EA Signs Depeche Mode For Sims 2 Song

Electronic Arts has announced that rock group Depeche Mode has signed on to contribute its song "Suffer Well" to The Sims 2: Open for Business, the third expansion to Maxis' life simulation sequel. The song will be re-recorded by the band and lead singer David Gahan into Simlish, the fake language created for the Sims universe. According to EA, the language, which appears in place of proper voiced dialogue to give the impression of speech while maintaining the open-ended gameplay, was formed out of a synthesis of Ukranian and the Filipino language of Tagalog. Series creator Will Wright also experimented with using the native Navajo language, which had utility in World War II as a language very few people on Earth knew, making it resistant to enemy interception. "Simlish is an emotion-filled language that defies translation," said EA music marketing executive Steve Schnur. "It's a great fit for the music of Depeche Mode which is so focused on creating a mood, and appeals to people on an emotional level." Previously, hip-hop group the Black-Eyed Peas had recorded a Simlish version of one of its songs for 2004's The Urbz. "Depeche Mode has always been open to new ways of sharing our music, but re-recording a Simlish-language version of 'Suffer Well' just sounded completely bizarre," said singer Gahan. "Of course, that's why couldn't resist doing it." A video for the re-recorded song is available online at the game's website.