sounds nice, the fact that there’s exclusive online content available at launch does sound like this is an expansion pack for which you need to buy other online content. Which, if true, is – er – impressive, even for EA. You’ll find the full press release beneath the cut, plus two more screenshots. Click through on ‘em for the full-size versions. Sims 3: World Adventures will be available in November.
And… actually, while we’re talking, what expansion content would you like to see for the Sims 3?
EA REVEALS THE SIMS 3 WORLD ADVENTURES
First Expansion Pack to Global Phenomenon – The Sims 3REDWOOD CITY, Calif., August 3, 2009 – The Sims are off on an adventure to famous destinations around the world! The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that The Sims™ 3 World Adventures, the first expansion pack* to the #1 best-selling PC and MAC game in June 2009**, The Sims 3, is in development and will ship to retailers worldwide the week of November 16, 2009.
“We’re thrilled with the global success of The Sims 3 over these last few months and are looking forward to expanding on the gameplay experience with one of the most robust expansion packs to The Sims yet,” said Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims at EA. “Players will be able to take their Sims on the adventure of a lifetime and explore lands outside of Sunset Valley and Riverview, pursue thrilling new life destinies in locations around the world inspired by famous destinations, and immerse themselves in the open-ended gameplay where they’ll discover new cities in China, France and Egypt and share new stories.”
Players can take their Sims on new journeys to famous real-world inspired destinations around the globe for the first time ever and seek out new adventures. While exploring the landmarks of an exotic city, there is no telling what the Sims will find. From mastering martial arts in Shang Simla, China, discovering rich culture and famous landmarks on a romantic getaway to Champs Les Sims, France or exploring the depths of ancient tombs in Al Simhara, Egypt, players can take their Sims on a journey that will change their Sims’ lives. Players can accept challenges to search for secret treasures, learn new skills and chase down new personal opportunities, meet new Sims with unique personalities, share their culture and bring them home, discover new styles on their travels, and share everything they encounter on their adventures with the world through personal photographs, movies, and stories. Additionally, players will receive 1,000 SimPoints to be used online in The Sims 3 Store*** for the PC/MAC versions of the game. Exclusive online content, available only for the expansion pack at launch, will be revealed soon.
The Sims 3 World Adventures will also be available for feature phones, the iPhone™ and iPod touch® in early 2010 from EA Mobile™. These versions will have customized mobile gameplay features which will be revealed in the coming months. For information on carrier availability and pricing for all EA Mobile games, please visit www.eamobile.com.
For more information about The Sims 3 World Adventures or The Sims 3, please visit www.TheSims3.com. Developed by The Sims Studio, The Sims 3 World Adventures has not yet been rated by PEGi. To download artwork, please visit www.electronicarts.co.uk/press
*Requires The Sims 3 for PC/MAC to play.
**According to NPD data.
**INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED, see product pack or digital distribution rules for details
03/08/2009 at 15:56 cdrudy says:
You’re China.
03/08/2009 at 15:57 Jim Rossignol says:
CHINA!
03/08/2009 at 16:05 H says:
So every time someone says “that country” you have to repeat it loudly?
Man I wish people would share in-jokes. Even though… Well obviously.
03/08/2009 at 16:08 Noc says:
Most likely you would’ve had to be there.
I want an expansion with unlockable content, item drops, and random encounters.
03/08/2009 at 16:10 kiri says:
downtown fallujah, i like my sims to suffer
03/08/2009 at 16:10 Ginger Yellow says:
More careers and in-career options would be nice. Preferably including the ability to see and directly control your sims at work.
03/08/2009 at 16:14 Noc says:
Also some horse bike armor would be nice.
03/08/2009 at 16:16 bansama says:
he fact there’s exclusive online content available at launch does sound like this is an expansion pack which you need to buy other online content
Which makes perfect sense given their comments about piracy the Sims 3 base game. They must be expecting the expansion to be pirated too, so linking it to downloadable content is just another incentive to deter the would-be pirates who are teetering on the brink of purchasing anyway.
03/08/2009 at 16:24 Nalano says:
Heh. The tourists are frightened and obnoxious in the Sims, too!
03/08/2009 at 16:26 jonfitt says:
Well at least they’re not making you buy the same functionality again like they did for Sims 2 from Sims 1. This sounds a bit like a new idea. (Although there was a Sims: Vacation)
03/08/2009 at 16:28 Heliocentric says:
Gotta be palistine. One day you are hanging up your washing or trying to build up your budding affair with your neighbour and… whoops you died from illegal white phosperus artillary.
