At EA's Summer Camp press event, I was able to sit down with some of the folks from Maxis and learn a bit more about the economy in The Sims Online, i.e. how can your online Sim get rich.  There will be plenty of ways to make money in The Sims Online, but they generally fall into three categories: job objects, services, and your lot.

Job objects will be the most straight-forward way to make money.  Job objects are objects that when operated by sims will eventually produce cash.  For example, a pottery wheel will produce pottery if you spend some time working with it, and the results of the labor are a sellable commodity.  How much money is made is dependent on the job object and whether or not your sim has a high rating in the requisite skill - highly creative sims will probably do quite well with a pottery wheel object.  Some job objects will require several sims to run and might require high ratings in several skills in order to produce a lot of money.  This will make these job objects more of a social occasion, as you might have to ask around until you find a sim with a high rating in the skill you're looking for to join the team.

Job objects and other objects in The Sims Online will break down more often than they do in The Sims.  This means that there will be plenty of opportunity for sims that specialize in repair to sell their services throughout the city.  If an object's owner gets tired of repairing it, they can sell it to you.  With your skill in repair you can get the object working again and resell it to sims looking to pay a little less than full retail.  Repair will not be the only way you can sell your services.  If you work to have a high enough skill in a particular area, you can sell your service to operate objects that benefit from someone of your talents.

At this point if you are thinking that the road to riches may be to simply max out all your skills and then sell your superman (or superwoman) level talents to the highest bidder, then I'll have to burst your bubble.  The Sims Online is designed so that skills must be maintained as they will degrade with time.  It will be physically impossible to maintain a high level of skill in one area without sacrificing skill in another.

Finally, your lot itself is ripe with endless money making potential.  In The Sims Online, the only limit to how you make money with your lot is your imagination.  You can go the traditional route and open a restaurant or dance club, charging for dinners served or a cover charge at the door.  Or you can be a bit more eclectic, opening a gaming parlor that serves free food but charges to use the bathrooms, or perhaps a perpetual toga party that charges non-toga wearing arrivals a fee to rent a toga at the door.  The Sims Online will give you the freedom to charge as much as you like for entries, motive fillers, or the use of objects.

What happens when you are not playing the game?  Does your lot still make money for you?  The answer is no, your lot is frozen when you are not present.  Even if you are in the game but traveling around, your lot will be frozen.  The one exception to this rule is if you have one or more roommates.  You'll be able to occupy a lot with up to seven other players, which will at first give you access to more initial money (if you pool your resources) and and more space to work with.  When your lot is open for business, only one of a lot's roommates needs to be present to keep it open.  Working together you can keep the lot open longer than any one person could, and increase the time available for making money.

The Sims Online is due this November, and we'll bring you information on other aspects of the game as they become available.