Pioneering game franchise The Sims is coming to China’s leading social network, following an agreement between Electronic Arts Inc. and Tencent Open Platform.
The Sims Social is being developed at the Beijing location of Playfish, an Electronic Arts studio, and will be available on Tencent’s social gaming network QZone. Tencent said QZone has 536.9 million active user accounts as of Sept. 2011.
The Chinese name of the game is Mo Ni Shi Guang – 模拟时光 – which roughly translates as “virtual time.”
EA said Tencent has already started a closed beta and is on track for an open beta in the next several months. Mo Ni Shi Guang is localized not only in regard to its imagery and other content but also in game design, using techniques and service resources from Tencent’s open platform.
The Sims Social launched on Facebook in August 2011 and attracted 50 million monthly active users in its first month. It takes the game’s concept of creating a virtual online life and adds the ability to share the experience with friends in a social environment. Players create their own individual locations, characters, ambitions and characters, then interact with those created by their real-life friends to progress in the game.
According to EA, The Sims franchise has sold more than 150 million units across 20 languages and 60 countries.
Related links:
http://www.facebook.com/TheSimsSocial
