The Sims Social runs on Dunkin' with in-game items and boosts

Look, The Sims are people, too (sort of), and deserve a cup 'o joe every once in awhile. EA has come out of the gate swinging with The Sims Social, backing it up already with an in-game promotion by Dunkin' Donuts. The American coffee and donuts chain officially announced that several of its menu items have been given the Simlish treatment in an ambitious six-month long campaign.

Once a month for the next six months, players can send their friends one coffee and one food item (pictured) for an extra boost. (Well, then these better be pretty massive boosts.)

Aside from the usual gifting, players will also unlock Dunkin' Donuts-themed consumables as they progress through the game. Finally, if players "Like" the Dunkin' Donuts Facebook page, they'll score two more items to decorate their Sims' homes with, one of which is a beach chair that their Sims can relax on and drink Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

However, a point driven by EA and Dunkin' Donuts is that this brand integration is relevant to The Sims Social and adds a level of realism. Regardless of how relevant it is, while it's much appreciated, this is still a marketing push. However, it speaks volumes to not only how quickly The Sims Social is growing--it's already reached over 7 million players despite its launch issues--but how confident EA is in the game.

If not built around a brand entirely, most Facebook games need to hit several millions of players before even considering bringing in brand integration. It seems as if The Sims brand is speaking for itself in The Sims Social's rapid growth, but what we're all waiting for is to see how far that will take the game and for how long can it keep the momentum. One game has to touch FarmVille numbers eventually, and perhaps we're looking right at it.

Are you digging the Dunkin' Donuts branding in The Sims Social? Do you think this game is EA's way into the ring with Zynga?

The Sims Social celebrates fans with a week of free stuff

Free stuff? Yes, please, I'll take some of that! With almost 61 million players (and climbing), the folks at EA / Playfish have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the Sims Social on Facebook. As a way to thank their ever-growing player base for their support (even when the game suffered from some nagging loading and gameplay issues), the developers have launched a week long celebration involving free stuff that will be given away, apparently on a daily basis.

To start, we're given a gift of Social Points - a whopping 400 Social Points at that. Since your other methods of earning Social Points normally come in small increments (of 10 or less per action) when visiting friends, this really is a substantial prize. Remember, these Social Points work as a form of third currency in the game, and can be used to purchase exclusive decorations or other home items that aren't available through any other method or currency.

We've also been told that we'll be able to increase our land size in the future, although that wasn't exactly announced in as many words. To be specific, we're asked if we "need more space to build your dream home" and that with that question comes a secret that the developers just couldn't hold in anymore. We're even asked "If you could expand your land, what is the first room you'd build on it?"

Put two and two together here, and you're left with the answer that land size will soon be increasing, although no particular release date was announced (unfortunately). If you're like me, your home has already filled most nooks and crannies of land in our admittedly small square, and is surrounded by outdoor goodies to boot. Being able to increase the size of our house plot is a huge deal, and we'll make sure to let you know when that feature / ability launches as soon as it does.

In the meantime, keep checking back with the game's Facebook fan page for additional links / announcements of free prizes, and click right here to claim your free 400 Social Points.

What sorts of prizes are you hoping to receive in this week-long event of free stuff? What will you purchase with your 400 free Social Points? Sound off in the comments.

Sims Social survey lets you sound off on item prices, favorite features and more

It's that time folks - time to let your collective voices be heard! EA wants to know how much fun (or not) you're having with the Sims Social on Facebook, and they've released a fairly long survey to help you tell them. This survey contains all sorts of questions, ranging from the basics of how often you play the game, to allowing you to rate your opinion on item pricing (are they too cheap? too expensive?) and what some of your favorite features are in the game.

Of course, the point of all of this is to gather enough opinions to actually sway the way the game develops in the future. Hopefully, with questions dealing with how much we like to "build" items with parts (bookcases, double beds, etc.), and the option to say that you don't like it at all, we may actually see a lessening in those kinds of items, if enough users agree. You can even rank various gameplay features (decorating your house, visiting friends, customizing your Sim, etc.) in the order that you like them. In this way, perhaps we'll see more focus being placed on the most (overall) liked feature, and you'll be able to say you helped to make that happen.

Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of survey that will allow you to give your opinion on future item sets, but there are plenty of blank text boxes for you to say exactly what you want to the developers in a place that you know they'll see it. Again, this survey is prety lengthy (when compared to other Facebook game surveys anyway), so you'll want to make sure you have around 5-10 minutes to set aside to take it.

We've taken this survey as well, and if we start to notice any gameplay changes arising because of options listed here, we'll make sure to let you know. In the meantime, head over to this link right here to take the survey for yourself.