Thank Grog It’s Firday!
I’m writing this early, as today I will actually be on my way to Boise, for Terri’s funeral. Not a great week. I could use some grog.
Compound this with the reality that our “new normal” of lulliness continues, with two very seemingly ambiguous bits of news, that are sure to stoke the “Speculation Train” to the point of flying dangerously down the tracks and around a corner not meant for such speeds.
The first bit came from a Simpson’s writer, the second a notice from E3, which will likely be attended by the same writer. Irony, thy name is Selman.
Let’s get deep into the coal reserves, and stoke the firebox a bit…as that seems the best way to blow off an 8 hour drive across the state, to another state, and a different state of mind altogether.
Let’s start with the recent post on the “Official TSTO Facebook Page.”
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Hey Tappers! One way you can tell Tapped Out is written by actual Simpsons writers is they pay no attention to deadlines. But they’re doing their jobs now, so get ready! Game of Games is coming to the game, as is a Flanders family reunion!
YAY!! New content is coming! Yay again!!
This of course, was proceeded by two miniscule tidbits of info from Simpsons/TSTO writer, Matt Selman (no relation to Matt Groening…different last names).
After the severe, long, horribly tedious lull in game content, following the “Meh” of Marge at Bat, Selman wrote, “It’s not over. I swear!” or something to that effect (the tweet has been deleted from his feed).
And then he twittered the pre-drop of the next update ( he was off by a day, but, that’s cool). Hey #TSTO fans, a new update is dropping 5/14 — Tapped Out is not tapped out! — Matt Selman (@mattselman) May 11, 2019
So…we are led to believe that Matt loves and cares about TSTO and the players. This is evident in that he is the ONLY one of the “team” that has gone public with information about the game and the lulliness issue. Show runner, and ardent tweetster, Al Jean, never twitters a peep about the game. And, Groening, honestly feels like a Luddite when it comes to tech (I watched his powerpoint at the Lincoln reunion). But, at least there was something. Right?
All good!!
But wait. On the 30th – 31st, two more tweets about the upcoming E3 gaming conference.
“New game coming? I hope????” REALLY MATT??? (different Matt…and not a relation to either Groening, or Selman’s…different last name, and likely different mother) Damn. How about more content for the OLD game…that still has millions of players…who still want to know that they are loved after all of these years.
Didn’t we stay steady, and supportive through all of the other “Franchise Failures???”
Bart vs. the Space Mutants – 1991
The Simpsons – 1991
Bart’s House of Weirdness – 1991
Bart Simpson’s Escape from Camp Deadly – 1991
Bart vs. the World – 1991
Bart vs. the Juggernauts – 1992
Bartman Meets Radioactive Man – 1992
Bart’s Nightmare – 1992
Krusty’s Fun House – – 1992
Bart & the Beanstalk – 1994
Virtual Bart- 1994
Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness- 1994
The Itchy & Scratchy Game- 1994
The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio- 1996
Virtual Springfield- 1997
The Simpsons Bowling – 2000
Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror- 2001
The Simpsons Wrestling- 2001
Road Rage – 2001
The Simpsons Skateboarding- 2001
Road Rage – 2003
Hit & Run – 2003
The Simpsons Game – 2007
Minutes to Meltdown – 2007
Itchy and Scratchy Land – 2009
The Simpsons Arcade – 2009
Tapped Out – 2012
And that doesn’t even begin to mention some of the “other franchises” like the Futurama game…which went into hibernation almost faster than players could figure out how to play it.
Tapped Out is the single most successful, longest running game, of every “Simpsons game” created.
So….where is the loyalty to us??? We have been tapping for Seven Years! And all we ask is a bit of new content that isn’t a retread of old content.
But sure. Have your glorious “Celebration” at E3, where you may, or may not announce a “New Simpsons Game!!!”
As I have said many times before, I am not big into speculation. I take things pretty much at face value. And on the face of the information we are given, it is an undeniable fact that compared to a year ago at this time, TSTO 2019 has been about as active as the FitBit on Matt Groening’s wrist. (As a fat guy…I can go after other fat guys…especially those who could be more forthright about the future).
By this time in 2018, we had Nine Updates…including three Major Events (one being the amazing shift of Itchy and Scratchy Land). In 2019? One “Event” and a lot of reruns….retreads…and meh…that set up one “OK…this feels kind of like the old days” update of the Mother’s Day update (delivered almost 3 weeks late).
