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The Simpsons: Tapped Out
The Simpsons: Tapped Out
	Game logo
Developer(s)	EA Mobile
Publisher(s)	EA Mobile
Engine	Custom
Platform(s)	iOS, Android, Amazon Fire
Release	iOS; EU: February 29, 2012; NA: March 1, 2012; Android; NA: February 6, 2013; EU: February 14, 2013;
Genre(s)	City building
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

The Simpsons: Tapped Out (TSTO), or simply known as Tapped Out, was a freemium licensed city-building mobile game for iOS and Android, based on the American animated comedy television series and media franchise The Simpsons. It allowed users to create and maintain their own version of Springfield using familiar characters and buildings. The game was regularly updated with new content, often seasonal and holiday-themed, for example, during holidays like Thanksgiving, and Treehouse of Horror episodes-related content for Halloween. The game used to be available in several languages such as English, French, Turkish, Italian, German, Simplified Chinese, Peninsular Spanish and both European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. It was developed and published by EA Mobile and launched in Europe on February 29, 2012 and in North America on March 1, 2012 for iOS^[1] and February 6, 2013 for Android.^[2] The game was released for Amazon Fire devices in several markets on June 24, 2013.^[3]

According to its own estimates as of 2014^[update], EA generated over $130 million in revenue since the game's release.^[4] Tapped Out was delisted from the App Store and Google Play on October 31, 2024, while users who have the app downloaded would be able to continue playing the game without the ability to make in-app purchases until January 24, 2025, after which the game would be permanently discontinued and become unplayable.^[5]

Story

Too busy playing a Happy Little Elves-themed game on his myPad at work, Homer Simpson neglects his workstation and accidentally causes a meltdown at the nuclear power plant, leading to the complete destruction of Springfield. Left stranded, he is solely responsible for rebuilding Springfield and bringing back its town members. Homer is desperate to find other characters so that he can get them to rebuild, and he can get back to his elf game. With the help of Lisa, Homer rebuilds Springfield and brings back key sought-out characters.

Gameplay

The Simpsons: Tapped Out was a city-building game.^[6] It offered buildings that the player buys with "Money ($)" in-game currency. Premium items were bought with Donuts which could also be purchased with real-world cash. The player used building and characters to make progress. By completing quests and levels, the player collected more characters and buildings to unlock more quests and levels. Each building generated in-game money to collect, under names such as "Income tax" from houses and the "Marking up Prices" for the Kwik-E-Mart. Players could place rivers, roads, pavement and decorations on the land.

The game was supported by EA's Origin, which acted as a social bridge to where players log into their Origin accounts and visit friends' towns to collect cash every 24 hours.

Since the May 18, 2016, update, the maximum number of levels is 939. This is a reference to the episode "A Tale of Two Springfields", which shows the Simpsons' area code.

Content updates had been released for the game, with new game content or limited-time events related to episode promotions or holidays. Major events included a temporary currency, which win the player limited edition prizes.^[7]^[8]

Characters and cast

Dan Castellaneta – Homer Simpson, Abraham Simpson, Joe Quimby, Groundskeeper Willie, Krusty the Clown, various characters
Julie Kavner – Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier & Jaqueline Bouvier
Nancy Cartwright – Bart Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, various characters
Yeardley Smith – Lisa Simpson
Hank Azaria – Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Professor Frink, Cletus Spuckler, various characters
Harry Shearer – Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, Ned Flanders, various characters
Matt Groening – Himself

Development

According to game runner and longtime Simpsons writer J. Stewart Burns, the game originally started as a "labor of love" and he didn't expect much to happen after the game's release.^[6] Although they did not get credited, there are about ten writers who worked on the game, including Simpsons writers Burns, Matt Selman, Brian Kelley, Jeff Westbrook, Jon Kern, Carolyn Omine and Diana Wright.^[6]

In-game problems

Shortly after the iOS launch, the game was pulled from the iOS App Store due to EA's servers being unable to cope with the demand and a plethora of serious glitches reported by users.^[9] After a month had passed, EA set up a forum whereby users could report bug issues, but failed to offer solutions to issues or temporary updates. Some users who had made in-app purchases discovered that their purchases had vanished. After contacting EA, users were able to collect refunds directly from Apple. Several months later on August 16, 2012,^[10] the app returned to the App Store. The bug remained in the game for some time before eventually being patched.

Reception

The game has a score of 69 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".^[11] Daniel Bischoff from GameRevolution summarized their review by saying, "The Simpsons has everything you need for an excellent free-to-play game, including universal appeal, a wealth of material, and excellent little sound bytes like "D'oh" and Krusty's iconic laugh. It's just a shame that Electronics Arts has to choke the life out of that wonder with their oppressive Origin service."^[12] Max Eddy from PCMag described the game as "[walking] a delicate line between miserable money-maker and actual entertainment. So far it's done a good job being fun, but it's a balance that's easily upset".^[13]

Criticism

Due to criticism of the larger trend of freemium games' revenue structure, the game was satirized in the South Park episode "Freemium Isn't Free" as exploitative and lacking in gameplay.^[14] The game itself earlier lampooned this point during an in-game conversation between two characters.^[15] In The Simpsons season 25 episode "Labor Pains," Homer opens the game on his phone and is automatically charged $300.