EA Provides Details, Trailer for Sims 3

The latest Sims title will allow players to break out of their homes and interact in a full town environment.

If EA’s placeholder site weren’t a big enough clue for Sims fans what was around the corner, the publisher made it perfectly clear at its E3 press conference this year: The Sims 3 is coming.

Rod Humble, head of EA’s Sims division, took the stage Monday night to explain more about the hotly anticipated update to the franchise. The biggest change will be the scale of the world a Sim is able to interact in. While previous games featured Sims simply going about their own household activities, The Sims 3 will allow players to go out into the town, opening up a new realm of possibilities.

A new trailer posted on the game’s sparse official page depicts, in black and white, the boring “home” activities Sims were formerly confined to, then bursts into color as characters enter the great outdoors to run, play, picnic, fish, and do other activities. The page has also been updated with a number of screenshots.

While EA still hasn’t stamped a firm release date on the title, Humble said on stage that it was slated for release next year.