Apparently a recent news story in the Tapei Times makes mention not only the expected version of The Sims 2 for cell phones, but also of SimCity for the cell phones. This seems to be the first mention we have heard of SimCity for cell phones, although no details have been provided as to which SimCity engine the game will be based off of. Considering the latest mobile SimCity offerings, it is likely that the game will be based of SimCity 2000 (the mobile version of The Sims 2 looks to be based off of the original The Sims). The games are expected to cost $5, The Sims 2 availibe at the end of the year. You can read the entire snippet at the Tapei Times.

Happy Halloween!

A recent Business Week article, (http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2005/id20051024_317766.htm) discusses how the new console versions of the Sims differ not only significantly from the computer version, but also from each other. With significant quotes from Sinjin Bain, VP and EP of the The Sims 2, the story gives some interesting information for owners of multiple consoles and handheld systems, noting that, "you get a unique gameplay experience from each one."
Also discussed is the relative failure of The Urbz (although the game did very well it was the least popular part of The Sims series so far) as well as the new storyline based themes of the games.

Sim players who use Macs should not be too worried about playing their favorite games if they choose to get a new Intel Mac once they arrive. Indeed, there will be a tool called "Rosetta" that will act as a translator for non-X86 programs (classic OSX programs), however there are concerns that programs run under this mode will run slowly at best.

That is, until a recent article published by Apple pointed out that Aspyr is already working on translating their binaries to OSX86 form meaning that games like The Sims 2 and SimCity 4 should be fully compatible and run at full speed on the new Intel Macs. You can read the full details in the Apple article.

A heads up to anyone curious about Will Wright's upcoming Spore, new screenshots can be found at SimUnion, coming from both SimsZone.de and Gaming Steve's fourms. You can view all of the screenshots at the SimUnion article.

A special holiday version of The Sims 2 is set to hit store shelves November 17th. Adding 40 new items. the Holiday Edition will be an expanded version of The Sims 2. Users who currently own The Sims 2, but do not want to repurchase the game will be able to buy The Sims 2 Holiday Party Pack. Full details on The Sims 2 Holiday Edition and the Party Pack, as well as screenshots, can be found on TheSims2.com.

Want to get yourself a copy of The Sims 2 for PS2, perhaps even before the game hits store shelves? Well, now you can, simply by joining SimGlobal's forums and posting! Five posts a day and you have yourself an entry, each entry good for the day you post. And don't worry because we have 20 discs to hand out and we will be running the contest until they are gone. You can read the full rules and details on the forum post.