The Sims 3 Trial?

A NY Times article has debuted 3 ways that the Sims 3 will do marketing over the web. A Sims 3 Email Chain, where you can send emails to a Sim Pen-pal, and depending on your responces they might send back different things. The 2nd is a Sims Sidekick which will put a sim on your desktop and can browse the web at your side.

The third and most interesting is a free "trial". Now i'm not sure if this could be the full game (similar to Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box) or if it could be like Bodyshop which was released as a free demo for TS2. Exspect more info to come soon, as we are now 18 Days from Launch!

Read the NY Times Article Here

3 Sims Sudios make The Develop 100

The Develop 100 is an annual list of the most bankable game developers. Blizzard (Makers of World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, etc.) Ranked #1, however EARS [EA Redwood Shores (Formerly made the TS2 stuff)] was rated at 28. Maxis was rated at #31, and EA The Sims Studio made the list at #33. One of my favorite developers, Criterion Games, was ranked at #37. You can check out the list here

MySims Agents Preview

Mark Bozon from IGN got his hands on MySims Agents as part of the EA Pre-E3 event (For those interested, E3 starts on June 2nd). HE talked a lot about the investigation system, and soem of the mini-games

MySims Agents follows the story of your young Sim as they unveil the corrupt underbelly of the city, and it all revolved around the sinister Morcubus, corrupt CEO and shot-caller for all things evil. He's even got mayor Skip Rogers in his pocket, and when the mayor goes sour you know there will be blood.

What's weird if that there is no Building in MySims Agents, it's all platforming and standard adventure gameplay.

View the preview here

The Sims 3 has gone Gold

According to an article by Gamespy, The Sims 3 has now gone Gold, and will ship as planned on June 2nd, for both Mac and PC on the same disc (just like spore did).  when a game goes Gold it means that it is finished through bug testing, and is ready to be printed on discs, which is where it is headed right now!  Pick up your copies on June 2nd in a retailer near you, or online.

The Sims 3: SIMply Golden [Gamespy]

New Sims 3 Wallpaper

The Sims 3 Singapore published some Sims 3 Wallpapers, the coolest of which has been taken down.  You can check out the less cool wallpapers here

The Cool wallpaper can be found below, although it is only in 1 size as it was snatched up before being taken down.

New Sims 3 iPhone screens

EA Mobile has released 4 new screenshots for The Sims 3 for iPhone, which actually looks surprisingly good considering it is on the iPhone. It looks comparable to TS2 on the PSP based off of these screens. Enjoy the screens posted below.

EP Bracket Results: Week 1

So last week we asked you to vote in the first EP bracket poll, which was looking in favor of university for a while, but then Apartment Life managed to snap back and grab the win. This week we ask you for which is better: Open for Business, or Bon Voyage?

Rumor: Apple interested in picking up EA?

I'm going to call this one a phony rumor, and a wishful dream at best for now, but many Mac Sites, along with the WSJ are reporting that Apple is eyeing EA for a takeover. Now there are several reasons why this would be incredibly stupid on EA's side of the deal.

1. EA Makes hardly any money off of Mac Software
2. EA Makes tons of money off of the PC, and Consoles
3. EA doesn't do many Mac Games

Now on Apple's side things are better, but i don't see this as a really possible rumor, but then again a rumor is a rumor.

Apple Eyeing Electronic Arts Takeover? [Kotaku]

New Sims 3 Screenshots

3 New Screenshots for The Sims 3 have been found, the first showing off some of the customization options, along with the personalities. The 2nd screen shows off more customization options, and the improved lighting system. The third shows off the UI and other options.

Will The Sims 3 Sell 4 Million Units in 2009?

That's what Gamasutra predicts, The Sims 2 sold 3.4 million copies in 2004 after a September launch (Roughly .85 million a month). So it is no surprise that they think TS3 will sell 4 million units from a June Launch (.66 Million a month). They also say that piracy will probably cut into sales much like it has done with Spore. You can check out the full article here