simpsons

An avid player of Electronic Arts' "The Simpsons: Tapped Out" mobile game, David Lamb was disheartened when he logged into his account in October and found that all of the data from his game was gone.

The iOS game, which is essentially "Farmville" with Springfield buildings and Simpsons characters, rewards players who spend huge amounts of time completing tasks and collecting money in an effort to re-create their favorite animated city. Lamb, a 45-year-old video editor from La Canada, Calif., had accumulated $80,000 in game cash and 70 donuts (the game's premium currency) after … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Jill gives us 2012 year-end tax tips: four benefit changes.

- "Fiscal cliff" primer: Breaking down the plans.

- Alan Simpson goes "Gangnam Style."

- The Fiscal Cliff Huxtable.… Read more

The Simpsons have become ingrained in our culture since they first premiered on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987 (we're showing our age here), so it seems fitting that they move to the 21st century by appearing in an iOS game. Sadly, though, for such a funny and entertaining television show, The Simpsons Tapped Out is one of the more boring iOS game apps we've tested.

When we started The Simpsons Tapped Out, we had to wait about five minutes for 28 updates to download. But once it started, we were greeted with a short scene of Homer … Read more

"The Simpsons" has been around a long time, and for good reason; it's still as funny as ever. The Simpsons Arcade game lets you take the whole clan with you wherever you go. In this version, however, Homer isn't quite as lazy as his television counterpart. He's tasked with battling suited men in different scenes to find his beloved donut. The gameplay is both easy to learn and addictive.

At the start of The Simpson Arcade, you're given access to a menu that includes a Help feature. There, you'll find directions for how … Read more

Electronic Arts' latest tool to keep The Simpsons: Tapped Out iOS game from becoming a zombie app: actual zombies.

In anticipation of The Simpsons' annual Treehouse of Horror episode, EA updated its Farmville-like game to include Halloween-themed landscapes such as a cemetery, complete with zombies and zombie pets that can infect the characters in your game. The addition adds a new wrinkle to the game, and breathes new life in for players who were done buying buildings and likely on the verge of burning out.

With the upgrade, EA made good on its promise to continue supporting The Simpsons: Tapped … Read more

Don't call it a comeback.

"The Simpsons: Tapped Out" made its quiet return late last week after suffering through one of the more embarrassing meltdowns in app history when Electronic Arts pulled the game from Apple's App Store just a few days after its first launch in March. Simpsons fans had overwhelmed the server, causing connection problems, while massive bugs made for a terrible playing experience.

The incident is a lesson for any developer looking to launch a game with any amount of anticipation: be sure you're ready for the demand. Also, don't rush … Read more

Apple announced the new iPad yesterday in San Francisco, and with the reactions ranging from disappointment up to stores already running out of stock, Ty Pendlebury joins us today to give his take on the amped-up display, the updated nomenclature, and a rundown of the new iOS 5.1 features.

We'll also talk about Netflix coming out of your cable box, a new Sim City announcement, and a quick review of The Simpsons: Tapped Out.… Read more

Omigod omigod omigod! There's a new "Simpsons" game, and it's better than anything that's been on the actual TV show in years. (That's right, I said it.)

The Simpsons: Tapped Out turns your iPhone or iPad into a Springfield-style SimCity. Or maybe that's a SimCity-style Springfield. Either way, it's a city-building and management game, which is a lot cooler than it sounds.

The plot unfolds (hilariously) with an animated clip showing Homer wreaking nuclear-plant destruction on Springfield. (Really, it was just a matter of time.) Fortunately, everyone survived, but the town needs rebuilding.

You start with the Simpsons' house, then add Evergreen Terrace, the Kwik-E-Mart, and so on. A lengthy tutorial guides you every step of the way, which is a good thing--Tapped Out is a complex game, especially if you've never played SimCity or anything else involving building, resource management, and the like.

The main goal here is to accrue money, experience points, and, especially, doughnuts, which can be used to accelerate certain aspects of the game. See, the tasks that earn you money and experience take time--in some cases several minutes or even hours of actual, real time. By "spending" some doughnuts, you can zip through those tasks in seconds.… Read more

The Simpsons are going mobile in a big way with a free iOS game created by Electronics Art.

EA plans to release The Simpsons: Tapped Out to iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad in the coming weeks, the video game giant told CNET. The game will be given away for free, but players will have the option to buy virtual currency, or in this case, "doughnuts," that can speed up the game's progress.

The game rides on the latest trend in mobile gaming: the freemium business model. As I've written in a previous column, EA … Read more