If we're just trying to sell, are we really going to invest time making sure that the in-game toddlers have more things to do?' It's best summed up by how the other Maxis senior producer, Tim Letourneau puts it when I ask him about that air of cynicism: 'Half of this pack is about making a bunch of toys that kids can play with.
But you don't pick up any of the other part from the developers - all they want to talk about is how awesome the conical roofing is, and show you what happens when you use the 'dazzle' sales technique. With seven expansions for the original, console spin-offs, and the third Sims 2 expansion almost complete, it clearly does the money bit. Whenever people talk about The Sims, someone inevitably takes the view that it's a cynical operation designed to make EA lots and lots of money. He did what? 'Well, he used the game device you can sell in-game.' Oh, in the game. 'One of our developers actually set up a shop selling stolen Xbox 360s,' says Don Laabs, senior producer on Sims 2.
