MySims

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MySims
Developer(s)EA Redwood Shores
TOSE (NDS)
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Designer(s)Hunter Howe
Robin Hunicke
SeriesThe Sims
Platform(s)Wii, Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, Mobile phone, BlackBerry
ReleaseDS, Wii
  • NA: September 18, 2007
  • AU: September 20, 2007
  • EU: September 21, 2007
Windows
  • NA: October 28, 2008
  • EU: October 31, 2008
  • AU: November 6, 2008
Mobile
2008
BlackBerry
August 13, 2009
Genre(s)Life simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

MySims is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spin-off to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Wii and Nintendo DS in September 2007, re-released for Microsoft Windows and mobile phones in 2008,[1] and for BlackBerry in 2009.

Overview[edit]

Gameplay[edit]

The game puts players in charge of redeveloping a town that has become run down because a resident who had the power to use essences moved away. Through creative building and design elements, players will take over the new role as a government leader to improve the town, which attracts new residents, who subsequently need homes built for them. Customization is a large element of the game, including houses, furniture and outfits.[citation needed]

Apart from creating a custom Mii-like character, players may also modify their houses and build furniture and appliances using a selection of building blocks.[2] This gives the player more building options, allowing them to create objects by using blueprints, 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, but unlike The Sims games, the characters do not have to fulfil needs such as hunger and sleep. 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 minigames in the DS Version include racquetball, paragliding, Scuba diving and more. The GameBoy Advance version of this title was scrapped early in development.

Character design[edit]

Compared to previous Sims titles, MySims has a more Chibi-inspired look, with cute 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 came naturally." In March 2007, designer Robin Hunicke said in Nintendo Power that the character designs 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. MySims also differs from The Sims games by introducing a designed cast of characters rather than procedurally-generated "townies". Every NPC the player encounters has their own name, personality, and backstory.

Music[edit]

The game's music was composed by John Enroth and Silas Hite of Mutato Muzika. The music changes depending on what type of building the player is visiting. There is a specific motif for each business and for each Interest, which will play when the player approaches a building.

Reception[edit]

The game received "average" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3][4][5] In Japan, where the Wii version was ported for release under the name Boku to Sim no Machi (ぼくとシムのまち, Boku to Shimu no Machi) on September 27, 2007, followed by the DS version under the name Boku to Sim no Machi: Resort ni Genki o Torimodosō! (ぼくとシムのまち リゾートに元気をとりもどそう!, Boku to Shimu no Machi Risōto ni Genki o Torimodosō!) on December 6, 2007, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40 for the former,[10] and 28 out of 40 for the latter.[9]

IGN said of the Wii version, "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."[21] GameSpot praised the same console version for the construction being intuitive and flexible and for the presentation being cheery and clean.[15] 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.

GameZone gave the PC version a score of seven out of ten, saying, "Geared more for younger players, MySims is a nice little experience with a linear story arc that players will have to play to unlock the wide variety of content."[29] However, Edge gave the Wii version a score of six out of ten, saying, "Residents themselves are a colourless bunch, a series of knowing archetypes – goth girls, hip DJs, Italian chefs – that lack the effortless charm of Animal Crossing's simple ciphers."[30]

In 2008, Edge reported that more than 1 million units of the game had been sold in the US.[31] The game was featured among the best-selling Nintendo DS video games.

Sequels[edit]

Five sequels have been released for the video game MySims.

Game Release Date
MySims Kingdom October 28, 2008
MySims Party March 10, 2009
MySims Racing June 12, 2009
MySims Agents September 25, 2009
MySims SkyHeroes September 28, 2010

References[edit]

  1. ^ Roberts, Cory (February 17, 2017). "The story so far on the MySims franchise... (updated 2019)". Medium. A Medium Corporation. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "MySims". Nintendo UK. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "MySims for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "MySims for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "MySims for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.}
  6. ^ EGM staff (October 2007). "MySims (Wii)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 220. Ziff Davis. p. 84.
  7. ^ MacDonald, Keza (September 13, 2007). "MySims (DS) [date mislabeled as "September 20, 2007"]". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  8. ^ MacDonald, Keza (October 3, 2007). "MySims (Wii)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "ぼくとシムのまち リゾートに元気をとりもどそう!". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "ぼくとシムのまち". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Reiner, Andrew (October 2007). "MySims (Wii)". Game Informer. No. 174. GameStop. p. 121. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  12. ^ Ngak, Chenda (October 15, 2007). "Review: MySims (Wii)". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  13. ^ Tan, Nicholas (October 10, 2007). "MySims Review (Wii)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Provo, Frank (October 19, 2007). "MySims Review (DS)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Davis, Ryan (September 17, 2007). "MySims Review (Wii)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  16. ^ Di Fiore, Elisa (October 10, 2007). "GameSpy: MySims (NDS)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  17. ^ Di Fiore, Elisa (September 28, 2007). "GameSpy: MySims (Wii)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  18. ^ "MySims (Wii)". GameTrailers. Viacom. September 13, 2007. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  19. ^ Bozon, Mark (September 18, 2007). "MySims Review (NDS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  20. ^ Thang, Jimmy (November 21, 2008). "MySims Review (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Casamassina, Matt (September 18, 2007). "MySims Review (Wii)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  22. ^ McFerran, Damien (October 8, 2007). "MySims Review (DS)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  23. ^ McFerran, Damien (October 2, 2007). "MySims Review (Wii)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  24. ^ "MySims (Wii)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 221. Nintendo of America. November 2007. p. 100.
  25. ^ "MySims". PC Gamer UK. Future plc. January 2009. p. 76.
  26. ^ McFerran, Damien (October 2, 2007). "MySims (DS)". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  27. ^ Williams, Andrew (January 20, 2009). "MySims (Mobile)". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  28. ^ Gibbon, David (September 21, 2007). "Wii: 'MySims'". Digital Spy. Digital Spy Limited. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  29. ^ Lafferty, Michael (November 6, 2008). "MySims - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  30. ^ Edge staff (December 2007). "MySims (Wii)". Edge. No. 182. Future plc. p. 97.
  31. ^ Graft, Kris (December 18, 2008). "How Long Are GTA's Legs?". Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2023. ...and My Sims at no. 23 (1 million).

External links[edit]