Other than that an empty box call the “the sim’s players are mugs who will buy anything” (tspamwwba for for short) pack. Watch that in the npd numbers push mass effect 2(or something) out of the top of the all systems chart.
03/08/2009 at 16:34 mandrill says:
My desire for a sims expansion is….. hang on I have no desire for a sims expansion at all, except that they stop making them.
If I had the Sims (in any of its incarnations) I would make my sims look like the people at EA who decided to continue with this abomination of a game, lock them in their house, and then set it on fire.
03/08/2009 at 16:35 Heliocentric says:
Oh, and dawg I’d like a sims3 “sims play sims” expansion where your character can either buy or torrent a copy of sims 3 and then spend the rest the week sat watching virtual people run about, until they buy the “sims sims:sims expansion” where they get to watch a little person sit down watching a little sit down etc. Every step of this madness will be a $5 dlc.
03/08/2009 at 16:37 Jahkaivah says:
Hmm…
…
…China.
03/08/2009 at 16:37 Heliocentric says:
I meant to add a meme about putting sims in your sims so you can waste your life having pretend affairs while you waste your life having pretend affairs, but you’ll have to fill in the blanks.
03/08/2009 at 16:38 Nalano says:
Yeah, where’s the “all my sim does is sit in front of the computer all day reciting his credit card info” functionality?
03/08/2009 at 16:42 Gap Gen says:
“New traits include ‘Talking Loudly and Slowly in English to foreigners’, ‘Hanky-on-the-head’ and ‘xenophobe’.”
03/08/2009 at 16:42 Ybfelix says:
CHINA!
….
er, what? miss the “in” part and “joke” part of this in-joke
I’m already a Chinese in China, anyway~
03/08/2009 at 16:43 Gap Gen says:
Heliocentric: World of World of Warcraft
03/08/2009 at 16:46 AbyssUK says:
Sims: Civil unrest. Your sim must choose his country or its people. With full RTS riot events and a whole host of new riot gear/weaponry. Become a policeman and take down the terrorists with expensive hi tech surveillance or become the freedom fighter and give it to the man with Molotov cocktails and home made explosives. Which ever side you choose don’t forget to goto the toilet every 5 minutes!
03/08/2009 at 16:48 Freudian Trip says:
I don’t get all the hate on The Sims expansions. OMG COMPANY IS EXPANDING CONTENT FOR GAME I DONT PLAY. HOW DARE THEY!
03/08/2009 at 16:52 Smurfy says:
A few years ago a guy pitched The Sims: At War to me. Basically the sims have fallen out, and you get to place defenses around your house to stop the baddies from getting in. If they do get inside your house, your sims have guns.
03/08/2009 at 16:52 GreatUncleBaal says:
Giza’s going to look a bit odd with those three big square depressions in the ground – wonder how much the pyramids will cost?
03/08/2009 at 16:54 AbyssUK says:
@Smurfy: A Sims Tower Defence game ? If you include some plants and zombies am sure it’ll be a hit.
03/08/2009 at 16:55 Gutter says:
Was Kieron high or something? All the unfinished – err – though in that… hmm article? They are… hmmm CONFUSING!
03/08/2009 at 16:56 Gutter says:
@ Smurfy : The Sims 3: Texas?
03/08/2009 at 16:57 Clockwork Harlequin says:
Discussion of The Sims reminds me of a line I first read on Zero Punctuation: “Press X to toil your life away meaninglessly”. But I guess some people like that sort of thing.
03/08/2009 at 16:59 Nobody Important says:
I demand that this Sims expansion has a button designed for nothing but removing the ladder from the pool.
03/08/2009 at 17:05 kevinn says:
Would the sims be able to be in the wrath of bad airlines/transportation delays, airport hell, high hotel rates and booking problems, tourist thefts/scams, and overpriced/expensive shopping?
03/08/2009 at 17:13 M_the_C says:
I think The Sims expansions are very much like a clay model, you start off with the basic shape then you slap bits on all over the place until it looks like a dodo wearing a crash helmet. Then when it comes time for the sequel you scrape it down to the basic shape again hopefully leaving the best ideas intact.
I thought some of The Sims 2 expansions were actually pretty good, they added a completely new dimension to the game without ruining anything. The only really bad thing about them is the price, I do feel sorry for the people who fork out the full amount for them.
03/08/2009 at 17:18 Vincent Avatar says:
All I know about China I learned from C&C Generals and their hilarious caricatures. When the MiGs, I believe, were shot down, the pilot’s last words would invariably be a supplication of “CHINAAAAAA!”
But that’s more than likely MY in-joke and not RPS’s.
