Right now we're somewhere in the middle between the worldwide release dates of The Sims 3. Yesterday it was released in the US and various other parts of the world, and shops worldwide are selling the game - in some cases a few days early - already. Large parts of Europe will have to wait until tomorrow or Friday (including the UK) until the official release. Altogether the launch of perhaps EA's biggest PC game of the year is in full swing.

Not all has gone well for EA with the Sims 3, as an almost final version of the game was leaked 2 weeks ago. The final version was also leaked just before the weekend. It has already been downloaded so often that according to some sources it's well in the running for becoming this year's most pirated game. More problems hit EA when the official community website was found to be open as well, which lasted several hours.

Nevertheless EA is probably expecting to cash in now, after a huge marketing campaign. The official site is open, people are playing the game, sharing on the exchange, and more. Besides the release on the PC and Mac, there is also a mobile version for iPhone and iPod Touch. The game will be released in 60 countries, translated to 22 languages. Read on for EA's full press release regarding this big release.

For those of you who are not familiar with The Sims or those who might want a brief trip down memory line, this history of the last 9 years of The Sims on computers intends to familiarise you with what it is all about and help you decide whether The Sims 3 is the gameworld for you.

Check this history out!

LET THERE BE SIMS!

Are you still undecided as to whether to buy The Sims 3, the longawaited reboot of the biggest game franchise of all time?

Let us help you make up your mind by giving you what we have found out so far.

Our concise review can be found right here!

Welcome to Sunset Valley!

In the the first editorial as part of our indepth reporting on The Sims 3, we will be looking at the seamless neighborhood that is Sunset Valley. We will be speculating about some of the history of this area and looking in depth at all of the businesses, social venues and workplaces that are there for our sims to enjoy.

You can read it right here!

If you have your install of The Sims 3 set to automatically upgrade, you do not need me to tell you that this is out. The first patch which upgrades The Sims 3 to version 1.2.7 is available. This is supposed to fix the following.

It fixes a bug with disabling storylines, improves the higher speed settings, sorts out a music issue and clears up a few other issues that caused the game to lock. Full details of what this patch intends to do can be found here.

Meet the Families!

In the second part of The Sims 3 Indepth, we are staying in Sunset Valley and as well as these two children, we will be meeting all 25 families who already live there, finding out who they are, their histories and their plans for their lifetime in Sunset Valley.

We will also be taking our first look at how the town can be customised to a player's preferences and giving our critical opinions.

To get the latest part of the review, click here!

However, if you would like to start at the beginning, then click here!