

There are three videogames in the world of The Sims 3. Well, three videogames and a little something extra.
I'll show them to you after the jump.
Your sims can play games on a computer, or on a television hooked up to the Maxoid Game Simulator 2 1/2, which sells for only $750 and has a fun rating of 7. When sims play games, they're clearly displayed within the game. And they're all plugs for Electronic Arts games. Instead of coming up with some sort of cute hypothetical games, Electronic Arts goes and drops three instances of blatant product placement into The Sims 3. Thanks, EA, for cramming yourselves inelegantly into my game world. I should at least be thankful for whomever shot down the idea of placing billboards around town, because I'm sure that idea must have been floated at some meeting.
The first game is Burnout: Paradise.

The second game is Skate 2.

The third game is some sort of basketball sim, but I'm pretty sure it's not those unofficial basketball games like NCAA College Tour or Midway's Blitz League game. So I'm guessing it's EA's Official NFL Madden Basketball.

There are also virtual goggles your sim can wear that allow him to select action, fantasy, or sci-fi adventures. In these cases, we're not privy to whatever a sim sees, but I don't doubt an EA logo is involved.
Up next: the big picture
(Click here for the previous Sims 3 game diary.)
By burnon1 at 6:23 PM ON 06/02/09
Basketball?????? Kinda looks like Madden 09 to me.
By Marmoset at 6:56 PM ON 06/02/09
burnon1: it's a running joke.
Damn comedians.
By Tom Chick at 6:59 PM ON 06/02/09
Thanks for the correction, burn. I've fixed the reference in the text.
By ZombieKoopa at 7:53 PM ON 06/02/09
Hey Tom, are you @tomwchick on twitter? You should use a twitter feed thing to automagically display your new review posts via twitter. That would be rockin.
By ZombieKoopa at 7:56 PM ON 06/02/09
Oops, um, nevermind. Found the link on the right. Forget I said anything and delete my comments!
By TheBigC at 8:29 PM ON 06/02/09
Although I hoped for more from Sims3, this isn't any different than Sims2, where the default video game was SSX3, and the additional video games you could buy at the store were rapidly aging Maxis titles (SimCity 4 Rush hour and the like). At least this time, one of the default game is one that you can actually play on a laptop!
By luke at 4:19 AM ON 06/03/09
"I should at least be thankful for whomever shot down the idea of placing billboards around town, because I'm sure that idea must have been floated at some meeting."
Shhh. EA is going to be pumping out expansions, patches, and DLC for at least five years. Don't give them any ideas.
By obonicus at 7:58 AM ON 06/03/09
I am saddened by how SSX is now completely gone, even from Simsverse.
By salwon at 11:00 AM ON 06/03/09
Every new EA release will be simultaneously released as DLC for your Sims. Don't worry though - if you buy the real game, you can get the Sims version for only $40.
By Bri at 10:27 PM ON 06/23/09
That's football, not basketball. Even i know that and i hate sports...
Bri:
That's football, not basketball. Even i know that and i hate sports......More »