Breaking news out of California… it looks like the sequel to The Simpsons Game has finally been officially cancelled… can’t say this was all that surprising… but apparently they’d been working really hard on it and now all that hard work will never be seen… Developing…
games
Did Virtual Springfield Begat Google Street View?
No, of course not, but watching this video from GameSpot (specifically, from 3:43 onward) sorta reminded me of it. Lately, I’ve been nostalgic for Virtual Springfield, which I used to “play” in middle school. If you’re unfamiliar with this classic 1997 Simpsons CD-ROM time-waster, you should totally read this article Bob “bobservo” Mackey wrote about it.
I appreciate how the game makers managed to place pretty much every location that had appeared in the series to that point into a geographical layout that actually made sense, instead of randomly chucking districts together in the face of all logic. If Fox Interactive got their shit together, they could re-use this stuff, add new places from the subsequent 30 seasons of the show, and throw it up on the web with a Google Maps-like interface as a neat web-bonus thing. It would totally blow this fan-made map of Springfield out of the water in terms of sheer coolness.
Also, I’m pretty pleased that the aforementioned video contains a a mostly uninterrupted version of Troy McClure’s welcoming introduction (skip to 1:04), Phil Hartman’s only appearance in a Simpsons video game, because people on YouTube skip over all the dialogue parts for some inexplicable reason. It’s a good Simpsons quote, despite being written by some intern for a point-and-click CD-ROM non-game:
Welcome to Springfield! I’m Troy McClure. You may remember me as town spokesman from such computer travel guides as {Smother Me In Shreveport} and {Living, Loving and Lubbock}. Of course, we all know Springfield for its award-winning dandelions and as birthplace of the glove compartment. But that’s merely scratching the surface of a place the great Calvin Coolidge once labelled, “a pea-sized town with lima bean-sized dreams.” So, warm up your clicking finger and let’s explore a land the poets call Springfield, USA!
The titles of the two other travel guides would vary each time. Here’s a complete (?) list of the other titles, which are curiously omitted from The Simpsons Archive (yet they include stuff from a screensaver???):
- Eeney-Meeney-Miney Murphreesborough
- Yuma: It’s Seniorific
- Smother Me In Shreveport
- Living, Loving and Lubbock
- Duluth, It’ll Grow On You
- Suddenly Tulsa
- Freedonia: Gateway to Wichita
- Fairbanks Needs Women
- I Left My Soul In Sacramento
- Tender Lovin’ Newark
- Hats Off To Fargo
- Pinch Me, I’m In Boise
I think I speak for everyone when I say it’s time we stop fetishizing 8-bit Nintendo games and start a virtual storybook revival.
They Redid The Simpsons Arcade Game For Some Reason

What’s different: The storyline (no more Smithers stealing Maggie for some bizarre reason), you can only play as Homer, you can slap him to revive him, new design (as far as I can tell, it looks like a modern episode and not all pixelated), and characters/locations that weren’t around or as iconic in 1991 (including the Republican Party Headquarters and Rich Texan).
What’s the same: The basic controls (I think?), and the dated Binky-with-a-ghetto-blaster level transistions (which I like). [United Simpsons]
Insanely Detailed Simpsons Quake III Map
Some guy made an incredibly detailed “Springfield” skin for Quake III Arena, with all kinds of nerd-salivating props from past episodes – Big Butt Skinner balloon, pig tracks on the ceiling, etc. Hopefully Fox Interactive, hot off the heels of Simpsons Crazy Taxi, Simpsons Grand Theft Auto and Simpsons Myst will hire this guy to make the next Simpsons video game, Simpsons Quake.
[YouTube via Boing Boing]