The Sims 3 Goes Green

[Inge Jones]

Is this a future April Fools joke?

[gobot101]

EA and Renault announced an agreement today that will integrate Renault's electric cars and other sustainable environmental items including solar panels and a windmill, in a free ‘Electric Vehicle Pack’ (EVP) that we will be able to download for free. The use of the EVP inside The Sims 3 will have positive repercussions for a player’s in-game family by reducing their weekly virtual household bills.

The pack isn't yet in the store, but the disclaimer on the mention that it will be a free download say the download expries April 1, 2012.

You can read more about it over at SimPrograms (http://www.simprograms.com/ea-and-renault-announce-exclusive-agreement-with-the-sims-3/), and also see what one of the cars looks like...

[missy harries]

Is this a future April Fools joke?

Lol, I hope not because awarness really should be raised (though I thinks its too late for our planet now.....)

I know fable 2 won a PETA award for having purity points if your a veggie in game......

[nicketti]

I would rather have old timey cars, like the original Ford model T, 1930 packard, or even wagons pulled by horses, or chariots with horses. What about skateboards, they are energy efficient and skates and and and other stuff too. Do they really think this is going to make me want to buy that brand of car? How much money did the car people pay EA for this? Just more advertising. Besides the car looked blue not green and green is not my favorite color. I like purple and red better. And everything eliminates something, so are we going to get bubbles?

[clsin]

Hope it's real. VERY EXCITED to see new items!

[kiwi_tea]

I wonder if these utilise features that will matter to 'Environmentally Conscious' sims in Ambitions?

[gobot101]

I wonder if these utilise features that will matter to 'Environmentally Conscious' sims in Ambitions?

Thats what I was wondering too. They probably will. And since that trait comes with Ambitions, this download pack may be released to coincide with Ambitions and the patch that will most likely update the other games with certain features from Ambitions.

[Srikandi]

Do they really think this is going to make me want to buy that brand of car?

It's about brand awareness :/ That's what most advertising is about these days, which is why most ads don't give you any actual INFORMATION about their product... they just want to get it into your brain.

And yeah, though I am in favor of reducing carbon emissions, I don't like advertising in games either. At least it's free though. Unlike the H+M Stuff pack, which was pure advertising AND cost money :p And it's optional, unlike the billboard ads they were originally gonna put in!

[juansfalcin]

The content looks cool, and the car is pretty awesome. But does it fits in Sunset View? I mean, the city is almost a farm roflmao. I seriously don't see much difference between Riverview and Sunset Valley. D:

I'm REALLY expecting that we're going to have a urban neighborhood in Ambitions D:

[dream_operator23]

I like the idea of solar panels, windmills, and weird environmentally kind vehicles for my sims. So I hope this is true and I think it is. It seemed pretty legit to me.

[heartbreak]

Love it. Hope it's real. I'm pleased that they're not adding the typical things to the Sims 3 (so far haha).

[erinmblair]

Maybe I'm reading the press release wrong? It doesn't look like the download will be available for us in North America. I see all the other countries except for the United States and Canada... It's like, what the...?

[moeppl]

Maybe I'm reading the press release wrong? It doesn't look like the download will be available for us in North America. I see all the other countries except for the United States and Canada... It's like, what the...?

Well, the Dr. Pepper downloads have only been available for Americans, so where's the problem?

[tizerist]

As long as the windmill actually moves, then yes - bring it on. Solar panels were also good in TS2.

[J. M. Pescado]

Maybe I'm reading the press release wrong? It doesn't look like the download will be available for us in North America. I see all the other countries except for the United States and Canada... It's like, what the...?It doesn't matter: Internet censorship is just damage and a trivial exercise will reroute around it and get you to where you want.

[suzetter]

Well, the Dr. Pepper downloads have only been available for Americans, so where's the problem?

While set up as cross promotions this Renault Green thing as well as Dr. Pepper are really just product placement. As were the free "Ford", "Fanta" and perhaps even the "Sponge Bob" store items which being free and requiring no purchase didn't bother me either since people could decide if they wanted it in their game or not. EA is bringing the audience and the other parties are paying to put their wares in front of that audience. You had to buy a Dr.Pepper soda which is available throughout the U.S. but not so easy to find elsewhere so they probably didn't want to pay to cover the smaller markets outside of U.S. Since you don't have to actually buy a car for this Renault promotion I can't see any reason to exclude any sector other than Renault didn't want to pay for coverage in markets where thier presence is not substantial. I'm not into cars but this one is cute and it looks rather cartoony which I like for the sims. I hope we can get it here in the States but if not I'll live. I'm not a fan of advertising but I don't mind this particular promotion since it is promoting environmental awareness in its own way. As far as I'm concerned, EA can do all the product placement they want as long as they keep it outside of the game.

