Want exclusive freebies in The Sims Social? Register on the forums

I'd put away that credit card, if I were you, at least for the moment. I know, it's burning a hole and blah, blah, blah, but Playfish recently announced that it will give The Sims Social players exclusive freebies on a regular basis, but under one condition: You have to register on the Playfish forums. In fact, the game's community team created a new forum category just for this purpose.

Starting last week, Playfish gave away some free Relaxation--an ingredient used in crafting Fun Potions--in a short 24-hour window. So, it looks like, if you do decide to partake in the freebie-fest, you'll have to visit the Playfish forums on a regular basis to catch the next free giveaway that pops up. Perhaps eventually the developer will start to dole some beefier prizes like decorations for your Sim's house or straight-up Simoleons and Social Points.

EA and Playfish have been on a freebie frenzy as of late for all The Sims Social players. Just recently, the developer announced a week-long event in which it will post even more handouts on its Facebook page. At this point, we can't help but ask: Why? Well, considering just how close The Sims Social is to overtaking Zynga's CityVille as the number one game on Facebook in daily players, we're not surprised that Playfish would be pulling all the stops. To register on the Playfish forums, click right here.

Have you been reaping the rewards from Playfish on the forums and on The Sims Social Facebook page? What do you think of the game so far?

Dunkin' Donuts pushes its brand with a free Sims Social Lawn Chair

Dunkin' Donuts strikes again in The Sims Social. On top of all the free fan gifts from Playfish and EA rolling out daily on the game's official fan page, the American coffee-and-donuts chain has chipped in for the first Sims Social-branded virtual item in the form of an exclusive Dunkin' Donuts Lawn Chair.

To get the chair, you've got to 'like' the official Dunkin' Donuts Facebook page here and then head over to the section of the page titled "DD & The Sims Social".

Owning the lawn chair adds 250 points to your house value, which is a modest, but no small amount. It also sells for 15 Simoleons, which is chump change, but hey, free furniture! And lastly, the chair comes with a bit of extra animation.

Just click on the chair, and your Sim will get the option to "Sit" or "Drink Dunkin' Donuts Coffee". So kick back, and watch your Sim lie down on the chair to sip from a steamy cup.
Dunkin Donuts Sims Social Lawn Chair
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FIFA Superstars on iPhone yanked from App Store due to 'server issues'

EA is sitting pretty on Facebook at the moment, but on smartphones ... not so much. Mobile Entertainment reports that that the publisher has been forced to remove its recently-released iPhone version of Facebook soccer (football) hit FIFA Superstars from the App Store due to "server issues."

The game, released in late August, provides the 2.8 million monthly players of the Facebook version of FIFA Superstars a near-identical representation of what they're used to seeing in their browsers. However, the game suffered login issues from the get-go, it seems. Players have been unable to access the game after logging into the company's new Origin service.

"We are currently experiencing server issues with FIFA Superstars mobile that have required us to temporarily take the game down," EA told Mobile Entertainment. "This is not a data security-related issue. We are implementing a solution that will ensure users have the best gameplay experience, and will provide an update soon as to when the game will be live again."

According to Mobile Entertainment, EA stresses that this issue does not affect the Facebook version of the game, and that players can still enjoy the game there for now. (When we tried to log into the game, we didn't encounter any issues either.) It's comforting to see that EA is more vocal with the issues it has encountered in this game than it has been with social games in the past.

When its hyper popular Facebook version of The Sims, The Sims Social, suffered launch issues, the company was mum on the details for days before it released a message to its players with an explanation (and later threw them a bone). Since then, the game has enjoyed incredible growth, so hopefully FIFA Superstars for iPhone can bounce back from these hiccups just as well.

[Via Pocket Gamer]

Did you have trouble logging into FIFA Superstars for iPhone, too? What are you doing to scratch the social soccer itch while you wait for the game to return to the App Store? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment