EA's John Riccitiello speaks out on The Sims Social Facebook launch date... or doesn't

In EA's most recent earnings / conference call, CEO John Riccitiello was questioned about the expected popularity of EA's upcoming (and highly anticipated) Facebook game, The Sims Social. While the game's Facebook fan page already has 868,000 Likes, Riccitiello still wouldn't reveal just what percentage of the franchise's user-base are predicted to make the transition to this new social version.

That's not all Riccitiello held back though, as a launch date will likely never be released before the game suddenly appears on the platform. Why? Competitive advertising. As reported by Gamasutra, Riccitiello explained the company's decision, both on the lack of an announced release date, and on withholding any predictions as to traffic:

"We aren't going to put out the stats. They're highly sensitive competitive comparisons, which is one of the reasons we're also not giving you a launch date. It's relatively easy for a competitor to buy all the relevant advertising, say 24, 36, 48 hours prior to a release."

This, says Riccitiello, would greatly impact (and not in a good way) EA's chances of marketing the game itself, as its competitors will have beaten EA to the proverbial punch. Alas, for now, that seems to be all we'll be told about the game's launch date beforehand, but you can be sure that we'll let you know when the Sims Social finally goes live. We can't wait!

Do you have a prediction for when the Sims Social will launch? How many of the franchise's established fans do you think will immediately jump on board with this Facebook version?

The Sims Social Summer Blowout Week decor shows its pearly whites

With a freebie frenzy of sorts and a new feature in Land Expansions, Playfish has been rather busy with The Sims Social. Just recently, the team released a number of new summer-themed items in its Summer Blowout Week to ring out the brightest season ... again.

At any rate, there are quite a few items to check out both for Simoleons and SimCash. But we're going to focus on the decorations, so moving right along:

LuxLite Wonder

    * Costs: 8 SimCash
    * House Value: 1,200


Sunflower

    * Costs: 9 SimCash
    * House Value: 1,500
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Lemonade For All

    * Level 13 Required
    * House Value: 350


Contempo Chair

    * Costs: 14 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,050


Basix Lounger

    * Costs: 450 Simoleons
    * House Value: 300
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1


Twisted Topiary

    * Costs: 15 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,200
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Heart Topiary     SolTrain Gazebo     LuxLite Lamp

Contempo Table

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,800


Stunning Palm

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,800
    * Fun: 3
    * Social: 3


ArchPine Chair

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 650


Star Parasol Rose/Pale

    * Level 13 Required
    * House Value: 650


Heart Topiary

    * Costs: 25 SimCash
    * House Value: 3,700
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Contempo Bench

    * Costs: 25 SimCash
    * House Value: 3,700


Lizard Lounger

    * Costs: 800 Simoleons
    * House Value: 700
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1



SolTrain Lounger

    * Costs: 29 SimCash
    * House Value: 4,300
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1


ArchPine Table

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 1,100


Contempo Lux

    * Costs: 35 SimCash
    * House Value: 5,150


Sunflower     Font of all Awesome     Pale Star Parasol

ArchPine Bench

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 1,300


Mini Palm

    * Costs: 1,350 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,450
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Aquatix Thrill

    * Costs: 55 SimCash
    * House Value: 8,150


Atlas Fountain

    * Costs: 1,750 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,650


Font of All Awesome

    * Costs: 2,250 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,800


Spheres Topiary

    * Level 23 Required
    * House Value: 3,250
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Dolphin Topiary

    * Costs: 4,500 Simoleons
    * House Value: 3,400
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Elephant Topiary

    * Costs: 6,500 Simoleons
    * House Value: 4,650
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Air and Air Pool

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 9,500
    * Fun: 19
    * Sleep: 11



While a majority of these item unfortunately cost SimCash, a good amount of them go for Simoleons. The best bang for your buck? I'd recommend going for any of the topiaries to give your House Value an instant boost. Also, keep in mind that a number of new wall and floor patterns were added, too, most of which cost Social Points. So, keep visiting your friends if you want to change the overall palette of your Sim's home.

[Image Credit: Playfish]

Have you snapped up any of these summer items? What type of decor are you hoping for next in The Sims Social? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment

Playfish founder: We have redefined social games with The Sims Social

The Sims Social is just an arm's reach from being the number one game on Facebook, so this kind of logic is expected. In an interview with MCV, Playfish founder and co-GM Kristian Segerstrale said, "In bringing one of EA's most popular game franchises to Facebook, Playfish and The Sims team have redefined the meaning of social in video games."

While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.

Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.

"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.

The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)

Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment