The latest edition of the Aspyr Newsletter has just arrived, and it confirms what most Aspyr-watchers have expected for some time: House Party, the second expansion pack for the popular time-eater The Sims will indeed be ported and published for the Mac OS. This expansion, which as the name suggests is focused on the group dynamics of the Sims rather than solo careers, should add even more value to a game which already has the power to swallow players alive -- now, not only will your Sims have better jobs and a nicer house than you do, they will throw better parties as well.

Here's the excerpt from the newsletter:

Surprise, surprise! You guys have been dying for the official
announcement, well here it is:

Aspyr has begun work on The Sims House Party Expansion Pack (HPEX).
House Party is the latest expansion pack, for The Sims, recently
released by EA GAMES, developed by Maxis.

"The Mac gaming community has really expressed their desire for more
Sims games," says Jeff Baietto, VP of Marketing. "We've received so
many calls and emails, we even received an online petition. We're
happy to bring House Party to the Mac."

Westlake will be doing conversion of the game, with Phil "I should have
been a Sim" Sulak heading up the project. Currently House Party is in
early development. No official release date has been announced.
However, as noted on our PROJECT STATUS PAGE, everyone is shooting for
July, if not sooner.

We expect to begin taking preorders by early next month. Be sure to
check in with our web site and your favorite online Mac gaming site for
the latest updates on The Sims House Party.

As always the newsletter is full of other details and updates. For instance, there is the news that Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 is nearing final candidate status, and should be released in the near future. For more on this title be sure and check out our preview and interview. This title will be Carbonized for Mac OS X.

Also included is a confirmation that Tomb Raider Chronicles will indeed ship with the level editor, which is sure to be a thrill for longtime fans of the series. This title will also be Carbonized.

And one extra note for FPS fans out there -- Aspyr is offering Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force for the low, low price of $19.95 a copy for the next 72 hours at their online store. Remember, Elite Force is one of the titles scheduled to be ported to Cocoa (native for Mac OS X) by Omni Development, so if you want a first-class shooter for Mac OS X, here is your chance to get one cheap. Stop by Aspyr's web site for details on all of the above.

Review: Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force

Sims: House Party Web Site

The Sims

Preview: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2

Search for other Mac games news stories or browse our Mac Games News Archive.