The Sims Online

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The Sims Online

The Sims Gone Global

The Sims is a computer game known to a countless amount of players. Having sold thousands of games from The Sims series players were ready for a new veranda to display their art--Sims in the online world. Subsequent to the release of The Sims: Superstar-the final expansion pack in The Sims series-players weren’t ready to quit painting away at the art they created in each of the sims games nor would they put their brushes down just yet; they demanded the series to go online. Publisher Electronic Arts teamed up with developer Maxis to create The Sims Online on December 17, 2002. Which became the perfect environment for any devoted player to express their artistic talent whether they crafted a sim family or house. Anything anyone created could now be seen not only by just the family of an individual gamer but the entire world. The world would be the artist’s audience. The Sims Online consisted of several different features gathered from previous Sims games and plenty new to keep a player’s creative mind flowing. With several different cities to play from, gamers created tons of different sims, aliens, bears, gorillas, and much-much more. For every sims there had to be a house in mind so players got to thinking and began creating from a massive gallery of ideas different styles of houses, spaceships, zoos, forests, resorts, beaches, and many-many more. Many players enjoyed the aspect of making friends and chatting with real people who were actually playing as other sims in game. Nobody was shocked to see players also using up much of their time skilling, getting a job to make money, or spending hard-earned cash on a wide-selection of objects from the object catalog. The staff assigned to help and support players enjoyed the game so much they added in holidays and gave gifts out to each player specific to each holiday-pumpkins on Halloween, cakes on birthdays. Time passed but unfortunately The Sims Online wasn’t destined to be as the true art as many players thought. After a brief change to the game going from The Sims Online to EA Land and having new staff assigned things just weren’t the same. EA Land was brought to it’s brutal but widely-celebrated end on August 1, 2008.

The Sims Online
North American Box Art
Developer	Maxis
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Platform	Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Windows 95,98,XP
Release Date(s)	Dec 17, 2002 (NA)
Genre	Life simulation game, online game
Rating	(T) Teen Comic Mischief Mature Sexual Themes Mild Violence

Payment to Play

Payment was required of players to play The Sims Online game. To become a registered member of The Sims Online players had to pay 10 dollars per month to Electronic Arts through their individual accounts. Accounts could be created along with a purchase of the game at any local store during the time of mass production 2002-2006. Around the year 2007 stores took The Sims Online off their shelves but the game was then available for download off the game's main site-which after the game's death was shut down. Downloading The Sims Online off the site would allow players to create an account and upload the game onto their computer. They were still required to pay $10 per month to become an active member of the game.

Members who quit the game but wanted to rejoin were allowed so but all sims created on their accounts would be deleted along with their houses after a period of 90 days of no payment. Player's accounts that had their sims deleted would also lose all skills and items that they had collected off each sim.

One cause to the downfall of The Sims Online can be related to having to pay to play the online game. Some hardcore players of The Sims games weren't willing to pay to play the newest installment of the series during the birth of the online game which is why it didn't recieve enough players to keep it running.

View of EA Land
Created on February 17, 2008 with one last hope of survival
EA Land was an ill-attempt to save The Sims Online.
After new staff left the game, leaving EA Land alone to help
bring back what the game once was, new features just weren't the
same and on August 1, 2008 after sun rise EA Land was gone.
Players faught to keep EA Land alive but their fight just wasn't enough.

The Sims Online Featurettes
Creating an Online Character
Online Items
Housing Online
How to Make Online Money
The Worldwide Jobs
Sims Will Always Skill!
Worldwide Modes
Worldwide Locations
The New Features of Online