Apple stores demo Sims 3 ahead of release

Update at 2:58 p.m. PDT: Launch date for The Sims 3 corrected.

Apple is using its retail stores to demo one of the most anticipated games on the Mac in recent memory, The Sims 3.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

The Electronic Arts game doesn't go on sale until June 2, but Apple stores are offering a sneak peek. The game is running on every Mac in the store, so you can try out a few of the features before you buy it.

The Sims 3 gives you tools like "Create a Sim" to customize your Sim more than ever before. You can change facial features, hair color, eye color, and determine the body shape of your Sim.

Another feature, "Create a Style" allows you to customize everything from your Sim's clothing to its furniture.

[monkeyfun14]

Some way some how this will turn into a **** size contest between... Mac and PC

[Seaspray0]

Sim games have been popular since the 90's... sim tower, sim city, sim theme park, etc. They're all pretty much pointless as far as a winning goal is concerned, but maybe that's why they were popular. Every now and then I'll dust off either sim tower or sim city just to kill time.

[bobmarleypeople]

I saw this coming considering that The Sims, Spore and Guitar Hero are the only major game franchises that release on Macs (not including film tie-in games).

[Random_Walk]

Unreal Tournament always co-released a cross-platform game (Windows, Mac, and Linux). Not sure if this is still true, but UT, UT2k3, and UT 2k4 had done this.

[Sausagebiscuit]

All Blizzard games. World of Warcraft included.

[Vegaman_Dan]

It appears that Sims3 has every sort of customization of your personal... oh, let's call it an avatar, possible. And you get wander around and explore in an entire world of content as if it were some sort of... second life.

Intereting.

[Random_Walk]

...you do realize that The Sims has been out long, long, long before Second Life existed, right?

As in, the Sims was conceptualized in 1995, and released in 1997. Second Life wasn't released until mid-2003.

[Vegaman_Dan]

@Random_Walk:

Yes, the SIMMS have been out longer, but they didn't add these featuers of editable avatars and an interactive environment such as they are doing now until *after* Second Life came around.

[8301]

I'm fairly positive that a customizable character and a very interactive environment were initially features in the first Sims game, given that they're pretty much the entire premise of the franchise.

[Random_Walk]

8301 is right... even Sims 1.0 was customizable.

[Constable Odo]

Just get people into the retail stores any way you can, Apple. Show them how to play the Sims and sell 'em a Mac or an iPhone before they leave. Hehe. Gotta keep those stores "packed".

[Sausagebiscuit]

I guess that shows that you won't need a powerful GPU to run The Sims 3. Not a bash, they only use a 9400 or 9600 GPU in most of their hardware and they aren't known for being top of the line for games.

[ddhboy]

Strange that the game that they're proudly promoting on the mac was wine'd into the mac via cider. Don't get me wrong, I love my mac, but its not like the Mac version of Sims 3 was made for the system or that EA even bothered to add in true native support.

[Seaspray0]

Programs will work on platforms they have been ported to but they tend to work better on the platform they were developed for (ie. office on mac or itunes on pc). For a sim game that doesn't require intensive performance, it should be ok.