Sep 30, 2011
The Sims 3 demo launched, runs in a browser
PC Gamer
The Sims 3
EA have launched a Sims 3 demo that will theoretically run in your browser. The demo was announced on the EA site, spotted over on Blue's News, and contains "elements from The Sims 3, The Sims 3 Late Night, The Sims 3 World Adventures."

EA's link doesn't seem to work, but we managed to launch the demo from the Gakai front page, the service providing the streaming tech behind the trial. The demo is time limited to 20 minutes. You'll be able to create a sim and lead them to their a gruesome death in an Egyptian pyramid, a haunted house and a vampire lair. Or you could keep them safe and watch them live long, happy fulfilled lives, but where's the fun in that?
Jul 25, 2011
The Sims 3 Update Released
The Sims™ 3 - Valve
Generations Updates

• Baby Sims will no longer become stuck on a Sim’s hand while driving a car.
• Imaginary Friends who have been made real will now keep their unique outfit when aging up.
• Bunk Bed drop shadows will no longer shift places when a Sim climbs into one.
• Sims will now react to another Sim “Showing Off” a skill they learned at an afterschool class or club.
• The “Catch all Type of Fishes” memory will no long appear before the action has been completed.
• The screenshot for the “Enjoyed WooHoo in a Tree House” memory will no longer clip with the Tree House.
• Incorrect placement slots on the Loft Bed that show as valid locations have been removed.
• The “Temporarily Undead” moodlet will now correctly state what caused it when the Ghost Potion has been thrown at a Sim’s feet.
• Sims will no longer be spammed with Field Trip opportunities.
• Elder Sims will no longer reset when loading a Save Game that has them in the Harass with Cane interaction.
• Sims can now learn their Imaginary Friend’s traits much easier when they are turned into a live Sim.
• An issue where Gems and Metals in a Sim’s inventory became unusable once Generations was installed has been resolved.
• The footprint of a Daycare child will no longer be permanently left on the lot when the Active Household is changed.
• Babies and Toddlers will no longer go into a frozen state when a Social Worker comes to take them while they are being pushed in strollers.
• The wish to “Ride a Spring Rider” will no longer always appear after the interaction to ride a spring rider has been canceled.
• Shopping menus will no longer appear while inside of Camera Man Mode.
• The Imaginary Friend doll can no longer be buried in Sandboxes to prevent the Sim from losing it forever.
• Sims can now complete a Poltergeist Haunting job (Ambitions) if there is a Bunk or Loft Bed on the lot.
• Queued interactions while performing the Daycare Career will no longer be automatically canceled after putting a toddler down.
• Spiral Staircases can no longer be placed in areas that Sims cannot route to.
• Sims that have been turned into a Ghost will no longer receive an extra diploma.
• Sims can no longer have a negative amount of Memories in their Scrapbook.
• After purchasing a Bar (Late Night), Sims will no longer receive the “Bought a Bar” memory when purchasing any other type of property.
• The Motive Mobile will no longer be unintentionally used when returning from a Community Lot with a toddler, causing it to remain parked in front of the Sims’ home.
• The “Throw a Teen Party” wish will no longer appear while a Teen Party is already planned.
• Users can now select a Lifetime Wish for Teenagers who have aged up to Young Adults while away at Boarding School.
• Daycare children will no longer be abandoned on your Sim’s lot.
• Children now have the chance to be Scolded when performing “Dino Smash” on a doll house.
• Sims can no longer become stuck in Fences while in Camera Man Mode.
• Elder Sims who are arrested in the Criminal Career while using the Elder Cane will no longer become stuck.
• Ghost Sims will now remain floating when returning from Boarding School.
• Strollers will no longer disappear from a Sim’s inventory after leaving for a Free Vacation while pushing the stroller.
• Objects placed in a Sim’s inventory after they have accepted a “Free Vacation” opportunity will be restored when the Sim returns from vacation.
• The wish to “Attend Prom” will no longer appear while a Sim is attending Prom.
• Issues with the cutout for Spiral Staircase when placed in a basement have been resolved.
• Sims can now select the “Leave Me Alone” interaction on Imaginary Friends while playing in Bridgeport (Late Night).
• The “Give Gift” interaction on a computer will no longer be banned for Sims who have had their computer privileges revoked.
• Sims who are under the influence of the Ghost Potion will now be able to use Subways (Late Night).
• Potions that a Sim has already learned how to create will now be available on Chemistry Tables when placed in Vacation Worlds.
• Sims using a stroller can no longer become stuck if a user alters the terrain in Build/Buy Mode while the Sim and stroller are routing.
• Sims can now interact with objects inside a Bar (Late Night) after the venue has closed during a Bachelor/ette Party.
• A Sim’s route path will no longer become broken when moving a Spiral Staircase while a Sim is in motion.
• Butlers (Late Night) will no longer become stuck in the sidewalk after canceling the Learn to Drive interaction with him.
