The Sims Social: EA, Tencent will make a Littlehaven in China

Playfish's number one social game on Facebook, The Sims Social, is headed east ... far east. Lame jokes aside, EA has signed an agreement with Chinese social network Tencent to release The Sims Social to Chinese audiences. Tencent is the leading social network in China, and The Sims Social will be known as Mo Ni Shi Guang on the network.

The Sims Social is currently the sixth most popular Facebook game, trailing behind five Zynga games with just under 21 million monthly players, according to AppData. EA's idea with this move is obviously increasing the game's overall audience, and thus revenue. And what better place than one of the most densely-populated countries in the world? That could do the trick.

This news follows The Sims Social receiving the 2011 Interactive Achievement Award for Best Social Game amidst steep declines in player numbers since its release in August. This move will certainly help its audience grow, but The Sims Social could be improved upon a lot, if you ask COO Peter Moore.

[Via All Things D]

Are you surprised that EA would launch in China in such a big way? What do you think the game needs domestically, so to speak, to survive? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.