Multimedia Art Program and Competition Celebrates the Artistry of
The Sims and Inspires Students to Compete for a $12,000 Grand Prize
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 2007--Electronic
Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that the company is teaming up with
three art and design schools, Parsons The New School for Design in New
York, Academy of Art University in San Francisco and Otis College of
Art and Design in Los Angeles to produce art competitions and
exhibitions that will celebrate the art of The Sims. The Sims-inspired
artwork provided by the students will include a range of media
including: machinima (animated films that use the engine from the
video game), paintings, illustrations, sculptural work, fashion
designs, cinematography, and interactive displays. The exhibits will
be sponsored by Ford Motor Company.
The art on display will be selected from work submitted by
students at the three respective schools and juried by representatives
from the schools and EA. The Machinima and traditional art will be
judged in separate categories with $12,000 of prize money awarded at
each school for winning entries.
"The Sims games celebrate creativity--encouraging players to
create their own world as they play through the game. We've seen fans
make everything from their dream home, to story-driven movies using
The Sims as their medium. Putting a creative tool like The Sims in the
hands of emerging artists opens up a whole new world of
possibilities--we can't wait to see what the students come up with,"
said Nancy Smith, GM of The Sims Division at Electronic Arts and an
avid art collector.
The Sims is one of the world's most popular PC games, selling
nearly 85 million games world-wide since it's launch in 2000. It's
earned its broad appeal by letting players creatively control the
lives of characters in their own virtual world.
"EA has long recognized the artistic talent of the students at
Parsons the New School for Design, Academy of Art University and Otis
College of Art and Design. This program is the perfect way to
celebrate The Sims games across a variety of art forms," said Jack
Lew, Global University Relations Manager for Art Talent at EA. "And
true to the Sims franchise, 'The Sims: In the Hands of Artists'
exhibits will demonstrate self expression and creativity."
For more information, including rules and regulations, dates and
locations please visit www.TheSims2.com/HandsOfArtists
Exhibition Dates
-- April 19th - May 12th: Parsons The New School for Design at
the Chelsea Art Museum
-- June 26th - July 19th: 79 Gallery at Academy of Art
University, San Francisco
-- July 14th - August 11th: Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College of
Art and Design, Los Angeles
About The Sims(TM)
The Sims franchise celebrated its seventh anniversary in February.
The game skyrocketed to the top of the charts when it began shipping
to stores in February 2000 and quickly become a universal gaming and
cultural phenomenon. The Sims™ PC based product and expansion packs
were the best selling PC games of 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.
Translated into 17 different languages, The Sims has inspired seven
top selling expansion packs. They include: The Sims™ Livin' Large,
The Sims™ House Party, The Sims™ Hot Date, The Sims™
Vacation, The Sims™ Unleashed, The Sims™ Superstar, and The
Sims™ Makin' Magic. The Sims 2 shipped in September 2004 with sales
already topping 5M units worldwide, it was the best selling PC game of
2004. The Sims™ 2 University shipped in March 2005, The Sims™ 2
Nightlife shipped in September 2005, The Sims™ 2 Open for Business
shipped in February 2006. Combined sales for the franchise are
approximately 85M units life-to-date. For more information on The Sims
2, visit http://www.thesims2.com and for more information on The Sims
franchise titles, visit http://www.thesims.com
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City,
California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software
company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and
distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems,
personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic
Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM,
EA SPORTS BIGTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of $2.95
billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's
homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about
EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the
Internet at http://info.ea.com.
Electronic Arts, EA, the EA logo and The Sims are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other
countries. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.