| The Simpsons: Tapped Out | |
|---|---|
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Developer |
Electronic Arts |
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Release date |
February 29, 2012 |
The Simpsons: Tapped Out is a freemium video game for iOS, based on The Simpsons. The game was developed and published by EA Mobile and launched worldwide on March 1, 2012.Shortly after the launch, the game was pulled from the iOS App Store due to EA's servers being unable to cope with the demand and a plethora of serious bugs reported by users.A full month later, no solution, temporary update or any information on fixes have been released by EA, choosing instead to set up a forum where users can supply bug reports. Users who have had paid-for content go missing have been able to collect refunds directly from Apple after reporting EA directs them to.
Plot[]
The player is tasked with rebuilding the town of Springfield after Homer accidentally destroys the town in a nuclear meltdown.
Gameplay[]
The game offers a variety of buildings that you buy with virtual money and/or donuts which some of which are tied to tasks and come with a familiar character. You can also place rivers, roads, pavement and interactive decorations on the land. You level-up by completing quests, harvesting from buildings and helping out friends with their Springfields for XP. If you login with an Origin account, you can visit friends' Springfields and collect buildings money and vandalize buildings. By default there is an 'Another Springfield' which serves as a friends Springfield with every character, building and bonus item.
App Store removal and further glitches[]
Due to overwhelming response to the game, and connectivity issues, EA had to (temporarily) remove the game from the app store, three days after its US release.After the removal, players were getting agitated with the game and how many bugs the game had. Most of the bugs were visiting a friend, and find that your Springfield looks exactly like theirs, getting buildings moved outside purchased land, etc. Because of these bugs a forum was created on EA's forums, so players of Tapped Out could discuss the issues.