5 million sign up for new Facebook spin off The Sims Social

August 19th, 2011, 22:51 Posted By: wraggster

Facebook game The Sims Social has debuted with with 4,859,046 million monthly active users after leaving public beta.
842,032 new users have started playing the title today, with 3,665,510 joining in the last week.
The game is published by EA and developed by PlayFish, the social gaming developer acquired by EA in 2009.
"When we created The Sims Social, it was important for us to incorporate the deep gameplay nuances The Sims Studio has perfected and leverage what Playfish does best- develop compelling, cutting-edge social-gaming experiences," said John Earner, GM of Playfish's London Studios.
"Our deep knowledge of the Facebook gaming platform enables us to continue to enable dynamic new features, quests and game updates on a regular basis so The Sims Social remains fresh and fun."
The game has been in development since October, a relatively long time for a Facebook title, and will offer items from advertising partners, such Dunkin' Donuts, in game.
Co-founder and designer with independent developer Honeyslug, and long time Sims player, Nat Marco gave GamesIndustry.biz her expert opinion on the title.
"Unlike other Sims titles, Sims Social moves away from sandbox style gameplay and gives users a much more structured experience. Core elements of the Sims franchise, such as virtual pet-esque avatars and creativity in terms of house building/decorating are all present in simplified Facebook friendly forms," said Marco.
"On the other hand, those who aren't used to Facebook games and are hoping for a more classic Sims experience, might be disappointed. My favourite elements of the Sims have been omitted, such as the ability to have families and the general freedom to play the game however you wish."
Currently Cityville is the most popular Facebook game, with nearly 76,000,000 MAU. At its peak it had over 100 million. CityVille managed 22 million MAU after 11 days live, and The Sims Social seems to be on track to challenge that figure.
The Sims is the best selling PC franchise in history, with over 100 million copies of Sims games sold and a dedicated online community.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...social-article

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