03/08/2009 at 17:28 MacBeth says:
Careful AbyssUK – that sounds dangerously like a game that would be, you know, a game – e.g. purposeful, fun, entertaining, that sort of thing…
03/08/2009 at 17:31 Cooper says:
Having got us to buy a game, they expect excessive amounts for good to not so good expansions. And to pay for downloadable content when there’s a massive free access modding community?
Good going EA. Seriously, if the market’s there, why not milk it?
03/08/2009 at 17:42 Lack_26 says:
I demand Sims: Z-Day, where there is a zombie invasion.
Also, CHINA! is a butt of many jokes for me and my Brother. We love ‘em (the Chinese) really though.
Did you know that the cat is the natural predator of the Chinese?
03/08/2009 at 17:47 FernandoDANTE says:
How much do their expansions usually go for? And don’t give me any “points” bullshit, I want MONEY FIGURES.
03/08/2009 at 18:03 panik says:
i’d like an expansion with real game play…instead of make beleif with virtual dollies.
03/08/2009 at 18:04 Raziel_axd says:
So The Sims 4 will be a combination between The Sims and Spore… “The Sims find new galaxies… and build houses on them” or something.
03/08/2009 at 18:05 Tayrtahn says:
Screw expansions and their gimmicky features. I’m just waiting for them to put together a big pack of the DLC furniture on a disc at a reasonable price. That’s usually all I ever cared about with the old Sims expansions, but the prices in the online store are way to high to merit a shopping spree. When I can walk into a game store and buy a disc full of furniture at a nice bargain-bin price, then we’ll be talking.
03/08/2009 at 18:41 reaper47 says:
Is that a Sims Indiana Jones? I smell a new Sims 3 story-blog.
Also, China.
03/08/2009 at 18:46 Jazmeister says:
China is the first name of a lovely author, too.
03/08/2009 at 18:52 Taillefer says:
It could be interesting to see third-party expansions. If EA had some sort of developers license (where they’d get a cut of profit from sales, I suppose). Some ambitious devs could do wonders using The Sims as a basis. Some sort of Bullfrog-esque “Theme X” type game built on top of it.
03/08/2009 at 18:56 unclelou says:
Seeing how one of the most praised features of The Sims was how seamless it is, and finally simulates a whole town (well, to a degree), I find it strange that they do an addon that will throw this overboard. An expansion that builds upon what’s there would have made more sense.
03/08/2009 at 19:08 Vinraith says:
I’m still waiting for a reasonably price Sims 2 complete pack. There are advantages to being behind the times.
03/08/2009 at 19:11 Ziv says:
The Sims 3: Alien vs Predator.
the only sims expansion I would ever need.
03/08/2009 at 19:18 sinister agent says:
Simdicate.
03/08/2009 at 19:43 Legionary says:
The Simming. Your family of Sims receive an invite to look after the Oversight Hotel for the off-season. Includes:
*RETRO 1970s clothing pack
*WANDER the hedge maze with your favourite Sim
*WRITE a best-selling novel on the typewriter, a new item
*HIT a few balls with the Baseball Bat or practice gardening with the axe
*EXPLORE the hotel and take a ride in the elevator
*GAZE out from the new small windows included in the expansion
*TRUNDLE away in the Snow Crawler if it all gets too much for you
*ALL work and no play makes Sims something something
Coming this fall.
03/08/2009 at 20:08 Lack_26 says:
The Sims 3: Vicious Winter
Try to keep warm as your house is drowned in snow drifts, try and stave off cabin fever. Watch as the elders slowly freeze to death as the heating fails. Features patented Snow Death! tech.
03/08/2009 at 20:10 PC Monster says:
I’d like Sims 3: Murder Most Foul, please. Mix in elements of Cluedo and the lives of any [in]famous serial killer of the last 200 years. Bagsy Jack the Ripper!
03/08/2009 at 20:46 pilouuuu says:
@unclelou
Yeah, it would make more sense to make the sims have adventures in surrounding locations as the base town is pretty big, like going to the mountains and kayaking on the river.
But, no, EA thought that it would be a good idea to simply kill the seamless neighbourhood, which is the basic reason why they released a new iteration of the game. I don’t get it.
I’m also pretty worried that this is just a Vacation/Bon Voyage remake. Have they run out of ideas already? Hopefully there will be enough new interactions on it, to make it different enough from old expansion packs.
I just can’t agree with the expansions packs hate. They are a nice addition to the base game and if you compare The Sims 2 with TS2 plus all expansions pack, they make the base game much better. And if you say that they could simply add all content in the base game, well… maybe, bot we’ll have to wait some 10 years to get such a gigantic game and it would cost like $150. So, I’m pretty OK with the idea of expansion packs.
