The Sims 3...

[FrostyBoy]

no point us discussing this, this is a girls game.

If it were tailor made for guys, you would be able to murder, destroy, drive cars into stuff, steal stuff, etc, which is what I was hoping for in Sims 1. Turned out, the worst I could do make him live like a slob.

[lord of the mark]

I cant think of successful series that doesnt go to a number 3, and usually with xpacks and ports and spinoffs. Sims has an unusual number of xpacks cause a very large portion of its audience is interested in it as a virtual dollhouse, and they can keep packaging extra "stuff", IIUC (i dont know for sure as we only have the livin large xpack which came with the sims deluxe edition)

The first sims is an interesting concept with MANY limitations in execution in terms of lack of challenge, weakness of the simulation, weakness of the AI etc. Those looking for a dollhouse didnt care, and those looking for a life sim didnt really have many superior alternatives. I dont know how much Sims2 improved things, as I havent played it, but my impression from here and elsewhere is that it improved it only marginally. I read the GFW article and found the article interesting, and I am eager to see if Sims3 improves the game more than marginally.

[DrSpike]

It wont - but the same Sunday gamers will buy it so it wont matter.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DrSpike
It wont - but the same Sunday gamers will buy it so it wont matter.

Have you read the article doc?

Not that i trust hype articles, but it really did sound like they were taking it in some new directions.

Of course it will remain a broadly casual game I expect, it would be a mistake to try and make this franchise for the hardcore (if you could even make a good hardcore game in this genre which Im not certain of) the hardcore wont touch it anyway cause of its reputation, and it would alienate almost their entire fanbase. But it looks like it MAY emphasize some aspects of its casual base - the storytellers - and less the house decorators.

[Solver]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
I cant think of successful series that doesnt go to a number 3, and usually with xpacks and ports and spinoffs.

Starcraft - one of the most successful RTS games ever, a huge competitive game. SC2 is only now in development and it's been 10 years since the original.

Half-Life - a very influential and well-received FPS series, it's also 10 years since the original later this year, there won't be a HL3 for I'd say at least 3 more years.

Doom - a genre-defining FPS that had its third game released a decade after the second.

Diablo, Baldur's Gate - cult RPG game series over a decade old, where third games haven't been released or announced.

Sims looks to be heading for a 3rd game less than 10 years after the first one - and indeed with a huge number of addons in between. That's certainly more than usual.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Solver


Starcraft - one of the most successful RTS games ever, a huge competitive game. SC2 is only now in development and it's been 10 years since the original.

Half-Life - a very influential and well-received FPS series, it's also 10 years since the original later this year, there won't be a HL3 for I'd say at least 3 more years.

Doom - a genre-defining FPS that had its third game released a decade after the second.

Diablo, Baldur's Gate - cult RPG game series over a decade old, where third games haven't been released or announced.

Sims looks to be heading for a 3rd game less than 10 years after the first one - and indeed with a huge number of addons in between. That's certainly more than usual.

Civ was up to 3 in that time, despite delays to the name mess, etc and the release of SMAC. AOE got to 3 in about that time, TW is up to its 4th and the fifth is comming, Settlers, HOMM, etc, etc.

Strategy games seem to have a different cycle than story oriented games like BG or HL (though HLs been releasing plenty of stuff, the and BG released a console game, and interplay kept on with related RPG's)

Starcraft is indeed unique - its very story oriented of course, and Blizzard was also focusing on the Warcraft (related of course) series. WC went to 3 in how many years?

I dont know enough about Doom or Diablo to really comment, but it does seem like the action market is quite different from the strat market.

I do note of course that my original comment didnt say "strategy" it said any successful series. I consider myself corrected in that regard, so thanks Solver

[FrostyBoy]

Women buy their games like they buy their shoes. (They keep doing it in short moments of time).

[Provost Harrison]

Ever been to a games store recently. Look at the sections nowadays: "Strategy", "RPG", "Racing", "FPS" and the biggest section of them all: "All those f**king Sims expansion packs. Talk about cashing in big time" which seems to take up most of the shop now...

[DrSpike]

Just wait for all the pointless Spore cash-in expansions - RPG, Strategy, Racing and FPS will probably be relegated to the back room at that point.

[Harovan]

Yes, but these other genres suck anyway.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
Ever been to a games store recently. Look at the sections nowadays: "Strategy", "RPG", "Racing", "FPS" and the biggest section of them all: "All those f**king Sims expansion packs. Talk about cashing in big time" which seems to take up most of the shop now...

I dont know about the UK, but over here PC games in general have been losing shelf space to console games in general. Sims games have been keeping PC sections alive in some places.

[FrostyBoy]

That is the case here lotm.

Ironically, here in Singapore we have a very famous IT shopping mall called Sim Lim Square, 7 levels of IT glory. There are about 10 shops that just sell games, 9 of them sell console and PC games, ONE of them sells just PC games, and it just so happens to the busiest of the lot.

The PC is a better machine. The PC vs Console war is a lot like the old Tortoise and the Hare tale. The Tortoise being the PC, it's somewhat slow, but it never stops and it doesn't care if its in front or behind, its not racing to be anywhere and in the end, it will win. The Hare is the console, always trying to be number 1, constantly proud of itself, everybody roots for it, thinking it will win but ultimately, it fails.

Unfortunately, Rockstar is releasing GTA4 for PS3 and XBox360, I have no doubt in my mind MS and Sony pushed for that kind of attention, but when GTA4 does come for PC, it will surely kick the console version square in the nuts. There are a LOT of people, who refuse to buy the game until it comes out on PC - and not just for revenge, but simply because they don't want to ruin the experience for themselves when they know the PC version will be better than the Console one. (Which is a dumbed down ****ing PC!)

[Urban Ranger]

That doesn't sound too bad. It's the "needs" crap that totally drove me away in the first place.

[bipolarbear]

http://thesims3.ea.com/cas.php

It's funny they talk about creating a "completely unique Sim" right after showing you 7 stereotyped Sims. I'm an unabashed sap though and will be purchasing this after the first price drop, and probably a few of the expansions (providing I'm not too busy ith Spore by that point )

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by bipolarbear

It's funny they talk about creating a "completely unique Sim" right after showing you 7 stereotyped Sims. I'm an unabashed sap though and will be purchasing this

Don't worry - you wont be alone, alas.