The story so far on the MySims franchise… (updated 2019)

And also the fate of the former EA staff who are involved in the series

I’ve been with the MySims vibe when I was 18–19 years old and my niece was around 6–7 years old as I bought every MySims game on the Wii just before EA stopped making games for the Nintendo consoles. Here’s the timeline of the MySims games that I used to play.

MySims / Boku to Sim no Machi

• Released on September 18, 2007 (NA), September 19, 2007 (AU), September 20, 2007 (EU), and September 27, 2007 (JP)
• PC version released on October 17, 2008 (NA), October 30, 2008 (AU), November 5, 2008 (EU), December 12, 2008 (JP)

The first MySims game was released in late 2007 for the Nintendo Wii and the DS. It is a spin-off to The Sims series. MySims has a more chibi-inspired look. This was Emmy Toyonaga’s idea she remarked in Offical Nintendo Magazine (UK — now defunct):

Well, Mario and other Nintendo characters are pretty short and stubby. Also, being Japanese, I’m used to the mindset that fun games should have shorter, stubbier characters. So these characters kind of came naturally.

The game was developed by Visceral Games (then known as EA Redwood Shores, see Fate of the former EA staff who was involved in the franchise below) and EA Bright Light (then known as EA UK) for the PC port.

The game’s music was composed by Silas Hite and John Enroth of Team Mutato Muzika. You take the role of a young town resident helping other Sims. The PC port has six new characters (Alexa Lexington will be in Kingdom, Agents, and SkyHeroes, and Wendalyn will be in Agents later on).

Most of the MySims characters also appear as selectable/unlockable advisors in SimCity Creator, including those that do not appear in the actual MySims series.

MySims Kingdom / Boku to Sim no Machi Kingdom

• Released on October 28, 2008 (NA), October 30, 2008 (JP), October 31, 2008 (EU), November 6, 2008 (AU)

The second game in the series was made by the same companies that were involved in the first game. This game has 16 new Sims and new commands (HYAA! command, TRANSMUTE command, etc.).

You assume the role of a pig farmer and start the trials with a training wand to become a “Wandolier”, and the real adventure begins. The game uses “King Points” in place of the Star Level in the first game. When the game first starts you choose a gender for your character (male or female), as some outfits are exclusive to male or female Sims only, or unisex. After reaching King Points Level 5 you get your own island (and your throne), similar to that of the King’s Quest games. This game can make your Sim jump by pressing the Z button on your Nunchuk.

This game also features the song “Buzzin’” by Shwayze and “Crocodile” by Underworld.

MySims Party / Boku to Sim no Machi Party

• Released on March 10, 2009 (NA), March 12, 2009 (JP/AU), and March 13, 2009 (EU)
• The first multiplayer video game in the series

The third game in the series, and the first game to have multiplayer ability unlike the original two games (up to four players), and not use a Nunchuk.

The game is very similar to Mario Party, Crash Bash, Sonic Shuffle, etc., but uses points (up to 2,000 points) instead of coins/stars like in the Mario Party series. You can create custom Sims for your teams (up to four teammates) and stats (up to five points).

All the Sims from the first game return, but around half of them will not and may return in Agents. This game also uses the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (shut down on May 20th, 2014).

MySims Racing / Boku to Sim no Machi Racing

• Released on June 12, 2009 (NA), June 18, 2009 (AU), June 19, 2009 (EU), and June 25, 2009 (JP)
• The second multiplayer video game in the series

The fourth game in the series, similar to Mario Kart, where you can use offensive items to wipe out or slow down opponents. This is also the first game not to be developed by Visceral Games but developed by Behaviour Interactive, then known as Artificial Mind and Movement between 2000 and 2010.

This game also can use the GameCube controller instead of a Wii remote (with or without a Nunchuk). It also has a basic car and character customization, and the ability to transfer cars to and from Wii remotes.

This game uses the Star Level, similar to the one used in the first game. After the fifth star, you get to race against Sir Charles one by one. The Sims 3 was released shortly after the game was released.

MySims Agents / Boku to Sim no Machi Agents

• Released on September 25, 2009 (EU), September 29, 2009 (NA), and October 1, 2009 (JP)

The fifth game uses one of Nate Piekos of Blambot’s pay fonts — Alter Ego BB which is seen in the entire game.

Faith Connors (from Mirror’s Edge, another EA game) appears as a trophy, as well as Isaac Clarke from Dead Space.

You take the role of a special agent hired to foil the sinister plans of Morcubus. You can also build up your own crime-busting dream team. The only locations that you can’t return to are The Lodge, Cyrus Bordeaux’s Mansion, and the Unknown Jungle. This game was very hard as I struggled a lot to finish it.

This is the first game where you must use the B button to make your Sim run (if the button isn’t held, your Sim will walk), and the first game where the camera does not zoom.

MySims SkyHeroes / Boku to Sim no Machi SkyHeroes

• Released on September 28, 2010 (NA) and October 1, 2010 (EU)
• The first and only game to be released outside of the Wii and the DS, on the PS3 and the Xbox 360
• Not released in Japan

The sixth and final game in the series before Benjamin Seto, Emmy Toyonaga, and Genevieve Tsai’s departure from EA, and the second game was developed by Behavior Interactive. It is also the first game to be released on the PS3 and the Xbox 360 and to be rated E10+ by the ESRB.

The player starts as an unknown pilot and leads the resistance to the evil Morcubus and his drones who plan to take over the skyways. The player will have to team up with NPC characters to defeat Morcubus.

It is also the only game in that Raven Wright made an appearance from the first game. This game also uses the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (again, shut down on May 20, 2014).

Fate of the former EA staff who were involved in the franchise

After the development of SkyHeroes and the end of the MySims franchise, some of the EA staff have moved on to other companies, formed their own studios, or went freelance:

• Genevieve Tsai and Benjamin Seto: Two concept artists who were responsible for the MySims franchise have moved on to other companies.
• Silas Hite: Responsible for composing the music for the first game, Kingdom, and Agents. Went freelance in 2010.
• Bob Casale: Worked as the producer/engineer of Mutato Muzika, the music production company that did the music for all the games except Party and SkyHeroes (and also one of the members of Devo). Casale died in early 2014.
• EA Redwood Shores: Changed its name to Visceral Games during the first half of 2009 (Update February 10, 2018: EA shut down Visceral Games on October 17, 2017).
• EA Bright Light (then known as EA UK): Responsible for the development of the PC port of the first game. Closed in late 2011 and the online features for the PC port are no longer available.
• Behaviour Interactive (then known as Artificial Mind & Movement between 2000 and 2010): Responsible for the development of Racing (the latter of which was SkyHeroes). The studio’s name was reverted to Behaviour Interactive, partly due to increased production of original titles and thus stronger presence in the gaming community, partly due to the availability of the original name, and partly due to one particular obscene interpretation of the initialism “A2M”.
• The online features for the PC port of the first game have been retired in late 2011, and the official website (as of 2019) still redirects to The Sims Portal. The Nintendo WFC was also shut down (and the servers of Party, SimCity Creator, and SkyHeroes) on May 20, 2014. The MySims official websites, formerly located at http://mysims.ea.com and http://boku-sim.jp, are no longer available and can only be accessed using the Wayback Machine.
• Emmy Toyonaga: Responsible for having the idea of and the lead character artist (including the way that the characters look) for the MySims franchise. Went freelance.
• Ilan Eshkeri now holds the responsibility for composing the music for The Sims 4 (Jerry Martin for the first game, including SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4, Mark Mothersbaugh — who did the music for the 90s Nick cartoon Rugrats — for the second game, and Steve Jablonsky for the third game).

The MySims characters later appear as collectible trophies in The Sims 4. Only 20 of them (out of 170) appeared.