• Players will no longer be spammed by the "Go for a stroll using the Stroller" wish.
• The Imaginary Friend can no longer lose their unique outfit when the game is saved and loaded while the Imaginary Friend is being turned real.
• Unplayable states where Adults die when children are away at Boarding School have been resolved.
• The Guest List will no longer become blocked after adding kids and children and then changing the party type to Bachelor/ette Party.
• The “Plan Outfit” interaction will no longer break the functionality of the Costume Chest.
• Sims who die while under the influence of the Ghost Potion will now properly appear as a Ghost after dying.
• The household size limit can no longer be exceeded by using Clone Vouchers.
• Hopscotch Courts will no longer lose functionality when a Sim who has motive stress plays hopscotch with another Sim.
• Videos created with the Video Camera on vacation worlds can now be replayed when returning to the home world.
• The Scold interaction will now only be performed once when having two adults in the same room where a Child Sim is setting a booby trap.
• Bar speakers will now be turned off when Party Dancers begin dancing at a Bar (Late Night) during a Bachelor/ette Party.
• The Graduate interaction on City Hall will now be available when loading a game that was saved on the day a Sim was supposed to graduate.
• The “Make Radical Reparum Potion” wish will no longer reappear right after fulfilling it.
• Sims who are on fire will no longer be forced to attend graduation before they can put themselves out.
• Sims enrolled in the Daycare profession will now autonomously take better care of children while at work.
• An issue that causes a Sim’s plumbob to be temporarily displayed at the exit of a Tree House has been remedied.
• A scroll bar will now appear when text in the Capture This Moment window exceeds the size of the window.
• The Imaginary Friend outfit for the Child aged Imaginary Friend will now work correctly with Create a Style.
• Sims who are in Boarding School when Generations is uninstalled will no longer be removed from the household when loading the saved game.
• Sims will now route properly to the location when selecting the “Visit lot with Date” interaction.
• An issue where Elevators (Late Night) become unusable when an Imaginary Friend turns to doll form inside of them has been resolved.
• Children will no longer play a broken animation when rejecting an opportunity over the phone.
• Children and Teens can no longer die from motive failure while on a Time Out.
• An issue where NPC Sims using a Tree House would prevent player controlled Sims from using it has been fixed.
• The Repoman can no longer repossess Spiral Staircases.
• Castle Bunk and Loft beds now match the preset thumbnail images in Buy Mode.
• Sims who are enrolled in Boarding School just before an Adult Sim accepts a Free Vacation opportunity will no longer be removed from the game.
• The Imaginary Friend will no longer be removed from the game after using the ResetSim cheat on it.
• The Erase Tool will now appear correctly when entering the Terrain Paints section of Build Mode and filtering it to an EP or SP with no terrain content.
• The Brush Shape in Build Mode will no longer freeze after having filtered to an EP or SP with no content in the current tab.
• The Launcher Help Files will now display properly when Firefox or Chrome is set as the default browser.
• Mac Only: Toilets will no longer overflow when switching between floors of a house after the toilet has been booby trapped.
• Mac Only: Fixes a crash issue that occurs when opening the Options Menu after playing the game for a while.
• Mac Only: Fixes a crash issue that occurs when opening the Scrapbook after playing the game for a while.
• Mac Only: Fixes a crash issue that occurs when clicking the “Share Memories” button after playing the game for a while.
• Fixes an issue where Sims would be unintentionally removed from Boarding School when the Prom of another Sim began.
• Fixes an issue where the game crashes after deleting a Fish Tank which has been placed on a foundation.
• Fixes a crash issue that occurs when a Sim practices making drinks with an Imaginary Friend.
• Fixes an issue where the “Return to Owner” interaction would not work properly when trying to return a stolen item through the mailbox.
• Fixes an issue where a Sim resets when attempting to play Hopscotch with an Imaginary Friend Doll.
• Fixes a crash issue that occurs when Platforms are placed on a lot after filtering Build Mode content to any EP or SP.
• Various fixes to Daycare and the Imaginary Friend involving the Edit Town mode.
• Various fixes to Children Sims not showing up correctly or staying too long at Daycare.
• Additional bug fixes and polish to existing features

Late Night Updates

• Vampire’s fangs have been restored.
• Objects with interactions will now work properly when placed on Sectional Seating tables.
• Corner Sectional Seats on lots in the Edit Town bin will now work properly when placed in a world.
• Children Sims will now correctly participate when “Ask to Join: Go for a Joy Ride” is selected on Sectional Seating.
• Fixes an issue where glass objects flicker when Advanced Rendering is turned on.

Ambitions Updates

• Laundromat Venues can now be purchased through the Real Estate menu.

