No More Simsonstage Karoke

The Sims™ On Stage will not be available after March 31, 2009. After March 31, all content related to The Sims On Stage Karaoke, Mashups, Comedy, Stories and Poetry categories will be deleted. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and sincerely thank all of you who made this a fun experience.
– The Sims On Stage Team NO MORE SIMS ON STAGE KARAOKE!!!

 

Well folks, I know I have been neglecting my msn space for a very long time.  I was so enjoying my daily exercise for my poor lungs by singing and recording my efforts on a site that is no more.  Sims On Stage Online Free Karaoke closed its curtains on the 1st April 2009.  With very little warning.  EA the big game boffs greeted sims on stage members with a notice on their site as follows:

 

The Sims™ On Stage will not be available after March 31, 2009. After March 31, all content related to The Sims On Stage Karaoke, Mashups, Comedy, Stories and Poetry categories will be deleted. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and sincerely thank all of you who made this a fun experience.
– The Sims On Stage Team

 

 

They gave no word of warning prior to this notice.  The members of this site were devastated, some were in tears, including myself.  Why? do you ask, well, I know it sounds crazy, but we became a kind of family.  In 2006 I joined the site when it was known as singshot.  Before I joined I was lead to believe that my singing days were over because of my lung condition.  After a short time I noticed one or two members visited my studio, every member had their own, and commented on my performance, encouraging me to do more.  My confidence grew and my voice grew stronger, because subconsciously I was learning to breathe using my diaphragm through singing, which in turn helped me take better control in difficult situations.  (When someone with a lung condition gets out of breath, which they do quite easily, they tend to breathe using chest breathing, which tires them out more easily.  If they train themselves to breathe from the diaphragm, they are able to do much more and are less likely to panic and become out of control with their breathing.  Singing helps train you to breathe from your diaphragm (using your tummy muscles).  After a while it comes second nature. ) So all you COPDers, get singing, LOL.

 

Anyway, simsonstage members became one big family, being in different parts of the world did not alter this fact.  A lot of members had illnesses and used the site as a kind of therapy.  Some who were told they would never sing again , proved their doctors wrong.  Some of the members found it company and a way of giving them a feeling that they were not alone, even though they were living alone.  If anyone was ill, the members would rally together and say prayers for them, if anyone was down, they were there to lift them up.  Some members died unfortunately but having their studio still there, was like a memorial for their family and friends to visit whenever they felt they needed to.  One big happy family.

 

When members logged on early in March and read the announcement, they sent their disapprovement by sending feedbacks, emails, petitions, you name it, to EA.  No one knew the reason, they would not say.  However I came across a posting by one of their staff, in the forums and discovered the reason: quote:

 

Hi folks. Electronic Arts has made the decision to close The Sims On Stage service in order to focus resources on future games.

 

When  members found this out there were more tears but mainly anger and frustration.  Simsonstage was a free karaoke site, and it looked like EA wanted to delete all the hard work that members had created , to pave the way for more online games, as this would mean they would obtain money to pay for this piece of the site.  They did not once ask simsonstage members if they would be willing to pay a fee to keep the site going.  I carried out a small survey and discovered that members would pay and they themselves informed EA of this.  Alas, it did no good.  They deleted all the work that had been created on 1st April 2009.  Most of the simsontage members are now at singsnap, another karaoke site. But they still feel a kind of void.  Also , think of all the work that was put into their performances. And of course, some of the members that have passed on, well , their studios are gone too, along with the memorials that they stood for. 

 

However, all is not lost.  The simsonstage family are slowly gathering , supporting each other , sharing once more their God given talents at www.singsnap.com, a fantastic online karaoke site. I am known there as wetonbethe.