Bella and Mortimer Goth as kids?

These screens are new to me and I decided that I’d share them with you just in case they’re new to you as well. I know that the “Bella and Mortimer” screen has been around for a while with lots of speculation about who the people in the picture are. Your guess is as good as mine but “mortbell” is part of the file name. Very, very interesting…

My favorite screenshot is the last one in the cemetary. I can’t wait to get my hands on this game and see what it’s like to be able to play ghosts. I wonder if there are restrictions on when you can control them-time of day restrictions. Like Vamps in that they only come out at night. Since the aliens and vampires are gone, I hope that the playable ghosts make up for the loss of the other two.

Images|EA

I know that you guys have TONS more questions to ask Maxis and I have all of them filed away for use at a later date.

I emailed my PR contact and was told [very nicely, I might add] that the team is working right now on producing the best product that they can so they’re not accepting any more questions at this time. The door wasn’t totally shut as far as the possibility of getting the questions answered at a later date-just not right now.

EA/Maxis is lucky to have fans who are so interested in this upcoming game and I appreciate you guys taking the time to ask them.

If/when I get the green light to send on your questions, I’ll be sure to let you guys know in advance and will credit you guys just like I did last time. You rock and you should get credit where credit is due.

So after the uproar created by the announcement that Sims 3 is being delayed for a few months, we now have another little firestorm on our hands.

Are there “real” vampires in Sims 3?

These screens are floating around the interweb right now of a male and a female vampire:

They look like “real” vampires but Maxis has come out and said that they were user created characters and that though you can make your Sims look like vampires, they won’t function like vampires like we have in Sims 2.  [EA has clarified that while you can indeed make a Sim that appears to be a vampire, you cannot actually play as a vampire. - Snooty Sims.com]

But, if you read AlaSims.com, they make it pretty clear that there are vampires in Sims 3.  [There's a LOT of really cool stuff in that article...too much to list here.]  SO, I’m left wondering if the vampires will be NPCs only and though they will be in the game, you won’t be able to be bitten and then become a vampire like you could in Sims 2. Granted, I haven’t been able to find the “official word” on this from EA so all of this is just me thinking “out loud”.

If true, this actually bums me out a bit since I’ve always thought that the vampires in Sims 2 added a really cool element to the game.  Then again, Ala Sims says that you can now control ghost Sims so I guess if I have to give up vamps then at least I gain the ability to control ghosts.

Fair trade?  I’m not sure yet.

Image: EA

I didn’t want to believe that the reported delay was going to affect the US. I wanted to stay in my little fantasy world and believe that the delay would only hit the foreign markets and that the US would be able to thumb our noses at everyone else.  [Not very nice but we were SO close to the release date!]

And then, I saw this in an EA press release:

“The June launch combined with the break-through game the team is building gives us the perfect runway to create awareness for The Sims 3,” said Russell Arons, Vice President of Marketing for EA. “The Sims 3 will be the original IP summer blockbuster of 2009 as we build off the success of the best-selling PC franchise of all time to create awareness with both loyal Sims fans and new players.”

Damn.

Can’t argue with that.

I just pre-ordered my game today and I keep telling myself that June is THAT far away.  *sniff, sniff*

Source: EA

Since I posted Britney Spears yesterday, I decided to show some “lip love” and present to you this collection of lipsticks named after Britney Spears songs.  All seem really natural and actually look like something that a “real” person would wear - not some crazy fake looking lipsticks.

As always, bruno did a fantastic job with these.

Click here to download them for your own sims.

Image Source: bruno

There’s something to be said for saving money.  Most people right now are holding on to their cash like never before and if you can save $5.99 why not, right?

Well, when it comes to digital downloads through EA, pay the extra $5.99 and get the extended download rights.  If you don’t purchase the extended download rights then you’ll be able to download your game again for free for six months.  If you decide [and you should] to pay the $5.99 then you’ll be able to download the game for two years.

Let me explain why that is important.

I got a laptop about a month ago.  Of course I wanted to load all of my Sims games on to my laptop.  When I started rounding up all of my game disks, I realized that several of the games had been purchased through digital download.  Also, several stuff packs had been purchased the same way.

I went from having every single game and stuff pack that Maxis has released to not having FreeTime and Bon Voyage OR the base game.  Can you imagine how much that sucked?  Now, in all fairness, I still have everything on my desktop but that doesn’t help me very much when I’m working away from home.  So, I’m going to be missing some of the really cool things that come with FreeTime and Bon Voyage when I play the Sims 2 on my laptop.  If I make a video, please try and ignore the missing content.

I know you might think that the extra $5.99 is a waste of money but I would suggest that you look at it as insurance.  If you DON’T buy the extended download and you’re out of the six month period [I was at seven months on two stuff packs] then you’re going to have to pay full price again.  Not something that I would look forward to doing.

SO, our take away lesson for the day: If you’re downloading your games, pay the $5.99 and get the extended download privileges.  Unfortunately, you might need to use them one day and you’ll be saving yourself a heap of cash.

Image Source: Tracy O

Looking for that perfect gift for your favorite Simmer?

Are you looking for awesome Maxis created custom content for cheap?

Look no further than the Sims Cash Card.

The card can be purchased from Walmart and 7-Eleven [anyone else find that odd?] and come in 10 dollar increments which will buy you 1k SimPoints at the Sims 2 Store.

Right now tons of things are 75% off and new holiday items are being added.

You can also redeem the cards to download a new Sims game.

I haven’t seen them around our local Walmarts yet but they are available so keep looking.

Image Source:  http://redeem.thesims.com/start.html?sourceid=ts2_news

Maxis is releasing yet another stuff pack - Mansion and Garden Stuff.

Normally I would roll me eyes at this since Sims 3 is just around the corner.  However, this stuff pack has some things that I’ve been wanting for a while: ceiling fans, double staircases and solar panels.

The pack comes with three themes: Moroccan, Art Deco, and Second Empire and all kinds of garden/flower elements to really spruce up your sims’s house.

The pack is officially released on the 17th of November but can be pre-ordered from EA’s website.

Image Source: http://thesims2.ea.com/about/sp9_index.php

Apartment Life Amy has some moves, y’all.