On Tuesday, February 7, Marion and I flew from Gardermoen to Arlanda in Stockholm to try The Sims 3 Showtime before release. We got to play the game for hours and meet producer Mike Cox, who had travelled from California to show us the expansion. He had worked on SimCity, The Sims 2, and several Sims 3 projects, so it was fun to hear the pack explained directly from him.
Original event photos
When we arrived at the EA office we met Joyce, who was responsible for the Nordic Sims community. We followed green Sims plumbobs into the event room, which was decorated with balloons and large Showtime banners in Swedish, Finnish, Danish, and Norwegian. Joyce introduced the day, and then Mike Cox showed us the game.
As always with these preview articles: this is my impression of the version we played. It was not the final build, so bugs could be fixed and features could change before release.
I travelled with Marion/Noiram from Gardermoen to Arlanda on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 to try The Sims 3 Showtime at EA's office in Stockholm. The pack was due in stores on March 8, and this was a proper hands-on event rather than a short presentation. Producer Mike Cox had come from California to show the game. He had worked at EA, Maxis, and The Sims Studios for 14 years, including SimCity 3000, SimCity 4000, The Sims 2 base game, The Sims 2 expansions, The Sims 3 on PC, and several console versions.
At the EA office we met Joyce, who handled the Nordic The Sims community. The route into the event room was marked with green Sims 3 plumbobs on the floor, and the room itself was decorated with balloons and large Showtime banners in Swedish, Finnish, Danish, and Norwegian. Joyce started the event, then Mike Cox gave a general presentation before we got to play.
This is written from that preview build. It was not the final version, so bugs could still be fixed and some details could still change before release.
What is The Sims 3 Showtime?
Showtime is about performance careers: singer, magician, acrobat, and DJ. The careers work more like The Sims 3 Ambitions than a normal rabbit-hole job. You follow the Sim at work, help with performances, and build the career from street-level gigs to bigger stages. Each career has skill-like progression, and the performance itself matters.
The pack also adds SimPort, the social feature that lets you send your performer to another player's game, plus more than 250 objects. The preview made it clear that even players who were not obsessed with celebrity careers would get a lot of stage props, entertainment objects, and a Starlight Shores world with a Los Angeles-like theme.
Singer
The singer career starts small. We met a Sim called Rubi, who was busking in the street near the start of her career. Other Sims stopped to watch, she earned tips, and her singing improved while we controlled the performance. It worked like an Ambitions-style active career: you were not just sending the Sim away and waiting for a progress bar.
Each level unlocked more than a job title. Higher levels gave new clothes, new stage objects, and more songs. You could choose which song the Sim should sing, and at higher levels you could control parts of the performance, including which verse and chorus came when. The stronger the performance, the bigger the crowd around the singer could become.
That was one of the clearest differences from a normal career. Showtime was not only about getting promoted; it was about building a performer who could read a crowd and slowly move from small street performances to proper stages.
Acrobat, DJ, and magician
The acrobat career works in a similar way. We saw a Sim perform street tricks like the invisible box, and mistakes mattered. When the acrobat failed a trick, he got an embarrassed moodlet. Higher levels bring more dangerous tricks, including the ring of fire and balancing on an acrobat ball. It is a physical career, so athletic skill matters.
DJ is more of a night job. A Sim can work another job in the daytime and earn extra money by DJing in the evening. The DJ booth lets you choose songs, add effects, and play the new dubstep music style. The preview made it clear that performers need to watch the audience: thought bubbles show what the crowd wants, and ignoring the crowd can ruin the show.
The magician career is stage magic, not spellcasting. We saw a Sim preparing for a first big stage performance after getting to know a venue owner and passing an audition. Magicians can use the mystery box, turn a wand into flowers, bring audience members on stage, and perform tricks that can go wrong. The preview mentioned two dangerous boxes, including one where knives are pushed into the box and another where the Sim is covered in cement. If the Sim dies, the show can even continue as a ghost.
Building your own stage
Stage building was one of the functions that impressed me most. Before a performance, you can choose a saved stage or build a new one. If you build a new stage, you can save it for later. While editing a stage, you only get access to the new stage equipment category, with sections for lights and stage objects. You cannot build full architecture on the stage, but you can place effects, props, and objects.
The same effects and props can also be placed at home, so the new objects are not locked to venues. Lights and confetti can change depending on how the show is going, and this is also where magician objects such as the mystery box fit into the performance setup.
