News: Electronic Arts closing its failed attempt at an MMOG spin-off to The Sims.
Electronic Arts has finally admitted that the The Sims franchise is not failure-proof. Although the series has sold over 100 million units, the online expedition that was The Sims Online has been a bit of a disappointment.
After Maxis launched the title to luke-warm reviews and lower than expected subscription rates, the title was eventually re-branded and re-launched as EA-Land, a free open-world MMO. But EA barely let the project get off the ground.
EA has finally decided to can the title all together, with the servers going offline on August 1st, 2008 and being used for Уresources on future gamesФ. EA is offering some tokens of appreciation though. Firstly, any paying subscriber before April 29th will no longer be charged any subscription free, making the remaining 60-days of playtime free. Those eligible will also receive a $15 coupon off any title on the EA Store and Three months of Club POGO subscription time.
source: EA Land Blog