The Sims 3 Delayed until June

By Nick Mokey February 4, 2009

The Sims 3 Delayed until June

Those who had planned to get their virtual families under way with The Sims 3 at the end of February will have to wait a little longer. On Wednesday, Electronic Arts announced that the release date for the hotly anticipated title has been bounced back three months to June 2.

EA didn’t offer much of an explanation for the delay in its official press release, choosing instead to dismiss it in a cloud of PR flare. “The June launch combined with the break-through game the team is building gives us the perfect runway to create awareness for The Sims 3," said Russell Arons, Vice President of Marketing for EA. “The Sims 3 will be the original IP summer blockbuster of 2009 as we build off the success of the best-selling PC franchise of all time to create awareness with both loyal Sims fans and new players.”

Sliding launch dates weren’t the only bad news for EA this week, either. The company also announced losses of $641 million during the third quarter, and that it will lay off 1,100 workers, along with closing 12 facilities worldwide.

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Gaming

Summer Game Fest returns just before E3 2023 next June

The official artwork confirming Summer Game Fest's return on June 8, 2023.

Geoff Keighley has confirmed when Summer Game Fest will return in June 2023. It will begin with a live kickoff show on June 8, 2023, placing Keighley's game announcement alternative less than a week before E3's grand (intended) 2023 return.
Unlike past years, Summer Game Fest Live Kickoff 2023 will feature a live audience, like Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards. It will take place in the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park, with tickets going on sale in early 2023. It will still be livestreamed across platforms like YouTube and Twitch, though. It's currently unknown who's participating, how long Summer Game Fest will run afterward, or if it will feature a Summer Game Fest Play Days-like element for fans. Still, Keighley says all of that info will be revealed ahead of the event next year, teasing what people can expect.
"In keeping with tradition, we'll have tons of exciting announcements from the developers that are pushing the games industry forward, and will once again highlight other publisher digital events, demos, and more surprises to be announced in the coming months," Keighley says in a press release.
That June 8 start date, and the other Summer Game Fest events likely to follow, put Keighley's show just ahead of E3 2023. The ESA and ReedPop plan to bring E3 back between June 13 and June 16, 2023. With five days of lead time on E3, Summer Game Fest can coexist with the long-running gaming conference and encompass the plethora of publisher showcases that tend to precede E3.
Geoff Keighley made it clear that he wants Summer Game Fest and E3 to coexist for a while. "We've had extensive conversations with ReedPop about E3," he said in an interview with Epic Games Store. "I think it'll kind of fit together and flow kind of from what we're doing into what they're doing and stuff. E3, to me, is this kind of master brand that represents gaming news in June."
With the start date of Summer Game Fest confirmed, the coexistence of these two summer gaming events is a reality. Summer Game Fest returns on June 8, 2023.

Gaming

The Witcher 3’s long-delayed current-gen update launches this December

Geralt fighting enemy in The Witcher 3.

As promised, CD Projekt Red will release the current-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -- Complete Edition this year, on December 14. This update will go live across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and is free to anyone who already owns the game on previous-gen.

The current-gen version of The Witcher 3 has been in the works for quite some time, suffering multiple delays since its initial announcement in 2021. Thankfully, the game's developer will make good on its promise to launch it in 2022.

Gaming

Is The Sims 4 on Nintendo Switch?

Characters in the Sims 4

First released over eight years ago, The Sims 4 recently went free-to-play across the board, bringing brand new players and returning vets back to the series on their favorite platforms. If you're looking to start a virtual family for fun, love the idea of playing god over a whole town of Sims, or are just burnt out on your other favorite cozy village games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Stardew Valley, now is the perfect time to jump into The Sims 4.

But if you were looking to pick up the game on your Nintendo Switch, we've got some bad news. Here's everything we know about The Sims 4 coming to Nintendo's favorite handheld console.