Electronic Arts’ Maxis division has released The Sims Mobile, a highly anticipated version of the popular The Sims franchise, internationally on iOS and Android devices. The Sims has always been a large source of revenue for EA and this latest release should see even more money going into the pockets of EA (maybe it’ll stop them from questionable loot box practices – a man can dream right?)
Traditionally, The Sims is a game that requires a lot of time to be poured in by the player and provides a surprising amount of depth. I can remember spending hours building up my house just the way I wanted it then relentlessly keeping my Sim awake until he passed out – The Sims was our first taste of freedom when it came to treating virtual avatars as we wanted. The mobile version of the game is said to provide the same amount of depth but it’s delivery to the user doesn’t happen out of the gate. Instead, players are gradually fed the various systems as they play.
The Sims Mobile is monetized in a way that should be familiar to mobile players. Your actions throughout the day consume a resource (energy) and when it runs out you have to let your sim autopilot until it regenerates. Additionally, events that are usually timed in so manner, like going to work, can be made shorter with in-game purchases to ‘help out’ your Sim. With a few hours of gameplay, everything will open up a bit more and allow you to make more custom sims, get a roommate, etc.
In the end, Maxis has successfully condensed down the full The Sims series into an easy to play, accessible game that can be played in the spaces between your daily tasks. And while the full sandbox experience many have come to love has been trimmed a bit The Sims Mobile still offers a very focused gameplay experience. You can download it for Android and iOS today as a free to play title.
