EA has quite a few titles lined up for Wii and DS in 2009, and early indications suggest it’s likely to fund significant marketing campaigns to get these games in the public eye. Perhaps its biggest hope is its Wii Fit rival, EA Sports Active, but I think the January release of Sim Animals is equally likely to further swell the already overflowing company coffers.

Available on Wii and DS, it seems perfectly attuned to the casual and younger demographics both consoles are attracting - it’s easily the most accessible - and console-friendly - version of The Sims yet, even if there’s not a single person featured in the game. The MySims titles offered something a little different from the standard Sims template, and while Sim Animals isn’t a traditional Sims title, it still feels like it belongs to that franchise - with the intuitive controls and freeform nature (not to mention cute-funny styling and humour) that are the series hallmarks.

I was one of the first journalists to see Sim Animals up and running in the middle of last year, and while it was at a very rough stage during my visit to Redwood Shores, it already looked hugely appealing. Recent shots suggest it’s had a significant graphical touch-up in the intervening months, and if EA can promote this well enough, it’ll almost certainly be the first big third-party hit of 2009.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 3:24 pm by Chris Schilling
Big in 2009, Casual-pleaser, DS, Wii.