The Sims - the hit computer game that gives you God-like control over a community of animated characters - hits the net today for the first time today.
The Sims Online, a new version of the best-selling computer game, is being launched today in the US, and is specifically designed to be played over the internet. With a UK unveiling scheduled for February 14, the long-awaited release will be watched closely by the computer games industry as a key indicator of the online gaming market's commercial maturity.
The Sims Online marks the first time a major games publisher has released one of its most successful gaming brands in an online format. The game was originally released in 2000 to acclaim from both gamers and critics, and went on to be one of the unlikeliest hits in the games market. It has since sold nearly 20 million copies.
The gameplay is more EastEnders than Star Wars, with the Sim characters developing their own personalities and requiring guidance for the most mundane tasks, such as cleaning the house. The game's charm and deceptive simplicity has earned it a large and devoted fan base; almost uniquely, the game appeals to women almost as much as men, with 45 per cent of Sims players being female.
For the game's publisher, Electronic Arts (EA), the latest release is a bold re-entry into the online gaming market. EA's last launch of an online game was "Majestic" in July 2001. The game only attracted 15,000 subscribers and was discontinued after eight months.
The fate of Majestic is indicative of the industry's ambivalence towards online gaming. "Massively multiplayer" games are widely regarded as the future of the industry, as gamers interact with others in vast virtual worlds.
"If you can make it work it's a fantastic business model," says Ben Keen, an online games industry analyst with Screen Digest. "Not only are you getting a retail sale, but you're also getting up to $12 a month from subscriptions."
But so far online gaming has largely failed to live up to its promise. Publishers have struggled to develop robust game architectures that can deliver fluent gameplay to thousands of players simultaneously.
Online gaming has also been held back by the limited data capacities of a standard dial-up connection, which reduces many online games to a disjointed and tedious experience.
Three exceptions to the rule have included Ultima Online, Everquest, and Asheron's Call, owned by EA, Sony and Microsoft respectively. Everquest is the clear market leader with Ultima Online holding off Asheron's Call for second place. All three appeal to the core gaming market of male teenagers, adopting the well worn but ever-popular fantasy role-playing format.
These games have even spawned their own virtual economies, where experienced players offer tuition, supervision and hard-to-get items from the game on eBay and other auction websites.
And now, with broadband finally taking off, the games industry fully expects online gaming to come of age in 2003. Screen Digest estimates that there are currently 1.7 million online game subscribers in the US and Europe, jumping to 2.9 in 2003. Much of that growth will be fuelled by major releases such as The Sims Online.
"It's a hugely significant release," says Keen. "Online gaming tends to attract a niche market. But The Sims is proven offline and will have far more mainstream appeal."
The original game is based around interaction between characters and relies little on reflex actions, it would seem well suited to an online environment. Players are encouraged to socialise with other players by letting out rooms in their Sim homes or joining forces with other players to start a business.
The release of The Sims Online will be shortly followed the launch of Star Wars Galaxies, an online game based on arguably the largest game brand franchise of all. Galaxies will be released in late January by Lucas Arts and will boast least 20 galaxies within the Star Wars world.
However, many in the industry regard the console market as having far more potential, at least in the short term.
"I think success will come in the console market," says Michael Rawlinson of the European Leisure Software Publishers' Association, "because of the relative ease of connectivity, and because that's where the core gaming market is."
Microsoft and Sony have just launched online gaming for the XBox and Playstation 2 respectively. Both companies are launching their UK services in the spring.
