GDC 2008: EA’s The Sims could hit the 100 million mark this March
It’s no secret that The Sims is one of Electronic Arts‘ hottest selling game franchises. But in case you’re wondering just how big the game is, EA’s Steve Seabolt over at the GDC’s Serious Games Summit hints that they’ll be hitting the 100 million mark for The Sims sales by next month. More details on what Seabolt said on this matter are in the full article.
As you may recall, EA’s Steve Seabolt is currently at the ongoing Game Developers Conference to speak at the ongoing Serious Games Summit . While Seabolt’s last speech had much to do with how they were more into creating entertaining games above all else, his latest talk will be about the massive success the company’s Sims franchise is enjoying.
So, just how successful is The Sims franchise(PSP, Wii, DS, PC)? According to Seabolt, EA looks forward to selling their 100 millionth unit of the game by next month. Seabolt pointed out that the franchise had become so successful, it didn’t have to be laden with the company’s usual policy of adding adverts. Quoting Seabolt’s statement:
We make so much money from The Sims–it is so profitable–that unlike other businesses, we don’t have to sell it out with advertising and sponsorship and flog the user with advertising to make money.”
Even if the game does have advertisements, Seabolt explained that EA was very picky about what went into game. He cited an example where they (EA) set up a promotion wherein Sim players could pick up a Ford Mustang for their in-game sprite.
We’ll let you know as more details are unveiled over at the ongoing GDC 2008 in San Francisco.