And I would like ideas that haven’t been done before like being a detective and solving cases in town or having a farm.
03/08/2009 at 21:07 Clovus says:
*ALL work and no play makes Sims something something
go crazy?
03/08/2009 at 21:10 Clovus says:
@Vinraith: I’m still waiting too. I guess I don’t mind the concept of an expansion, but I just can’t see paying as much for one as I would a full game on sale. The problem is that the expansions never really go on sale.
Sims haters vs Sims lovers is a classic pointless debate. The two sides are always arguing about completely different things.
03/08/2009 at 21:11 MaW says:
It is very odd. There is so much potential for the hometown to be expanded and filled in, so they go… all over the world? As others have said, the seamless neighbourhood is one of the best improvements in Sims 3, so it’s a shame that they take us away from it so quickly.
Personally I’d like to see more general gameplay paths – a greater variety of lifetime goals, more careers or career paths, more musical instruments (how can your sim be a member of a symphony orchestra when they only play the guitar?), oh and the UI for painting and photographing needs fixing.
Basically just more stuff and things to do!
03/08/2009 at 21:27 Baris says:
More furniture and neighbourhoods damn it!
03/08/2009 at 21:32 Nalano says:
@Clovus
go crazy?
Don’t mind if I do!
03/08/2009 at 21:36 Diogo Ribeiro says:
Something that ties in The Sims with Spore. Like, say, your Sim watching the stars obsessively and being kidnapped by your creations into a planet where he needs to perform a series of jobs to return home.
Or something like War of the Roses. The divorcing couple who just goes bonkers and set up traps and perimeters around the house. Bonus points for urinating in the fish!
03/08/2009 at 21:39 DigitalSignalX says:
Reminds me of Yatzee’s take on the Sims … bang on. EVIL EVIL EVIL.
03/08/2009 at 21:40 Max says:
Wow, I’m totally not that jazzed about this. All of the expansion packs for the previous two games that just add completely separate, special activities like this seem completely overwhelming to me. I hated taking my Sims on vacation because it was always a race against the clock with too much to do before time ran out.
I like the expansion packs that add more depth to the gameplay by adding mechanics that you’ll regularly use. I’d rather it was more fun to live day-to-day than to add neat things that you can only do once and a while with your sims.
I agree with pilouuuu, this expansions seems to go against the open neighborhood mechanic that is the trademark of TS3. Weird move on EA’s part.
03/08/2009 at 22:21 Larington says:
Considering that people generally seem to understand that not every film is going to be aimed at them and is fine with this, I find it extremely odd that people cannot accept that this might be the case with a computer game.
Odd, and very irritating some times. Grr.
03/08/2009 at 22:30 sinister agent says:
Since when is it out of bounds to criticise something just because the marketing department of the company who made it haven’t decided you’re in their target demographic?
03/08/2009 at 22:48 Larington says:
I’m just growing a bit tired of the amount of it thats been happening lately.
03/08/2009 at 23:06 psyk says:
how does the marketing department have anything to do with the type of game being made or who is going to like it.
03/08/2009 at 23:29 sinister agent says:
Fair enough. I liked the sims 2 a lot, and will consider buying the third when it comes down a lot in price (good luck with that, I know). But I am deeply cynical of EA’s attitude to the expansions, and don’t doubt for a second that they left out a bunch of functional things precisely because they knew they could sell them separately. Not that I want to have that discussion again – just pointing out that sims haters aren’t the only people who dislike the way EA handle the series. Indeed, its most devoted fans are often its harshest critics.
03/08/2009 at 23:47 CMaster says:
“the Sims answer to Deus Ex”
This please. Have your sims join either UNATCO or the NSF. Get shipped off to Hong Kong for no clear reason. Killswitches activated at random, you have 24 hours to save your sim from their neighbourly overlords. Get past doors in many possible different ways. Watch your sims get into deep philosphical and political conversations with complete strangers, when all you sent them out for was to buy a candy bar.
03/08/2009 at 23:59 CannedLizard says:
My guess for the origin of the CHINA thing is Jon LaJoie – Show Me Your Genitals 2: E=MC Vagina. You’ll know it when you hear it.
04/08/2009 at 01:20 Stromko says:
I don’t feel that the Sims 2 with all its expansions actually added much to the game, givien that much of the new mechanics were pretty flawed and poorly thought-out.
