EA Launches The Sims On Stage Beta

Electronic Arts has announced the beta launch of The Sims On Stage, a free interactive online webiste-based toolset that lets users record, watch and share karaoke songs, stories, comedy routines and other creative projects. The Sims on Stage is based on the SingShot Media karaoke community, which EA acquired earlier this year. EA says "thousands of well-known rock, pop and country songs" will be available at launch; For the members not vocally inclined, The Sims on Stage also offers "Open-Mic Recordings," for spoken-word and comedy performances. In addition to karaoke, The Sims On Stage will also feature a "Movie Mashup" that will allow members to create original movies featuring The Sims content, some of which will include assets made available only to members of The Sims On Stage community. Recordings can be kept private or publicly shared, and can also be uploaded to blogs and social networking sites. The announcement continues EA's commitment to The Sims as one of its chief and most important brands - in the recent re-organization of the company, it has been elevated to one of the four main company 'labels' alongside EA Sports, Casual, and EA Games, the only single franchise to be given that honor. “The Sims has long had one of the largest, friendliest and most creative communities in the world. With the release of The Sims On Stage we welcome a new kind of customer to our way of having fun,” said Rod Humble, studio head of The Sims label. He continued: “The world of interactive entertainment is now broader than ever thanks to new web-based technologies, and we are thrilled to give you a new way of having fun with The Sims On Stage.” The Sims On Stage is now available in a beta version at its official website.