MySims

From Ultimatewiki

MySims (ぼくとシムのまち, Boku to Sim no Machi?), previously known as The Sims Wii, is an upcoming title developed by EA Games for Nintendo's Wii and DS consoles based on Maxis' The Sims series. The game is slated for a Fall 2007 release.

Overview

Wii MySims gameplay revolves around players fixing up a house in their grandparents' rundown town where only a few residents live. The mayor also gives you the opportunity to try lure new residents to the town. It is also revealed that "miserable" residents who don't like the player's town will migrate to a volcanic game location.

In contrast, the DS version takes place in a vacation resort with the player tasked with the job to lure in tourists.

Apart from creating a custom Mii-like character, players can also modify their houses and build furniture and appliances using a selection of building blocks. There will be up to 80 characters to interact with in the Wii version (30 characters in the DS version), including a mad scientist, a magician, a chef, a hair dresser and a florist amongst others. Some of these characters may ask the player to build things for them; for example the chef may request an oven be constructed for him. As with other Sims games, meeting people and forming relationships will be a major gameplay focus.

Other features include the ability to grow flowers and plants by planting seeds outside, and extracting "essences" from the player's objects which can be used for decoration. The DS version will have a number of mini games including fishing. On the Wii, the Nunchuk will be utilized for "direct movement", with the remote for object moving and building. The DS version will support the touch screen and microphone.

Compared to previous Sims titles, MySims has a more cartoonish and anime-inspired look, with chibified character designs. They are modeled after the popular Japanese dolls Pinky Street. This was the idea of Emmy Toyonaga; in Official Nintendo Magazine she quotes "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." In Nintendo Power, designer Robin Hunicke claims that the character designs also imply "youthfulness ", and that the aesthetic was chosen for "world-wide appeal", while referencing the lesser sales of previous Sims games in Japan compared to other territories.