EA takes The Sims Social down, puts 'Coming Soon' sign up

It looks like the town of Littlehaven is having a power outage. Since around 2 a.m. Aug. 10, The Sims Social, EA's brand new ambitious attempt to bring its mega hit casual franchise to Facebook, has been out of commission.

When players head to the app through Facebook, they're greeted with an admittedly misleading sign that reads, "Coming Soon! Undergoing beta testing." However, The Sims Social is clearly already here, and is, according to EA, in its open beta. (Or, if you ask us, its release.)

EA and Playfish have clarified on The Sims Social forums that the game is currently down for repairs, and that it will not reset players' progress, as many fans already fear. Here's the full statement from Playfish Community Manager Lady Coconut:

"The Sims Social is currently in Open Beta, which means we're calibrating and fine-tuning to ensure you will have the best playing experience possible. Please bear with us while we fix some of the issues that some of you have been having, during which time the game may be unavailable from time-to-time. Rest assured that we will not be resetting the game during this maintenance period, so you won't lose any progress, SimCash or relationships that you have built up so far."

We're sure that The Sims Social would prove to be an impressive addition to the company's Facebook catalog, if we could just play it already. (Based on my brief, brief experience with the game, I'm actually enjoying it, mind you.) Yesterday, the game suffered a number of issues regarding performance, and our guess is that this is the result of those frequent crashes, freeze-ups and other errors players have been struggling to play the game through. No ETA has been given on The Sims Social's return, so I guess you could go play the original Sims games while you wait. Just remember to check back ...

Poll: Would you pay a subscription fee to boost your Tetris game?

EA seems to have done the impossible: make Tetris, one of the most iconic, beautifully simple games of all time, better. It's true--at least according to some news outlets, like TouchArcade--but could the publisher have just taken two steps back? The brand new Tetris is available now on the App Store, and despite costing players a buck, EA wants to milk Tetris for all it's worth.

Within the game, players will find the option to subscribe to a service known as "T-Club". For either a silly $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, players will earn 15 percent more T-Coins to buy power-ups with when they play and gain access to vague "exclusive discounts and content," according to EA. Of course, players can also buy more T-Coins directly for $.99 to $99.99.

This type of money-making scheme is common in free-to-play iPhone and Android games, but for a game that already costs money to download it's a little more bold rare. TouchArcade seems to have a problem with the mere fact that things like "T-Coins" and "leveling up" exist in this take on the classic game.

While that seems a bit "get off my lawn," it's easy to see the point. Our only question is: How could a game as beautifully simple as Tetris benefit from a subscription service? Would even the most hardcore of Tetris fan benefit from such a thing? Well, tell us what you think:

The Sims Social: Country meets chic with Country Kitchen items

Is it just me, or is decorating our houses one of the best things to do in the Sims Social? I know I could personally spend plenty of time rearranging furniture in each room, only to ripe it all out and start over again, and to help us do that with even more themes is a new Country Kitchen theme that has launched in the game this week. These country kitchen items bring in all sorts of shades of brown and ivory, and it's one of the most complete themes we've seen released in the game yet. Here's a rundown of what to look out for in the store to make this theme complete in your own home.

Plate Collection

    * Costs: 4 SimCash
    * Value: $600


Perfecto Fruitbowl

    * Costs: 4 SimCash
    * Value $600


Vintage Wines

    * Costs: 6 SimCash
    * Value: $900


RuralU Deluxe C (Kitchen Counter Piece)

    * Costs: 10 SimCash
    * Value: $1500


RuralU Deluxe (Kitchen Counter Piece)

    * Costs: 12 SimCash
    * Value: $1750


Antiquitate Deco (Wall Sconce)

    * Costs: 3 SimCash
    * Value: $450


19th Century Lamp

    * Costs: 10 SimCash
    * Value: $1500


19th Century Pot (Flowers)

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * Value: $2800


Antiquitate Oil

    * Costs: 325 Social Points
    * Value: $700


Basinuate Marble (Sink)

    * Costs: 12 SimCash
    * Value: 1750
    * Clean Stat: 5



FrancoFaux Chaise (Buildable item)

    * Costs: 225 Social Points
    * Value: $500


Cereal Shelf

    * Costs: 250 Social Points
    * Value: $550


19th Century Mat

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * Value: $2800


Clox Fruitful

    * Costs: 350 Social Points
    * Value: $800


RuralU Trove (Wall Cabinet Piece)

    * Costs: 600 Social Points
    * Value: $1450


RuralU Charm (Wall Cabinet Piece)

    * Costs: 800 Social Points
    * Value: $2050


FrancoFaux Tableau (Buildable item)

    * Costs: 800 Social Points
    * Value: $2050


RuralU Latch (Hutch - Buildable item)

    * Costs: 1100 Social Points
    * Value: $3100


G King Counter (Center Island - Buildable item)

    * Costs: 15,000 Social Points
    * Value: $21,250
    * Happiness Stat: 3


Normanity Chair (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)

    * Costs: 450 Social Points
    * Value: $1050


FrancoFaux Cafe (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)

    * Costs: 650 Social Points
    * Value: $1600


Normanity Sofa (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)

    * Costs: 700 Social Points
    * Value: $1750
    * Sleep Stat: 3



In addition to all of these items, there's also a Cooking Skill vent hood called the SuxDelux that's available to users that have reached a Cooking Skill of 40 or higher. This item has a value of $3650.

In the Build Menu, you can also find a selection of new windows in the same matching dark wood color, ranging in price from 750 coins for the RealOak 2 Pane to 6,000 coins for the RealOak 5 Pane. If you want the window in the picture above, with the quaint ivory curtains, that will set you back a whopping 39 SimCash. Along with this, there are five new wallpapers and three new floor tiles to round out the theme.

There's no listed time limit on any of these items, so if you don't have enough Social Points or SimCash available to buy them now, you should be able to save up and purchase them well into the future. Still, if you want to get your hands on these items while they're fresh, I really couldn't blame you. I just hope your kitchen is big enough to hold them all!

[Final Image Credit: Playfish/EA]

What do you think of these Country Kitchen items? Are you more of a modern fan, or do you like country / southwestern items? Sound off in the comments.

The Sims Social: Claim your free Pogo Arcade Machine

While you may already be the proud owner of one or two Arcade Machines in the Sims Social, if you're like me, you'll always be ready for one more - especially if it's free. Such is the case with this new goodie, a Pogo branded Arcade Machine, spotted by BadgeHungry. The single link to claim your reward has apparently been going around for about a week, but hasn't been heavily advertised. It does, however, still work (as of this writing).

To claim your free Pogo Arcade Machine in the Sims Social just make sure you're logged into your Facebook account and click on this link right here. This will take you to Facebook, where you'll be told whether or not your claim attempt was successful. Once in your house, the Pogo Arcade Machine will go into your storage, where you can then freely place it anywhere in your house (or even outside).

As for interactivity, the machine allows you to do two things: Play Games (no energy required), and "Redeem Tokens at Pogo." This link will let you earn 25,000 free tokens on the site, but unfortunately, doesn't come with any free Simoleons back in the Sims Social. But hey, we've walked away with a free Arcade Machine; it's that all we could really ask for?

Have you already claimed your free Pogo Arcade Machine? What other sorts of goodies do you hope come to the Sims Social? Sound off in the comments.