Maxis talks about EA's "The Urbs" and "The Sims 2"

Producers Scott Amos And Cheryl Platz of Maxis and Electronic Arts' upcoming The Urbz title held a Q & A session to answer questions about the recently announced sequels to the popular The Sims series.

"The goal for The Urbz on console is to become the biggest "player" in the city," said Amos. "You have to improve your reputation (rep) so you can gain access to the coolest places, people, and objects throughout the city."

The "Reputation" score is affected by how you play including: who you become friends with, things you do in the world, and clothes you wear. The emphasis of the game will be largely on the reputation rating.

The Urbz will use a "Xam" user interface (Xchange, Access, Messaging). The Xam system is said to allow players to receive text messages from and engage in basic conversations with NPCs. "It's the all-in-one PDA/phone/camera/shopping interface The Urbz use to stay hooked up in the City," said Amos.

A Game Boy Advance version of the title is also in development. Furthermore, Maxis revealed there are two seperate development teams working on The Sims 2 and The Urbz.

For the full transcript, visit TheSims.com.