User blog:SodaDog/The Urbz Development + Cancelled Sequel Info

A friend of mine posted this in another site.

http://videogamebetabook.wiki-site.com/index.php/The_Urbz:_Sims_In_The_City

It turns out there was going to be an N-Gage/PSP/Dreamcast/PC version! How interesting.

Now for the cancelled Sequel.

'''"" The Urbz 2 started development about 5 months before The Urbz released. The Urbz 2 was planned to launch on PS2, Xbox and Gamecube in 2005. The Urbz 2 would of featured several new additions to the franchise console series: Direct Control and Multistory housing. In The Urbz 2, you are tasked yet again to build your rep in a new city. After taking over the last city, you left soon after to find fortune and then got trapped without money in Simcity. Without work and money, you need to find yourself some work and friends and make yourself famous again.

Also, several Portable Sims games characters would of appeared in The Urbz 2, such as Daddy Bigbucks, Dusty Hogg and Nora Zeal Ott.

Additionally with characters, Jayde would of made her true appearance as a major character (Not just a preset), and she would come to be your must trusted ally to take down Daddy Bigbucks, who is trying to buy out the city. Several new locations would of featured, and some from past games.

Also, The Urbz 2 was to feature online play on the Playstation 2 and Xbox versions for both the main story and freeplay modes. Also, children would of returned.

However, mid through development, around Dec 2004, the game was cancelled and instead turned into a completely different project: The Sims 2 Console. What was the urbz 2 became The Sims 2 Console. However, some legacy content remains. Several characters from The Urbz 2 were reused in The Sims 2 Console, such as Felicity Usher, Betty Buttercup and Candi Cup. Additionally, many of the objects in the game also came over from the urbz 2 project to the sims 2.

Many features also made it, such as the direct control. However, many features were removed, such as: Multistory housing, online play, children, the Phone.

Online play was removed because of 2 reasons: 1. The Declining usage of both The Sims Online and The Sims Bustin Out Online and 2. Certain tech problems with the new engine

Online play had been considered to be brought over to The Sims 2 console, but it was decided mid in development not to. A in house private lan test was done and worked perfectly. In the game files, references and code for server data can still be found.

The phone, shops, real workable jobs and clothing stores were all removed to keep the game in line with its PC counterpart, meaning it would use the traditional Build/Buy mode for the game, and traditional job systems. Also, an easter egg as a "Apology" to some staff members wanting an urbz game, a photo of Jayde was left in the game as a purchasable item in the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube versions of the game. Also, some locations from The Urbz 2 made it to The Sims 2. Many people never knew this, but HMS Amore, 8 Rockpile Rd and Jugen House are both locations from The Urbz 2. Very minor things were changed in those locations. The only exceptions were that the second levels of those places (Jugen House had 5 stories), the stairwells and elevators for those places, and the subway entrances were all removed.

Additionally, The Black Eyed Peas were to of lent their music scores for the game again, but this was cancelled when the game was turned into The Sims 2.

Other content that still exists is that using a texture viewer for PS2 games, you can find textures for many things from The Urbz, such as the bouncer. ""'''

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This is just sad...