REDWOOD SHORES, CA--It's not just Boogie players that are singing karaoke these days on Wii (and soon on PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS), EA has launched TheSimsOnStage.com in its latest attempt to capitalize on the user-generated craze that has catapulted sites like YouTube.com to the stratosphere. Developed by Singshot, a company EA bought this past February, the new Web site stands alone from the popular TheSims.com, which generates over 95 million page views monthly.

"You don't need The Sims games to use this site," said Ranah Edelin, vice president of The Sims Internet Group. "We expect a lot of Sims players to migrate over to this site, but we also have added new content for our regular Singshot users to enjoy."

In its original incarnation, Singshot was a karaoke site that offered 3,500-plus cover songs. Now, consumers can create a custom avatar and have access to all of these songs, as well as exclusive Sims assets (400 video clips and 100 audio clips and growing). There are also new sections like Poetry, Comedy and Stories for anyone to share their thoughts or talents. With a Web camera and microphone, anyone can sing, do stand-up, tell a story or recite a poem and then share it with the world. Or they can create Sim Clips and tell a story through music and The Sims. Consumers can also upload their own videos and images to tell personalized stories.

Edelin said TheSimsOnStage.com can be customized with captions and fades for anyone to create their own shorts. These can be easily posted to blogs like Facebook, MySpace and TypePad. (The top 15 blog sites are currently supported.)

"We'll offer plenty for consumers to do, including user-generated contests for virtual prizes and EA contests for real prizes," said Edelin. "There are all sorts of things we can do to encourage creativity and provide entertainment."

When you couple the launch of this site with the recent advent of Gamernet in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, it's obvious that EA sees the user-generated tidal wave as more than just a passing fad. In the case of Tiger Woods, Gamernet is a feature that could expand to other EA Sports titles in the coming years. Tens of thousands of gamers have already uploaded challenges online for others to match.

In addition to creating a customized Photo GameFace, EA Tiburon is encouraging gamers to put their own personal accomplishments out there for all the world to see. Beyond the single-player and multiplayer aspects of the game that Tiburon Studios developed, it's the players around the globe that are now offering added replay value to the game. Anyone can create a challenge, or Episode, in a number of Channels like 9 holes, 18 holes, Grip It & Rip It, and FreeStyle.

"Because you're going to be able to see the actual head of the player in the Episode, it's as if you're playing against him or her," said Mike Taramykin, senior producer, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08. "We want a user to come in and have a lot of new things to do every time he turns on Tiger Woods. Every day there will be thousands of new user-created challenges for players to choose from."

Taking a page from TiVo, Taramykin said Gamernet will follow a player's Episode selection and offer suggestions on other similar challenges, just as the digital video recorder will tape and suggest new shows to watch. While user-generated content has been a staple of PC games for years in the form of mods, it's something that's new to console games thanks to always-on, broadband devices like PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Playing a video game has always been a personal experience, which is one thing that has separated it from traditional forms of entertainment. The ability to customize avatars and players is nice, but allowing players to craft their own entertainment with TheSimsOnStage.com or create their own in-game challenges with Gamernet really changes the landscape. EA remains the maker of these games and sites, but it's leaving much of the creativity up to the consumer. And this type of personal connection should change the face of gaming over the coming years, just as YouTube has changed the way consumers use their PCs and DVRs have changed the way gamers view television.