The Sims has obviously attracted the medias attention due to it’s popularity with all ages, genders and communities. In particular, musicians chose to dive in there by recording their tracks in the Sim language Simlish. Though it was Maxis that approached the idea first:
“…Maxis looked to replicate the variety of musical styles available on the radio. The developers turned to several producers, including the Humble Brothers, a pair of music mixers and composers who live up to their name by fiercely guarding their anonymity. The Brothers have worked on other games, as well as projects in the mainstream music industry. Their first hit was a mix of Linkin Park’s “1stp Klosr.”.” (source)
It was during The Sims 2 University that the first artist came forward and re-wrote their song completely. This singer was Charlotte Martin, who sang her track “Beautiful Life”.
Funnily enough, I never noticed any covered tracks when playing The Sims, and I did own the University expansion pack. However I didn’t know who Charlotte Martin was so the likelihood of distinguishing regular Simlish music to covered tracks was slim.
Below is the music video released for Katy Perry’s Simlish version of Hot n Cold.
The video was created to promote The Sims 2 Apartment Life expansion and became very popular on YouTube having over 2 million viewers. This is good move for both The Sims and musicians choosing to translate their tracks. Not only does The Sims get more notice from the singers fans but the musicians now have their songs playing in the game, for every Sims player that owns the expansion to hear.
Other musicians include Pussycat Dolls, Barenaked Ladies, Katy Perry, Lily Allen, Trivium and others.
“Nelly Furtado, Pixie Lott, and Stefanie Heinzmann have all now been announced as being part of the music in The Sims™ 3 World Adventures Expansion Pack* for the PC and Mac later this year. The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that in The Sims 3 World Adventures, players will have their chance to get down, Simlish-style, to artists like GRAMMY award-winner Nelly Furtado, rising star Pixie Lott, German sensation Stefanie Heinzmann, breaking new rock band Matt & Kim, global indie dance rockers Young Punx, and more!” (source)
