EA has revealed the first details of Sims 3, the next generation of its multi-million selling life simulation. Due sometime next year, the game will feature a totally new engine, as well as a host of intriguing features.
Paramount, perhaps, is the new open neighbourhood system, which gives players seamless access to the outiside world, rather than the rather limited 'community lots' system from Sims Unleashed, Sims 2, etc. You'll be able to head out, shop, meet virtual pals, spy on neighbours, etc. There's also a much more detailed and intricate create-a-sim feature, allowing players to fine tune skin tone, body shape and hair styles from a large array of options. There are increased customisation options in the home, too, "from floors to flowers, fashions to sofas, wallpaper to window shades and more..."
But is there still a place for The Sims as a major phenomenon?
Oh sure, the series is enormous, and still shifting add-ons and expansionpacks in huge numbers. And EA, of course, has a whole section of its business dedicated to this one franchise. But when you think about it, the first title was released in 2000 - three years before Second Life, four years before World of Warcraft, five years before Club Penguin and several years before the explosion of sites like Facbook and Myspace. It could be argued that since The Sims invented and marketed the concept of the mainstream life simulation, the online virtual community has emerged and more-or-less taken over its role as a computerised social experience.
Are the people who bought and enjoyed The Sim back in the day, now involved in real-life virtual communities? Are they now playing Pogo and Popcap games, while updating their Bebo pages and keeping tabs on their Second Life identity? Have they moved beyond the solo, imaginative environment represented by Will Wright's simulation? Even if they haven't, I wonder if the game can ever be the overwhelmingly popular and discussed experience it once was.
On the other hand it could be arriving at just the right time. There's talk of Facebook fatigue; according to market research company ComScore, the number of MySpace users dropped from 72 million in October to 68.9 million in December 2007. Second Life is hard to get into, and once you're in, you're at the mercy of griefers and, well, strangers who use virtual identities as disguises. You're still playing games, but you don't always know the rules.
But the Sims universe is your universe - it's a solipsistic comfort zone. The NPCs may have their own agendas, but they're working within a readable, logical construction. By extending the game to include a simulacrum of an online virtual world, EA is offering the pre-supposed advantages of virtual exploration and interaction, without the inconvenience of actually having to deal with other people. Not only that, but you can also customise the world in your own way, and you don't have to worry about pleasing or offending others.
To paraphrase Woody Allen, don't knock The Sims, it's virtual interaction with someone you love.
