MySims
Encyclopedia
MySims, formerly The Sims Wii and Nintendo Sims, is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores
and published by Electronic Arts
as a spinoff to Maxis
' The Sims
franchise for the Nintendo DS
and Wii
in 2007, then re-released for Microsoft Windows
and Mobile phone
in 2008.
It is the first game in the MySims series and is followed by MySims Kingdom
, MySims Party
, MySims Racing
, MySims Agents
, and MySims SkyHeroes
.
It can be viewed as a spiritual sequel to Sim Town.
-like character, players may also modify their houses and build furniture and appliances using a selection of building blocks. This gives the player more building options, allowing them to create objects by using blueprint
s, a change from the usual virtual catalog found in The Sims. There are 80 characters with whom the player may interact in the Wii version (30 characters in the Nintendo DS version), such as a mad scientist, a magician, a librarian, a pizza chef, and a martial arts teacher. Some of these characters may ask the player to build things for them. As with previous Sims games, meeting people and forming relationships is a major gameplay focus. Becoming a Sim's best friend will earn the player either a special blueprint not available anywhere else in the game, or a style of clothing for their wardrobe. Players can also earn blueprints by performing tasks for Commercial Sims (Sims who have their own businesses). Typically this involves building around 5-10 items for Sims, depending on the Star Level (the 1-5 level) of the player's town and the essences they have access to.
A feature new to MySims is "Essences". They can be found in various locations in town or by interacting with Sims or objects. Essences are used for a number of things including paint for the walls of houses, construction of items, as well as decoration. The mini-games in the DS Version include racquetball, paragliding, Scuba diving and more.
character designs. This was Emmy Toyonaga's idea; in Official Nintendo Magazine she remarked: "Well, Mario
and other Nintendo characters are pretty short and stubby. Also, being Japanese, I'm used to the mindset that fun games should have shorter, stubbier characters. So these characters kind of came naturally".Official Nintendo Magazine, March 2007 In Nintendo Power
, designer Robin Hunicke said that the character designs also imply youthfulness, and that the aesthetic was chosen for worldwide appeal, while referring to the lesser sales of previous Sims games in Japan compared to other territories.
According to Official Nintendo Magazine one of the characters in MySims, Chaz McFreely, is based on their then editor, Chandra Nair.
Buddy the Bellhop, Vic Vector, Jenny, Stephen Albright, Professor Nova, Dr.F, Gertrude Spackle, Ian Arneson, Liberty, Star (uber sim), Brendan, Clayton Dander, Rob Jarrett, Spencer, Alexa Lexington, Tanisha and Talijue T*.
Cute Sims
Poppy, Ms. Nicole Vogue, Clara Belle, Shirley, Dolly Dearheart, Bean Bradley, Jeremy Snoars, Pinky, Hopper (uber sim), Beebee, Billy, Penelope, Renee, Taylor, Terry Toymender*.
Fun Sims
DJ Candy Supergroove, Rhonda, Roger, Travis, Master Aran, Sandra, Cap'n Ginny, Annie Radd, Odin Revolution, Amazing Daryl (uber sim), Chaz McFreely, Pablo, Summer, Flipper*.
Studious Sims
Mayor Rosalyn P. Marshall, Elmira Clamp, Gordon, Matt, Trevor Verily, Amelia, Linda, Makoto, Samurai Bob (uber sim), Abigail, Eliza, Louis, Yvette, Natalia Roshmanov*.
Tasty Sims
Patrick Rhino, Chef Gino Delicioso, Roxie Road, Maria, Chef Watanabe, Grandma Ruthie, Edwin, Sasha, Chancellor Ikara (uber sim), Iggy, Jimmy Watanabe, Karine, Noelle, Michael, Cedella*.
Spooky Sims
Violet Nightshade, Sir Vincent Skullfinder, Cassandra, Ray, Goth Boy, Raven Wright, Madame Zoe, Crystal, Yuki, Mel (uber sim), Blaine, Brandi, Esma, Morcubus, Wendalyn*.
Anyone with a * is an exclusive character to the PC version of the game.
An uber sim is a sim that comes to your town once it reaches the maximum interest.
.
Visceral Games
Visceral Games is a video game development studio internally owned by Electronic Arts. They are perhaps best known for the critically acclaimed Dead Space series.-History:...
and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
as a spinoff to Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
' The Sims
The Sims (series)
The Sims is a video game series developed by Maxis and later by The Sims Studio, and published by Electronic Arts. It is one of the most successful video games series of all time...
franchise for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
in 2007, then re-released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
in 2008.
It is the first game in the MySims series and is followed by MySims Kingdom
MySims Kingdom
MySims Kingdom is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spinoff to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Nintendo DS and Wii in 2008...
, MySims Party
MySims Party
The game received mixed reviews among critics. Reviews for the DS version were generally more positive, with the Wii version reciving big criticism on use of controls. IGN said "At best, the mini-games of MySims Party offer a simple diversion for children...
, MySims Racing
MySims Racing
MySims Racing is a go-kart/car racing video game developed by Electronic Arts as a spin-off from its trademark The Sims series of simulation games...
, MySims Agents
MySims Agents
MySims Agents is a mystery-solving adventure game for the Nintendo DS and Wii, in which the player must guide agents in an effort to stop the sinister plans of Morcubus, lord of the criminal underworld...
, and MySims SkyHeroes
MySims SkyHeroes
MySims SkyHeroes is a video game developed by Behaviour Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in the MySims series. This is the sixth game in the MySims series. The game was released on September 28, 2010. MySims SkyHeroes was released for the Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3,...
.
It can be viewed as a spiritual sequel to Sim Town.