A new game? If it is even half as successful as the last few that have come out, this may be the last “new game announcement” that these guys get to make.
I love the Simpsons. I love the Simpsons Tapped Out. But is is very clear to me that the love is one-way…un-reciprocated…and starting to feel a bit embarrassing.
Here’s the stone cold, hard truth…
The writers, producers, and creator of the Simpsons all know what’s going on. Some may not care as much as others (it’s pretty much dependent upon paychecks at some point), but they know. They know if there is a future for TSTO. They know if there is going to be a “new game,” and who is producing it. They know if the resources have been drawn off from TSTO to focus on another project. How do I know this? Because the game is called The SIMPSONS Tapped Out. You can’t have the game without their involvement. Period.
That will play out next week, on June 11th.
I trust Selman’s promise that there will be new updates. I don’t trust him to know what they are…or if they are “major events” (not likely) or the same kind of half-assed filler that we have been getting most of the year. The Facebook post really feels more like a “damn…I guess we have to keep this going” more than a “Hey! We’re coming back with a vengeance to make up for all of the lulls this year!”
But, we’ll see. Prove me wrong, EA/Gracie! Prove me wrong!!
I’ll admit that this week is colored with the loss of my dear friend. But, I am also pragmatic enough to be pissed off that we are being played like suckers…with the promise of decent content, from people who clearly don’t have the balls to tell the truth.
Now…let the Speculation Train roll out from the station. Just don’t expect to know its true destination for a while.
I’m seeing a couple of names I remember and lots of new ones,
Maybe the new ones are only new to me because I haven’t been here in a couple of years, ……
I swear I wasn’t in prison,….just too busy for gaming!
🇬🇧😂
This internet is frustrating…one minute I’m there, the next I disappeared again,
Maybe I’m impatient. 😂🇬🇧
This game feels like Neo when he enters the room with the Architect… All confused and major decisions ahead.. and we the players are like Trinity falling down the building…. except this time, Neo (tsto) won’t be there to save us…… worst. plot. twist. ever………
How about…
Bart vs The Space Mutants update for TSTO!!!
Although I am not familiar with that game (in fact, I not familiar with any of the other “Simpsons” games, except for “The Simpsons: Road Rage” and “The Simpsons: Hit & Run”), I agree with you that EA should do for TSTO, maybe even as a Halloween update. And I think that, maybe, EA should do a tribute update to all of the “Simpsons” games that came before TSTO. That may even be what the “Game Of Games” update is going to be about.
I vaguely remember playing Bart vs the space mutants. It was very difficult and I may have only made it through the first couple of levels.
Road Rage was pretty fun. It’s game play was very similar to Crazy Taxi. Any time you hit the Capital City Goofball, he would yell “I regret nothing!”, and that cracked me up.
Hit and Run might be the best Simpsons console game. It was released around the time of the peak original episodes, so everything tied in to the game is classic. All of the costumes, and catch phrases were great.
To really have closure with this game I would like to be able to get all the land including the SH land, plenty of time to design it all before taking a snapshot of my town before the switch it off and before the new game is released, think that’s the least EA could do considering the time I have and everyone else has devoted to the game, then check into to rehab for a few weeks lol 😁😂😀😃😄😅😆😎
1st – please travel back and forth from your friend’s (Terri) funeral services 🛸
2nd – zero expectations! at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if there is nothing OR something (we are talking lower than Mad TV’s “lowered expectations”) 🤦🏼♂️
https://youtu.be/hflHwq8kI2I
3rd – it’s the weekend, 2 days of no Tapping (so I’m not expecting anything new to come from EA this month at E3 regarding The Simpson’s, nor am I expecting anything from Fox / The Simpson’s at San Diego Comic-Con next month!) 🤷🏼♂️
I loved The Simpsons for PS2. I’m not great at games and the gameplay was simple enough for me. The levels were each very different and incredibly interesting. My only issue is I hate those dancing/guitar hero type games. I suck at them. The end boss *spoiler* is a dance off with God. I absolutely couldn’t do it. So to this day I’ve never seen the ending.
the ending was fun… it did take a while but it was worth it… 🙂 played it on Xbox.
I’m not a musing anymore
I’m done speculating. I’m sad. The game needs new updates/events. That’s all there is to it.
