Will "Sims Online" alter gaming world?

[Jewels]

Will "Sims Online" alter gaming world?


By David Becker
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
December 14, 2002, 6:00 AM PT


The last time Will Wright had a bright idea for a computer game, he had to develop it in secret, behind the backs of doubtful coworkers and executives.
This time, the whole world is paying attention as Wright--creator of "SimCity" and "The Sims," the biggest selling computer game of all time, prepares to offer up "The Sims Online."

The multiplayer version of "The Sims," set to debut Tuesday, has been hailed as the first major test of whether subscription-based online gaming can appeal to a mass audience. Executives at Electronic Arts, parent company of Wright's Maxis studio, have touted the game as vindication of the company's substantial investment in online gaming. And the 8 million or so people playing the offline version of "The Sims" have some pretty firm ideas about how the online version should work.


All in all, Wright is starting to prefer obscurity.



read more... (http://news.com.com/2100-1040-977912.html?tag=fd_top)

[The Evil Couch]

yes and no.

as a game for gamers, it's not very good. many fans of the offline versions prefer the offline version and hardcore gamers in general, have eschewed TSO.

however, for people as a whole, the typical computer users who have no want to rescue the princess, destroy the evil blah, or save the world, it's pretty ideal; it doesn't take much intelligence, there's no losing, and you can meet lots of new friends.

it has its own problems, such as cities filling up so rapidly, that if you have a friend that you want to play with, you'd better create your characters fairly soon after each other, lest you be stuck living in seperate cities.

has TSO been a ground-breaking changing of gaming as we know it? no. not by a long shot. but it has brought in a great deal of casual gamers into the ranks of the gaming addicts.

[riptyde]

i'm not an addict. i can stop anytime i want!














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