MySims Nieuws

Maxis is moving this week from Walnut Creek to Redwood Shores, and as it happens I am also personally moving to new endeavors. Since I have kept all of you in the loop on everything that happens at Maxis, I wanted to make sure you knew it first before any public announcement in the next few weeks.

My time at Maxis as been the most wonderful time of my life for I love the games we make and the individuals who make them. Everyone is so creative, smart and willing to do what it takes to make the best, that I will leave Maxis with unforgettable memories. Maxis is also the place where I learned to connect with you, the key leaders of a vibrant community that helps us make better games and an overall better experience inclusive of creators and leaders outside of Maxis.

Timing is always a challenge in succession planning, but I leave with the knowledge that Sims2 is in great shape and will be the most exciting game of 2004. I cannot wait to see all of you play "The Sims 2 Body Shop" in the next few weeks and see the deluge of content that will come from your talented artists. I am also excited that you will be able to play the game at E3 in Los Angeles in May and experience for yourselves The Sims 2 as well as see our new Sims offering for Console for the fall.

My next play is within EA and is a secret right now, all I can say is that it will take a few years to come out and it will probably involve the Sims and other EA properties in a completely new way. Ooops I am already saying too much.

Replacing me in my role of "General Manager, Maxis" is my friend of many years Neil Young. Over the past few years, Neil managed Ultima Online, Majestic and Lord of the rings among other things at EA. Lucy Bradshaw continues to be the Exec Producer of The Sims 2 and she will replace my weekly emails by her own prose about the details of the game and with new pictures of the game.

Thank you again for so many incredible years,

Love you all,

Luc Barthelet

"Forever Maxoid"

There will be no SimDay next week due to the fact that Maxis is moving to EA's Redwood City campus. However, SimDay will return the following Thursday, April 1st where we plan on providing a slew of truthful, honest information.

When we started situating employees in our break rooms, we knew something had to change...

Moving news.

Maxis is Moving!

A Message From Luc Barthelet – Hair Rocker Extraordinaire

Luc's a hair rocker

What happens when you combine a tree with a body of water? Well, one answer is you end up with a Walnut Creek, which is the Northern California city where Maxis currently resides. Another answer is that you get Redwood Shores, which is where Electronic Arts is currently headquartered. After some amount of fretting and hand-wringing, Maxis has decided to trade in its current aqua-arboreal digs for new ones, and we have therefore decided to relocate the company to Redwood Shores, to be closer to our fellow EA brethren.

This decision is a welcome one. Space in the current Maxis office has been growing scarcer with each passing month, and when we started situating employees in our break rooms, we knew something had to change. Redwood Shores is a mere geographical stone’s throw from our current location, and comes with a whole host of benefits for our staff, such as an on-site gym, cafeterias, a movie theatre, and most importantly – space to work and grow.

How will this affect you, the community? The answer to that is simple – not at all! None of our product release dates have changed, the central thrust of Maxis remains intact, and we remain committed to delivering top-notch games with our unique sense of humor and the world-view that could only come from Maxis.

The reason we’re telling you this is simply because we thought you should hear it from us first. Now join me won’t you, for a farewell tour of the less-than-spacious environs that currently houses the Maxis braintrust.

- Luc Barthelet, General Manager of Maxis Studios

The Art Team constantly surprises me with their talent

If people were only this tall we would have more space

Few people know that I am an avid HAM radio enthusiast... Or that I can hypnotize you with my eyes!

As you can see, it's too cramped here to properly rock out

The Maxoids are all packed up and ready to roll! We won’t be holding a chat event this week on the Sims site, instead we are taking a virtual school bus for a field trip over to The Sims Resource to hang out in their chat room. Chat with MaxisLucky, Maxiskitty, MaxisDano and MaxisMojo at the Sims Resource site this Thursday at 11am PST.

Go to TheSimsChat.com!