I'm all for green which is why it bugs me that Sims jump into a cab or car 99% of the time rather than walk or bike ride. Why is there no public transit system in the Sims? That would be the green way to go. Sunset Valley and Riverview are not that big. There could be a bus line or two with designated stops that Sims would have to walk to or from and thereby making use of the seamless neighborhood. It would make people more aware of public transportation as an option instead of always jumping into their cars as well.

[Srikandi]

What makes this download different from previous cross-promotions is that the items apparently actually lower your sims' bills. Which means it actually gives sims a gameplay advantage that you can't get any other way. That is kind of a scary trend, heh.

I noticed that when you register Ambitions, you'll get a bonus from the Store that's not just objects -- it also includes Investigator cases -- in other words, additional gameplay. This shows that those cases are modular and can be added to your game like other CC. Now imagine if they start working advertising into Investigator cases, career opportunities, WA adventures... and pretty soon it's as bad as the movies with their product placement everywhere, messing up the coherence of the screenwriting :/

[suzetter]

What makes this download different from previous cross-promotions is that the items apparently actually lower your sims' bills. Which means it actually gives sims a gameplay advantage that you can't get any other way. That is kind of a scary trend, heh.

I noticed that when you register Ambitions, you'll get a bonus from the Store that's not just objects -- it also includes Investigator cases -- in other words, additional gameplay. This shows that those cases are modular and can be added to your game like other CC. Now imagine if they start working advertising into Investigator cases, career opportunities, WA adventures... and pretty soon it's as bad as the movies with their product placement everywhere, messing up the coherence of the screenwriting :/

I didn't catch that about the bills. Wow. That is really creepy. And don't be surprised if product placement does pop up in game. There is a certain arrogance (not to mention greed) to them distributing things for the game in this manner. Too much product could be just the thing to cook the goose that lays the golden egg.

[katysim3]

Like others hope its real. It would be cool to have eco-friendly sims.
And ha at the April fools. :}

[Austin0331]

If this is actually real, and not some kind of joke, I would be happy to get these. Solar panels would so help the house I'm building right now and a future enviromentally friendly family I'm planning to make with Ambitions. Thank God it's free though, I wouldn't even pay $10 to get maybe, you know, maybe these 10 new items or so. I like the fact that EA is going enviromentally friendly, too. The new trait, this, EA is gaining more of my trust with these new games.

[gobot101]

There are links for the download pack's pages, but they don't work yet.

Renault:
http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:21329

EV Pack:
http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:21328

ECO Pack:
http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:21326

With Renault and EV Pack you get "The item you're trying to access is unavailable." But, with the ECO Pack, you do get a description:

Now your Sims can be environmentally conscience and reduce their bills with the new Toyota ECO Pack. Download the Toyota Prius, Windmill, Solar Panels, and all new plant life today!

So it sounds like the Renault car will only be on the pages for like Europe, and here in the US and Canada (and whoever else doesn't the the Renault car) we will get the ECO Pack which will have the things to help the environment, the Prius (even though we've had it for a while. Maybe they've changed it so it lowers your bills), and then the new plant life.

[Mishy]

i'm from Holland, and can only get the ECO pack, as well.

[clynnc19]

EA and Renault announced an agreement today that will integrate Renault's electric cars and other sustainable environmental items including solar panels and a windmill, in a free ‘Electric Vehicle Pack’ (EVP) that we will be able to download for free. The use of the EVP inside The Sims 3 will have positive repercussions for a player’s in-game family by reducing their weekly virtual household bills.


It's good to know that EA is trying to set a good example :)

[gobot101]

Judhudson did some digging around and found some more download links (they don't work yet though). He also found pictures of what is in the download packs. You can see here. (http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims-3-renaulttoyota-electric-vehicle-pack-and-eveco-set/comment-page-1/#comment-43993)