As an Amazon user who only just got back into the game after they finally fixed the zoom bug, I think it would be the perfect ending to the game for them to abruptly pull the plug right after I finally got back into it, lol
Well, I’ve just finished the Yearbook, and now I need time and money and donuts to design my Springfield just like I want to, so I’m ok with the downtime 😛
Anyway, it’s impossible to deny that TSTO is probably slowing down forever. Luckily, it will keep a few events every two months. That would be very nice. I know Disney is not in charge of it, and thank god for that: Disney famously likes to shut down its games whenever they feel like it (I remember one of those, called “Enchanted Tales”; which was basically TSTO but for Disney stories and was probably one of the best games ever).
Today (Friday) is national donut day in the US, but those commies at EA gave us nothing. Go back to Russia you friggin commies!
Gabriel
You are not kidding! Team Disney Burbank had one of the best MMORPG games – Pirates of the Caribbean Online – and we’re talking millions of players paying $9.99 a month (I was one of them that started with the beta test!) – but what did they go do after 5 years? Move the majority of staff running Pirates to Club Penguin (an acquisition that turned into an epic fail!) and then shut down Pirates with little warning a year later! 🤷🏼♂️
Team Disney Burbank has an attention span of a child with ADHD (there I said it! go ahead and whip me – beat me – make me write bad checks! my autistic nephew has more brains than Disney corporate!) where even their Infinity Game System (touted as the game change, money maker) turned into a huge loss (message to corporate, it takes years for a game to develop into something profitable utilizing existing intellectual property!)🤦🏼♂️
Played Krusty’s Funhouse on Sega (still have it in storage) Boy did those meeces drive me nuts!
And one of the Hit & Run games on one of the xbox’s, loved smooshing stuff with the monster’s hot rod!
Don’t think all the time I spent on both those games combined comes even close to the time (or cold hard $) I’ve spent on TSTO.
~MIB👤
I have loved the game. Am I ready to tap out for a new one? No. Will I have to. Well..
All of the games by EA with Marvel characters recently acquired by Disney appear to be ending and relaunching under new formats.
Sprinkle some Disney magic on my donut, and tap dance my way to an even better game. See y’all in the new Springfield, somewhere in Florida.
Well said Patric. Myself & few others were accused of being negative when we started to criticise EA for dumbing the game down a long time ago. The first signs were when they went to the 4 week format, with practically no interaction involved. We said EA were becoming lazy & the decline in the game continued to the present day.
Those who moaned about not having enough downtime must now wish they had kept their mouths shut !!!
However even now some folks keep going on about the next ” major ” event coming. Get real it ain’t going to happen. Hope I’m wrong I really do. Whatever the future holds for TSTO I will not be loosing any sleep over it. It’s just a silly old game as a certain lady always reminds us.
Back in real life, have a save journey Patric as you say goodbye to your friend.
The end is nigh!!! Lol the way the game is who wants to continue, ?? The game is only as good as the last update.and that isn’t happening
I’ve been playing TSTO for a long time & I just hit level 60. I was wondering if anyone else still played to which I was happily surprised by finding this website. If anyone would like to friend me, my username is superedgytee :^)
http://tstoaddicts.com/2018/10/01/add-friends-for-holiday-fun/
Hit and run was one of my favorite games of all time and I still play it on occasion to this day. I wish they would make a sequel or remastered version.
Ok but how do I complete my barren Egypt section. 😢https://i.imgur.com/vLetzQM.jpg
I don’t care anymore if TSTO dies. I’d rather be happy to see some kind of TSTO pt.2 coming…there’s nothing I can do in my town anyway now.
Item limit reached-✅
More than 3 billion cash I can never spend-✅
More than 1500% bonus- ✅
More than 320 characters- ✅
Town completely designed and happy with it-✅.
Time to move on I guess 😎
I used to love to play a Simpsons game when I was a kid, but I don’t remember what it was called. One of the levels had a baby Bart swinging from tree branches. Anyone remember it?
Virtual Bart was an awesome game – could always complete the baby, pig and one other level, tomato throwing was too random and the water slide never got the hand of. bike level was the worse!
And PS it’s national donut day and to my knowledge nothing was done about it in the game…
Not the first time.
EA is probably just postponing the Donut Day celebration until the next update/event goes live. Which would make sense considering all of the break periods that we have been having lately.
Alissa, I have only been playing TSTO since March 2017. When were the previous times that Donut Day was not celebrated?
2016 was the first year. So 2013, 2014, and 2015 (the 3 most popular years for this game) no donut day celebration
Virtual Bart was awesome! The tomato game was the most fun