With each major expansion, it only takes an hour or two to exhaust all the new content and possibilities. That’s a horrible deal at 30$, and they’ve only now been reduced in price to 20$ each. It’s still a terrible value, but there’s always kids and other ignorant consumers who don’t know what their entertainment dollar’s worth. They put out their dough, install the expansion, are sick of it a few hours later, and the cycle continues.
It’s really a microcosm of how big game publishers work. They make massively hyped games that barely satisfy, so people have to keep buying. The Suits don’t want to make a great game with any sort of longevity. They want something that’s pretty good for a couple hours or so (long enough to fool the average reviewer amirite?), and never gets booted up again.
04/08/2009 at 01:40 Al Ewing says:
Yeah, I’m sick of these gaming rockists harshing my Sims buzz with their wrong opinions. Oh, it’s not a REEEEEAL game! For REEEEAL gamers! Oh, noooo, I thought I was having fun but now I see I wasn’t! Thanks, haters! You’ve taught me the error of my casual gaming ways! Can I join your super special secret treetop clubhouse where only REEEEEEEEEAL gamers are allowed, oh pretty pretty please?
(Having said that, this expansion pack looks a bit rubbish tbh.)
04/08/2009 at 01:53 pilouuuu says:
I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I enjoyed The Sims 2 much longer than most other games.
What I think is the biggest problem with expansion packs is the fact that they should be focused in including more interactions and gameplay enhancements than boring objects like tables and chairs. I hope that new EPs in TS3 will be more like gameplay enhancements and have a minimum of objects which already were in the base game, considering we can use Create a Style to make new colours and designs for objects reducing the need for more of the same and if you really want new stuff for your kitchen you can buy the from the Store. I consider that to be the best model for EA and for us purchasers.
But please, EA, stop making remakes and think of original stuff like a colony on the moon, or sims with superpowers for once!
04/08/2009 at 02:58 pilouuuu says:
The expansion seems even better after reading this interview:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/100/1009985p1.html
04/08/2009 at 05:52 T. Slothrop says:
:( I just want a new Deus Ex or similar title (hold the regenerating health please).
04/08/2009 at 10:55 Clockwork Harlequin says:
Al Ewing: A treehouse? You insult us! We hang out in an irradiated time traveling Soviet submarine, with psychic penguins.
Er, that is to say, I believe that many people trashing the Sims just want more escapism and fireworks from their gaming. I know I do. The Sims basically simulates exactly what I should be doing instead of sitting at my computer.
And there’s nothing more insulting than millions of people loving something I think is boring. Or something.
04/08/2009 at 11:39 Demon Beaver says:
The Sims – Guns & Monsters
It’s an expansion which adds a 1st person control scheme, and many extra items, like pistols, rocket launcher, AK-47…
then it gives you two new cities, Nazicastle and The Doomfortress-Suburbs. You have to make a living there, while the other inhabitants want to make a Sim-Sandwich out of you. New professions like Spec-Ops Marine and Monster Hunter are available. Also, new clothing.
What say you?
04/08/2009 at 16:43 AnneLee09 says:
Yikes! I just bought my copy of Sims 3 does this expansion comes in a new CD along with Sims3? I hope I didn’t waste any money for Sims. I’m planning to play Sims 3 for now before Aion Online launches by then the next thing I’d be worrying is saving
aion kinah. Oh well, sentiments of a gamer.
04/08/2009 at 17:39 Lucee says:
I heard the Austrian expansion pack allows you to decorate a basement for your kids, complete with bolted door.
04/08/2009 at 23:41 sinister agent says:
In the sims 2 (and I presume 3), you can make a crazy old man who likes to breaks into your house late at night to shout at you impregnate a barmaid and marry her brother. How anyone can genuinely fail to see the appeal of the game on this alone is beyond me.
05/08/2009 at 05:36 JuJuCam says:
Sim Fortress.
While I mention it, in terms of hours of my life spent watching fake computer people go about fake computer lives with a certain degree of guidance from my all seeing hand of fate, Sims 3 and DF are about on par with one another for me. Fact is, I’m never gonna be good at shooting fast moving objects in an FPS, but it’s pretty easy to be good at watching a guy take out the trash and clean the kitchen. You get to a zen balance state with the Sims where you accept that you’re not so much playing as watching and poking. And that’s when you realise it’s 2am.
Fuck you, Sims. I should hate you but your meaningless digital lives are so much more compelling than my own meaningless analogue one.
06/08/2009 at 14:10 AWESOM-O says:
Erm…
Okay, how about this?
A sim version of Adam Sandler is introduced into the neighbourhood, dressed as a meatball, or something.