"Sims" Creator Leaving EA; Publisher Buys Stake in Think Tank

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 8, 2009 - 9:31am.

San Francisco - Will Wright, the creative force behind the wildly popular "Sims" video game franchise, is resigning from Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) after 12 years to focus on his entertainment think tank, Stupid Fun Club, Reuters reported.

EA will pay an undisclosed sum for a 50% equity stake in the eight-year-old venture.

"The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change," Wright said in a statement.

"Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms."

"The way we see it is not all of Will's concepts fit in with the EA business model for interactive entertained and Stupid Fun Club is an opportunity for Will to try new things and new formats," an EA spokeswoman told Reuters.

Wright's "Sims" franchise has to date sold more than 100 million units worldwide.

http://www.thestupidfunclub.com