Features
Apart from creating a custom MiiMii
A is a digital avatar used in Nintendo's Wii and Nintendo 3DS gaming consoles. They allow users to capture a likeness of themselves and others. After creating one using the Wii's Mii Channel or the Nintendo 3DS's Mii Maker, they can be used as playable characters in various titles for the...
-like character, players may also modify their houses and build furniture and appliances using a selection of building blocks. This gives the player more building options, allowing them to create objects by using blueprint
Blueprint
A blueprint is a type of paper-based reproduction usually of a technical drawing, documenting an architecture or an engineering design. More generally, the term "blueprint" has come to be used to refer to any detailed plan....
s, a change from the usual virtual catalog found in The Sims. There are 80 characters with whom the player may interact in the Wii version (30 characters in the Nintendo DS version), such as a mad scientist, a magician, a librarian, a pizza chef, and a martial arts teacher. Some of these characters may ask the player to build things for them. As with previous Sims games, meeting people and forming relationships is a major gameplay focus. Becoming a Sim's best friend will earn the player either a special blueprint not available anywhere else in the game, or a style of clothing for their wardrobe. Players can also earn blueprints by performing tasks for Commercial Sims (Sims who have their own businesses). Typically this involves building around 5-10 items for Sims, depending on the Star Level (the 1-5 level) of the player's town and the essences they have access to.
A feature new to MySims is "Essences". They can be found in various locations in town or by interacting with Sims or objects. Essences are used for a number of things including paint for the walls of houses, construction of items, as well as decoration. The mini-games in the DS Version include racquetball, paragliding, Scuba diving and more.
Character design
Compared to previous Sims titles, MySims has a more Chibi-inspired look, with super deformedSuper deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
character designs. This was Emmy Toyonaga's idea; in Official Nintendo Magazine she remarked: "Well, Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and other Nintendo characters are pretty short and stubby. Also, being Japanese, I'm used to the mindset that fun games should have shorter, stubbier characters. So these characters kind of came naturally".Official Nintendo Magazine, March 2007 In Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, designer Robin Hunicke said that the character designs also imply youthfulness, and that the aesthetic was chosen for worldwide appeal, while referring to the lesser sales of previous Sims games in Japan compared to other territories.
According to Official Nintendo Magazine one of the characters in MySims, Chaz McFreely, is based on their then editor, Chandra Nair.
The Sims
Geeky SimsBuddy the Bellhop, Vic Vector, Jenny, Stephen Albright, Professor Nova, Dr.F, Gertrude Spackle, Ian Arneson, Liberty, Star (uber sim), Brendan, Clayton Dander, Rob Jarrett, Spencer, Alexa Lexington, Tanisha and Talijue T*.
Cute Sims
Poppy, Ms. Nicole Vogue, Clara Belle, Shirley, Dolly Dearheart, Bean Bradley, Jeremy Snoars, Pinky, Hopper (uber sim), Beebee, Billy, Penelope, Renee, Taylor, Terry Toymender*.
Fun Sims
DJ Candy Supergroove, Rhonda, Roger, Travis, Master Aran, Sandra, Cap'n Ginny, Annie Radd, Odin Revolution, Amazing Daryl (uber sim), Chaz McFreely, Pablo, Summer, Flipper*.
Studious Sims
Mayor Rosalyn P. Marshall, Elmira Clamp, Gordon, Matt, Trevor Verily, Amelia, Linda, Makoto, Samurai Bob (uber sim), Abigail, Eliza, Louis, Yvette, Natalia Roshmanov*.
Tasty Sims
Patrick Rhino, Chef Gino Delicioso, Roxie Road, Maria, Chef Watanabe, Grandma Ruthie, Edwin, Sasha, Chancellor Ikara (uber sim), Iggy, Jimmy Watanabe, Karine, Noelle, Michael, Cedella*.
Spooky Sims
Violet Nightshade, Sir Vincent Skullfinder, Cassandra, Ray, Goth Boy, Raven Wright, Madame Zoe, Crystal, Yuki, Mel (uber sim), Blaine, Brandi, Esma, Morcubus, Wendalyn*.
Anyone with a * is an exclusive character to the PC version of the game.
An uber sim is a sim that comes to your town once it reaches the maximum interest.
Reception
MySims has received fairly mixed, but generally decent reviews. It is known for having colorful graphics, and cheery and fun gameplay, but criticized for having too much focus on construction and collecting essences. IGN said that "The problem is that nearly all of the objectives revolve around the same two tasks: the collection of essences and the construction of houses, buildings and items. All of the Sim management and social interaction elements of the previous games – well, you're not going to find much of that in the streamlined Wii affair". GameSpot praised the Wii game for the construction being intuitive and flexible and for the presentation being cheery and clean. It was also criticized for having longer than usual load times. Its Nintendo DS counterpart is regarded as virtually an all new game in design; However, reception of its control scheme varied greatly. Resolution Magazine said the game would be enjoyed by "those whose age is a single digit," but that the game would grow quickly tiresome for anybody else.Sequels
Five sequels have been announced for MySims. They are MySims Kingdom, released October 28, 2008; MySims Party, released in March 2009; MySims Racing, released in Summer of 2009; MySims Agents, released in Fall of 2009, and MySims SkyHeroes, which was released in September 2010. There is a planned sequel to MySims Agents that will be the seventh game in the series.Film and TV series
EA has officially announced "The Sims" the movie and a MySims animated television series in development at Film RomanFilm Roman
Film Roman is an animation studio founded by Phil Roman, best known for producing the animation for The Simpsons, King of the Hill for 20th Century Fox, as well as the Garfield and Peanuts animated TV specials....
.