EA-Land shutting down
by Tateru Nino 
Apr 30th 2008 at 2:30AM
Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Second Life, Virtual worlds
Electronic Arts' new baby, EA-Land, is apparently not going ahead, with news coming down a few hours ago that this replacement for The Sims Online is going to be closing.
The Sims Online closed and merged into the new EA-Land world in February this year, but it appears that whatever targets EA management might have set for the project weren't met, and it is now going to go away, closing around Midnight on the last day of July, this year.
Subscription billing for EA-Land terminates immediately. EA-Land will be free-to-play until closure. Currency purchases with Paypal are likewise closed.
Support will continue until closure (or until further notice, whichever comes first) and your EA-Land account/subscription may be terminated at any time.
EA is offering $15 off any game at the EA Store or three months of Club POGO subscription time (your choice) to paying subscribers. Those eligible subscribers will be emailed with the offer information within 30 days.
Luc, the prominent figure behind EA-Land, has posted a heartfelt and sorrowful message to EA-Land users. Reactions range from supportive to bitter, and all points in between.
On a number of occasions in the over the last couple of years, Second Life has seen influxes of new users from The Sims Online, and it is expected that it will receive more as a result of the pending closure. However, while Second Life is one of the best-fit virtual worlds for The Sims Online users, it isn't a very close fit at all, and not many TSO refugees feel comfortable in Second Life's open and unstructured environment.
Love EA-Land or hate it, it is sad to see it pass into history.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sirhc DeSantis said on 10:20AM 4-30-2008
Well sorry to be a bit hard hearted but this is the first time I even heard of EA-Land. Maybe thats the point
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Ari Blackthorne said on 3:13PM 4-30-2008
It was the grand experiment. To my understanding, it was supposed to be loosely modeled after SL - economy, building a business all that, but with a Sims kind of world around it.
As for EALand - it was supposed to be the closest (though not very) thing to a 'replacement' for SL.
But, the grand experiment failed. They are giving it through July I suspect, because they are actually reincarnating the Sims Online according to C|NET News - I apologize, I wish I still had the source.
I saw this during the news of The SIMS franchise breaking all those sales records.
So, the Sims aren't dead, yet. :)
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cerement said on 12:33AM 5-01-2008
I, for one, am perfectly happy to shout, "In your face!" to EA ...
(Yes, four years later, I'm still bitter about EA's treatment of Earth and Beyond ...)
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Shawk said on 1:20PM 5-01-2008
I was thinking the same thing, cerement. Amazing the loyalty E&B inspires even this long gone.
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Bienchen said on 4:13AM 5-05-2008
To Whom It May Concern:
The Sims Online/Ea Land owned and operated by Electronic Arts has officially notified its players that they will be closing the doors to the game as of August 1 ,2008 . In 2007 it was told that you were going to re-vamp the game , bring in new objects , fix the economy . Open all individual cities into one large map so we could all play together through out *Ea Land* You have brought new objects , You have brought in new ideas , we are all in the same map except Test Center 3 . You have had developers playing along with us in game to listen to our ideas , complaints.
The game that had become boring had started to see new life . It has become fun again. You work , play , skill, making custom content . It has been a long road the last few months trying to survive the lag issues , updates, and new changes . But we have come together as a community and made a great game. We are just starting to enjoy our game and we get a post that TSO/EAL is being closed ....All of us gamers are shocked , devastated that EA has given up on us before the game has had a chance to grow .
We have about 11k paying players and around 25 or 30k players total.
This game has become an * out * if you will . for many people through out the world . We have been through death, marriages , babies being born , break ups, with our friends on here . We have in game weddings , couples . relationships.
There are many players with disabilities that cant, walk or talk in real life , but in game they are normal , they can walk, talk, sing , swim , dance . We have in game Dj's that broadcast over internet radio. This game has become a great escape for a lot of people . To end this game it wont only hurt the online community it will hurt the real lives of these people . We have all shed our tears since we found out TSO was closing . Now we are trying everything in our power to keep the game going. Petitions, websites, media, phone calls , instant messages , all that i have spoken with have said they would pay more for their monthly subscription to TSO/EAL. I know if the developers were given more time they would have the best online game out there . We don't want Second Life which most call Sex City, We don't want war games , its way to much like real life. We just want our TSO/EAL . I know this isn't to much to ask ,and i know the fees are outrageous to keep this game running , But we the players * simmies* of TSO/EAL are worth it! Please don't give up on us . We need this game . There is no other like it !
This game hasn't been given a fair chance since re-creating to Ea Land. I think you need to give us a year to make this the game what it should be .
My Parent's have always told me ....You must spend money to make money.. This is true in every aspect of life . So spend a little and let's get TSO back to where it needs to be . Lets have ads in commercials, newspapers, radio stations , gaming magazines as well as other magazine's. We all feel Ea hasn't given their best to make this game work . We just want a fair chance . Don't end a game that means so much to so many players . We may just be 9.99 to you but we are all humans and depend on this game in one-way or another.
Increase the subscription price , give the 14 day free trail with unlimited game play , so people will want to subscribe, a free game with limited play isn't going get someone to subscribe , they are just going to stay in tc3 and live it up there for FREE. That's not helping the company or the player's, All we ask is for 1 year to bring in new players and to make this game work, Have any of you top officials every sat down and played the game . Well take the time to do it now and you will see the devastation in the game .
Please take the time to check out these sites where players are trying to save TSO.
http://www.playercampaigns.com
sims.stratics.com
http://www.petitiononline.com/kl5c3854/ ... -sign.html
Please hear our pleas for our simmie world .
Thank you for your time in this matter ,
The Simmie Movement Team
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