With the success of The Sims it was only natural that we’d see EA trying to capitalise on its success ahead of the release of The Sims 2 with a number of spin-offs. And while Bustin’ Out and others didn’t really have much in the way of collab appeal there was one big exception. So, in this entry for a short history of Sims collabs let’s dig into The Urbz!
Let’s get 2000s
As a game, The Urbz might as well be a time capsule of mid 2000s culture. Tribal tattoos, stone-washed jeans and a sort of pseudo-punk, skater culture infuses the entire thing. Of course, many of you will have fond memories of this spin-off if you played it back in the day, and it was one of the many attempts to make The Sims feel ‘cool’ and perhaps the only one that landed.
Of course, being a spin-off it wasn’t nearly as deep as the original Sims or its successors, and poor sales meant that we wouldn’t be seeing a sequel or a port. But that doesn’t mean it lacks in historical value, especially because of one high-profile collaboration…
Bring the action
Back in 2004 few pop groups were as prevalent as The Black-Eyed Peas. Will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap were the epitome of cool for many hip-hop fans. So with that in mind an urban spin-off of The Sims focusing on partying and being the ‘it’ guy-or-gal naturally called for their involvement.
The Black-Eyed Peas would go on to compose a number of songs in Simlish for the soundtrack of The Urbz, which is still available on many streaming platforms. While the members of the band themselves would make appearances in-game to interact with the player, helping them along their journey of popularity.
Let’s get- nope, can’t put that in writing…
Interestingly enough this collab also has one of those more infamous moments in Sims history. Remember “Let’s get it started” by the Black-Eyed Peas? Remember what the original title was? Well, a glance at the title of that song in Simlish and a few moments listening to the lyrics and you’ll be able to tell that this entry in the soundtrack wasn’t based on the ‘clean’ version released in 2004.
Beyond the Peas
Once more though, we’ve got to give credit to the folks over at The Sims Wiki, because if it wasn’t for them another interesting collaboration from The Urbz would’ve slipped away into history! And that’s the extremely underrated comix adaptation from the now-defunct Urbz site.
Comix, for those not in the know, is a pretty catch-all term for all underground graphic novels and ‘sequential art’ (thanks Scott McCloud) usually from individual creators and small-press runs. So to promote The Urbz there was a suite of brief comix based on the game produced by a number of notable underground artists and creators.
How notable? Well, there’s Eisner-award winning Chynna Clugston, musician and artist James Kochalk and perhaps the most notable name on the list, Evan Dorkin of the Milk & Cheese and Eltinvgille series. It’s practically a who’s who of those outside of the DC and Marvel superhero sphere in the early 2000s.
For us at The Sims News this was certainly quite an interesting find, and it’s a reminder that there’s still a lot of history in The Sims franchise that reflects the tastes of culture at the time. Maybe there’s something academic to be said there? Well, sadly not by us (yet) but stay tuned for more history of collabs in The Sims!
