jonlandman: Just finished the fantastic @danozzi book Sellout and immediately went into the rabbit hole of @thesyndotcom archives. These pics of @mychemicalromance are from our 2002 CMJ Conflict of Interest Party. MCR opened the show that also featured Silvertide and VHS or Beta. 📷: @chickphila
[Posted January 11, 2022 / Photographed (best guess) October 29, 2002]
Photography by: Casey Kerchner Landman
thank you to @forfoxessake for sending me this post!
The Sims Online 0.4 BETA PlayTest: Back in October 2002, a select amount of Simmers tested The Sims Online prior to the game's retail release.
The formidable website 4Gamer reported that 150 out of all the beta testers lived in 🇯🇵 Japan. Just take a look at the poor tester unable to speak their language using the adequate ASCII maps!!!!! <IMAGE 2> Thank God this wasn't a problem anymore 2 years later (2004), when TSO finally made its way to the Asian market <IMAGE 3>.
Also!!, see the well-known Alphaville taking its baby steps into becoming the most ubercontroversial city in the whole game <IMAGE 1>— with a portion of its key neighborhoods already overpopulated and dotted like an online ant colony, even though nothing in the game's constitution or design lured the players into gathering themselves this way... just tell 'em that it's part of human nature to work and live as one.
Whilst first Simming, the testers were supplied with a generous amount of six-thousand § to be spent as they very well fancied, even though the most expensive item back then — the Mechanical Bull — was about 4x more unaffordable than that. It didn't take too long until they finally realized that the sole act of "Laughing" at other Sims would boost their needs way faster than a chit chat would ever be able to do.
In case you're not aware, the beta disc is still available to this day, as a dumped disc rip. Is it even interesting? It pretty much depends on your needs as a researcher. Don't hesitate to hit us up if you're interested in knowing more about it ☻