Category Archives: Site news

‘The Simpsons: Tapped Out’ game to end in January 2025!!

Taps Splashscreen
Taps splashscreen, the final content update

After 12 years, on September 26, 2024, it was officially confirmed by EA that the The Simpsons: Tapped Out” game would be ending in January 2025. It was revealed with an in-game message with the 252nd and final update of the game, the Taps content update.

As of this last update, in-app purchases have been disabled. The game will be found in app stores until October 31, 2024. Then, it will still be playable until January 25, 2025. Then the servers will be shutting down and the game won’t be accessible anymore. During the months previous to the shutdown, all previous game content will be made available in waves.

Shutdown announcement
Shutdown announcement

Tapped Out started on February 2012. The game centered around each player building its very own version of the town of Springfield, setting buildings and unlocking characters from the show. During 12 years, the game has delivered more than 250 content updates, more than 700 characters and more than 1000 questlines.

An update about the state of Wikisimpsons

This is a very different news post from what you’re all used to, I’m sure. I am Solar Dragon, the head admin and main content creator for Wikisimpsons. I’ve been working on the wiki since 2009 and have created thousands of articles for the wiki in my time here. I’m also the person who runs the social media accounts and the Discord server.

For many years, LetsPlayNintendoITA has been another of the major content creators for the wiki. He has been the primary Tapped Out update page creator and editor. He also created a lot of news articles about new episodes and information. However, his last edit on the wiki was October 12 and we haven’t heard from him since.

Since LPN has disappeared, this caused some panic for me as it means we didn’t have anyone to create the Tapped Out event pages. I have done my best to learn how things work and I feel confident that I can work on the event pages in LPN’s absence. However, I do not have all the tools that LPN had to work on the pages. As such, some features will be missing from the pages in future. In particular, the questlines and dialogue, and the changelog. There will likely be some other missing features too, and things will be updated slower as I learn my way around how things are done.

Unfortunately, LPN’s disappearance has essentially doubled my workload. I am now doing a majority of the content creation on the wiki alone. Every new episode, I create the Appearance page gallery, create all the pages for the new stuff and add to existing pages, add to the cultural references/trivia pages, fill out the credits page (and add them all to IMDb), do the quotes page, add information on the opening sequence gags, make other miscellaneous edits everywhere on the wiki for the new episodes. LPN used to handle the plots and some other changes too, but that now all falls down to me. I also handled adding the Tapped Out characters, buildings, and decorations to pages.

Now I have even more work to do and it’s becoming overwhelming. It’s been causing me a lot of stress and anxiety, especially as I do this all unpaid. The editors of Wikisimpsons do not get money for their work. Therefore, I have set up a ko-fi page. I’m not demanding people make donations or I’ll stop work on the wiki, I plan to keep working no matter how much or how little money I get given. But this is becoming more and more of a job to me, rather than just a hobby I do for fun. It’s also eating more into my free time a lot now too.

So, that’s basically it. I’m going to be working on the Tapped Out pages from now on, unless LPN comes back. So I ask people to be patient with me as I work on the pages and try and figure out how things work. I just really wish I didn’t have my first full update be the Thanksgiving one with all the mystery boxes…

‘The Simpsons’ renewed for Seasons 33 and 34 by Fox!!

Season 33 & 34
The show has been renewed by Fox for Season 33 and 34! It will bring the show up to 2023 and 757 episodes!!

“Woo Hoo! With any luck the show will soon be older than I am”, said Homer Simpson.

The creator and executive producer of the show, Matt Groening, added, “Everyone at THE SIMPSONS is thrilled to be renewed once more, and we are planning lots of big surprises. Homer will lose a hair, Milhouse will get contact lenses, and Bart will celebrate his tenth birthday for the thirty-third time.”

Currently airing its record-annihilating 32nd season, THE SIMPSONS has won 34 Emmy Awards (including its 11th in 2019 for Outstanding Animated Program), 34 Annie Awards, 9 Environmental Media Awards, 7 People’s Choice Awards and 13 Writers Guild of America Awards including the 2019 and 2020 Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program Award. THE SIMPSONS was the first animated series to win a Peabody Award, and in 2019 received the Institutional Peabody Award. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 2012 for the theatrical short “The Longest Daycare.” The Simpsons Movie was a hit feature film, their mega-attraction The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios has received historic expansion updates with the addition of ‘Springfield’—winning a Thea Award in both 2009 and 2017. The show was honored with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000. The Simpsons ongoing Tapped Out mobile game which launched in 2012 was a recipient of a Webby Award in 2018. It has been named the “Best Show of the 20th Century” by Time Magazine, called the “Greatest American Sitcom” by Entertainment Weekly in 2013, and declared “The Best TV Show Ever” in 2016 by vulture.com. The show will hit the 700-episode milestone on March 21, 2021 with the Season 32 episode “Manger Things“.

Sources: Deadline, Fox Press Release.

Comic-Con 2020: Panel highlights!

SDCC19

The 2020 panel has now been released! Here are some of the highlights of the panel:
The video of the panel can be watched here: Comic-Con 2020: ‘The Simpsons’ panel!