World Adventures Updates

• Sand Piles and Tomb décor will no longer be visible in an unexplored tomb.
• An issue that broke functionality for Nectar Bottles and Nectar Racks has been resolved.
• Photos taken with cameras from World Adventures will now be properly saved to the inventory.
• Objects placed in a Sim’s Family Inventory will no longer disappear when returning from a Vacation world.

Base Game Updates

• Fences that were designed to be transparent will no longer be opaque when Advanced Rendering is turned off.
• The Downloads Dashboard will no longer ask you to log in after already being logged in.
• Children will no longer float when sitting on certain fountain sculptures.
• Bookshelves in Library venues will correctly stock books when the venue is placed from the Edit Town bin.
• Additional bug fixes and polish to existing features

May 4, 2011
EA Week - The Sims Day
The Sims™ 3 - Valve
Enjoy huge savings during EA Week! Be sure to check back every day for more great deals.

Save 40% on The Sims 3, save 50% on all The Sims 3 DLC and save 75% on SimCity 4 Deluxe!

Offer ends on Thursday at 10am PST.

Apr 6, 2011
The Sims 3: Generations to add invisible friends, memories and mid life crises
PC Gamer

The next Sims 3 expansion pack will add a host of new activities for your sims at every stage of their lives. Young sims can build treehouses, teenagers can attend their school prom, and fully grown sims can have a full blown mid life crisis that allows them to change their hair style and colour, and hopefully blow all their savings on a collection of sports cars.

As well as being able to throw new events like expensive wedding ceremonies and teen house parties, The Sims 3: Generations will also add a collection of new hobbies and activities will let you accidentally kill your sims in a series of new and spectacular ways.

Experimental chemistry sets will be a new source of fun and horrible explosive death for your sims, but safer activities will also be available, including the option to throw bachelor parties. Younger sims will be able to pull pranks, plant toilet bombs and have imaginary friends. A new memories system will let you keep track of your sims' major life events, and post their progress on Facebook.

Generations is due out this spring, for more information on the new expansion, head over to the official Sims 3 site.
Feb 28, 2011
Play Mass Effect 2 and Dead Space 2 in your browser right now, no special plugin needed
Mass Effect 2 (2010 Edition)

If you fancy having your mind somewhat blown, try playing the Mass Effect 2 demo in your browser. Unlike most graphically impressive browser games, this isn't a huge download running via a special plugin: all you need is Flash and Java, which you likely already do, and you'll be playing in a few seconds. The only catch is you need a good connection - about 10Mb/s - and the demo won't appear if you don't.

The service is called Gaikai, and it's live in 12 countries right now. The focus is on letting you into the game with no fuss or sign-up process, so it's perfect for demos. At the end of the Mass Effect 2 or Dead Space 2 demos available now, you get a link to buy the full game.

If the Mass Effect 2 demo link doesn't pop up when you visit the Gaikai site, try the Spore one - it has the same requirements but it'll tell you what's wrong if it doesn't work.



The service has actually been running in a low-profile way for a couple of months. There's a slight lag on interactions when playing on our office connection, but performance is generally very good. Since it's web based, it means you can now play these PC games on a Mac or Linux system. It's set to be demonstrated in full at the Games Developer Conference this week.

Unlike the similar game-streaming service, OnLive, Gaikai doesn't charge for its services and allows users to play in their browser right away. At the moment it only offers some choice selections from EA, but is hoping to move onto including a larger catalogue of blockbuster hits from them and other publishers.

Writing on his blog CEO David Perry explains that he hopes to eventually end up with servers in every major city in the world to stream data from, saying that "if engineers work really hard, they can maybe squeeze out another thousandth of a second from our compression but if we set up in a data center two states closer to your house, we dramatically improve the performance".

The creator of Earthworm Jim hopes to eventually expand the service to allow YouTube-style embedding of demos on websites, and the service will eventually work with Facebook. The aim is to have the embedded demos appear on Facebook, and at the end of reviews, so players can hop straight in and play.

Other demos currently available include Spore, The Sims 3 and, after completing a short survey, Dead Space 2.

Let us know if they work on your connection and, if so, how the performance feels to you.
Jan 28, 2011
The Sims 3 and all expansions are now available on Steam
PC Gamer

The Sims 3 is now on Steam, bringing interactive soap operas, dysfunctional families and suburban nudist colonies to your Steam account. The game's many expansion packs are also on Valve's digital download service, including World Adventures, which lets you take your sims treasure hunting in exotic and often booby-trapped locations, and Late Night, which lets you take your sims out on the town. There's also a bundle deal offering the Sims 3 and all five expansions for half price. I'm off to build my sims a glorious mansion, and then delete all the doors and watch the carnage unfold.
Jan 27, 2011
Now Available - The Sims 3
The Sims™ 3 - Valve
One of the most popular PC franchises in history has arrived on Steam! The Sims 3 along with all expansions are now available.

Create over a million unique Sims and control their lives!

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