Social features and SimPort
The social update was large enough that everyone would get it in the game update around Showtime's release. The game adds a wall, profile, stream, memories, achievements, likes, comments, privacy choices, Facebook/Twitter sharing, and chat. Achievements or badges unlock when you complete goals in the game; the preview remembered one badge for making 200 perfect meals.
SimPort lives in the menu near the bottom corner. Its design looked familiar from the scrapbook in Generations. First you choose whether to send a Sim to another game or host a Sim in your own world. To send a Sim, you choose a friend, choose a saved show, and send the performer away. The Sim leaves town by taxi, gets a grey portrait background while away, and returns after the show unless you call them home early. Good tours can unlock new stages, objects, and clothes.
New objects and arenas
Showtime adds a lot of objects. The preview called out the dance machine from The Sims 2 Nightlife, pool tables with a hidden skill, the photo booth, karaoke, and the mechanical bull. Mike Cox also hinted at more woohoo locations without giving them all away.
Arenas are new too. They are rabbit holes, but when you perform in one, you see inside a large dark room with a stage and lighting. You can decorate the stage or use one you already built. The preview also described new crowd technology: normal Sims are visible near the front, while darker, simpler Sims fill the back of the venue so the room feels full without overwhelming the game.
Performers can interact with the crowd. If the crowd dislikes the show, they can throw rotten tomatoes and other objects. If the show goes well, they can throw flowers and nicer things. The funny part is that the performer gets those thrown objects in their inventory.
The genie, SimFest, and Starlight Shores
The new creature is the genie. You can buy the lamp for 30,000 lifetime happiness points. The genie can grant wishes such as world peace, and the preview tried a wish to free the genie from the lamp. The quest asked us to freeze the lamp, heat it in the oven, and take it into the catacombs, but we did not get further than that. The article also noted that Sims could have children with a genie, probably with a chance that the child would be blue.
SimFest is a talent show that appears in the world. Singers, acrobats, DJs, magicians, and NPC performers can appear there. It is not a competition with rounds; it is more a public showcase where Sims can perform and be entertained.
Starlight Shores had a Los Angeles-like style with hills and a Simlish Hollywood sign. The town seemed small, maybe the smallest new world in The Sims 3 up to that point if you ignore Generations, which did not include a full new world. The loading screen was blue with stage lights moving in and out until four lights focused behind the logo.
Mike Cox Q&A
Before the event ended, Alexander interviewed producer Mike Cox.
Alex: Why was Showtime not included with Late Night?
Mike: They are very different themes. Late Night is about having fun going out on the town with friends and really partying. Showtime is more about the journey to fame and becoming a superstar. It is about your Sim becoming a Katy Perry or another kind of superstar. They are two completely different themes.
Alex: How does the celebrity system work? Is it like Late Night, or is it a new system?
Mike: This game is not so much about celebrities. It focuses more on superstars through these specific careers, so your career in Showtime will not affect your celebrity status from Late Night. Late Night has a celebrity system that is more like Paris Hilton, where you become known for being yourself or for being a diva.
Alex: How many outfits can you unlock?
Mike: There are eight outfits in each of the careers. That means singer, acrobat, and magician.
Alex: Is there a Katy Perry song in the game?
Mike: We have the Katy Perry collector's edition. With that edition, you can download a Katy Perry Sim who can sing in your game. The pack also includes a nice poster, Katy Perry guitar picks, cool stage equipment, a guitar, and new clothes. We worked with Katy Perry, so she approved these things. It is equipment you would expect to see when you go to a Katy Perry concert.
Alex: So you cannot actually sing one of her songs in the game?
Mike: No, it is more about her style and her as a performer.
Alex: What do you like best about the game?
Mike: I really like that you can build your own stage for your Sim. The careers are a lot of fun. Performances are a lot of fun, and I really like when they reach higher levels and I can decide what they should sing and when they should sing the verse.
I also think SimPort is very fun, because it is cool that I can share my Sim with a friend. And I like getting other Simmers to share their Sims with me, because when they sing on my stage, I can throw whatever I want at them, Mike said and laughed.
Final impression
I still thought some of this could have fit into Late Night, and I was disappointed that there was no Simlish Katy Perry song. But I was going to buy the pack. Showtime looked strongest when it let you control the whole performance loop: build the stage, read the audience, send Sims on tour, unlock more props, and turn Starlight Shores into a performance town.