The following guest stars for Season 32 have been announced:

Apart from that, 2 previews of the upcoming annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode have been shown in the panel.

The first preview is from the segment “Into the Homerverse”.

While the second is from a segment called “What happens to the Halloween candy?”.

Stay tuned for more!

SD Comic-Con 2020: ‘The Simpsons’ panel is tomorrow!

Comic-Con 2020The San Diego Comic-Con (@ Home) 2020 started last Thursday. This year, due to the global pandemic, all the panels will be streamed online. And The Simpsons panel will be available to watch on YouTube tomorrow (July 25) at 11am (San Diego time).

This year, since the panel will streamed for free, we won’t do the usual “live report” of the panel. Instead, we’ll make a post in which we’ll share the YouTube link of the panel minutes before it becomes available to watch. Shortly after the panel becomes available, a post with the highlights of the event will be published.

The Panel

They’ll never stop the Simpsons!… from appearing at Comic-con; this time on zoom. Join Al Jean, Matt Selman, David Silverman, Carolyn Omine, Mike B. Anderson, and moderator Yeardley Smith. Find out how the show has surmounted social distancing and turbulent times en route to Season 32!

Remember,
Stay tuned for more!

‘The Simpsons’ wins a 2020 Peabody Award!

homerpeabodyaward

The Simpsons has won a 2020 Peabody Institutional Award. It’s the second time the show wins a Peabody Award, the first time being in 1997.

The show has been awarded a 2020 Peabody Institutional Award for making a “significant impact on programming and the cultural landscape.”

“‘The Simpsons’ is one of television’s sharpest critics—as brilliant a child as the show’s conscience and mastermind Lisa. But it is also one of its medium’s funniest and most delightful offerings. In one episode, Homer thumps his television angrily, demanding that it be funnier. For answering Homer’s call for 30 years, we commend the writers, animators, and cast of ‘The Simpsons’ with a Peabody Institutional Award.”

Because of the COVID19 pandemic, this year’s award ceremony has been canceled, so many recipients filmed acceptance speeches, Homer being among them (as shared by EW.com):

Sources:

33 years laughing with the Simpson family!!

The The Simpsons family

“They’ll Never Stop the Simpsons!”

Today is April 19, 2020. The most famous animated family on the globe made its first TV appearance on April 19, 1987. In other words, The “Simpsons Family” appeared on TV for the first time ever just 33 years ago.

Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and little baby Maggie debuted on television 33 years ago as part of The Tracy Ullman Show with the short “Good Night“.

Then, after 47 more shorts, the yellow family premiered as their own TV show on December 17, 1989. A show that still today is running after 31 seasons and more to come!

The Debut

“Good Night”

It’s April 19, 1987. FOX is airing the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show. During the episode, an animated short is shown.

Good Night” airs and the Simpson family debutes on TV.

Happy Anniversary to the Simpson family!!

Stay tuned for more!!

Woo-hoo!! 30 Years Laughing with ‘The Simpsons’!!

The Simpsons 30 YearsThe Simpsons 30 Years

Today is December 17, 2019. It’s a big day. Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the animated sitcom called “The Simpsons“, which aired its very first independent episode on December 17, 1989, after the Simpson family had starred in 48 short episodes as a part of ‘The Tracey Ullman Show’. Today, 30 years after, the show is currently airing its 31st season, is already renewed for a 32nd season and it seems even more seasons are to come.

Simpsons 30 Years

Today, the show is the longest running animated sitcom ever and the scripted American primetime television series with the most number of episodes, with more than 670 episodes (and counting). The show also has had a movie, several video games, an area in a Theme Park, books, unofficial books, comic books, merchandise and more. During these 30 years, the show has won more than 30 Emmy Awards and more than 30 Annie Awards, among other awards. Happy 30th Anniversary to ‘The Simpsons’!

The very first episode

The first episode

The very first episode is “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire“, written by Mimi Pond and directed by David Silverman. It was also a Christmas special episode (the first Christmas special episode, in fact):

“It’s a not-so-merry Christmas for the Simpsons, when Mr. Burns decides to cut the Christmas bonuses, and Marge has to spend the family’s Christmas savings to erase a tattoo Bart thought will make a great Christmas present. In order to hide the fact he didn’t get the bonus, Homer takes a second job as a mall Santa.”

Happy 30th anniversary to ‘The Simpsons’!! And for more to come!!

‘The Simpsons’ renewed for Season 31 and 32!!!

Season 31 & 32
The show has been renewed by Fox for Season 31 and 32! It will bring the show up to 713 episodes!!

“Woo hoo! 32 Seasons! Watch your back ‘Meet the Press’”, said Homer Simpson.

Currently airing its 30th season, the show has won 33 Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards, a 2016 People’s Choice Award and a 2016 Environmental Media Award. It was also the first animated series to win a Peabody Award and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2012 for the theatrical short “The Longest Daycare.” The feature-length “Simpsons Movie” premiered in 2007, grossing over $527 million at the global box office.

This season, the show has a multi-platform average audience of 7.5 million viewers per episode, an 82% gain over its Live+Same Day audience.

Sources: Variety, Fox Press Release.