The Sims are off on an adventure to famous destinations around the world! The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that The Sims 3 World Adventures, the first expansion pack* to the #1 best-selling PC and MAC game in June 2009**, The Sims 3, is in development and will ship to retailers worldwide the week of November 16, 2009.

It's good to know I'm not the only one who lives under a Rock - ToriiLee_sXe answered my tweet saying they too knew nothing of the Sims 3 first expansion. Of course, I forgot to ask if they even played the Sims, which would kinda be a big reason to not know about the expansion, but I'll assume they are if they are following a twitter account aptly titled "Sims_Fan"... I will also blame my 3 weeks of the flu as part of my lack of knowledge since I wasn't even really around the PC during that time. But, for those, like me, who haven't heard - EA have announced that the first expansion pack for The Sims 3 will be World Adventures!

The Adventure is Near…
Take your Sims on the adventure of their lives with The Sims 3 World Adventures. Guide your Sims to acclaimed fortune—or potential doom. Take your Sims to exotic destinations to hunt for hidden treasures. Uncover new skills, experience new personality traits and garner rewards, if your Sims succeed. Explore ancient tombs in the pyramids of Egypt, master martial arts in the Far East, and discover rich culture and famous landmarks of France. Adventure is on the horizon — what will your Sims discover?

From mastering martial arts in Shang Simla, China, discovering rich culture and famous landmarks on a romantic getaway to Champs Les Sims, France or exploring the depths of ancient tombs in Al Simhara, Egypt, players can take their Sims on a journey that will change their Sims' lives.

Players can accept challenges to search for secret treasures, learn new skills and chase down new personal opportunities, meet new Sims with unique personalities, share their culture and bring them home, discover new styles on their travels, and share everything they encounter on their adventures with the world through personal photographs, movies, and stories.

FEATURES

• Accept challenges, find treasures, discover what’s lurking in hidden caves and more.
• Explore famous landmarks in China, Egypt, and France.
• Learn new skills like photography and pursue new opportunities.
• Meet new Sims from exotic locations and share their cultures.
• Customize your Sims homes with new styles & artifacts from their adventures.
• Get $10 worth of free SimPoints for The Sims 3 Store, and additional online features to be announced.

"We're thrilled with the global success of The Sims 3 over these last few months and are looking forward to expanding on the gameplay experience with one of the most robust expansion packs to The Sims yet," said Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims at EA. "Players will be able to take their Sims on the adventure of a lifetime and explore lands outside of Sunset Valley and Riverview, pursue thrilling new life destinies in locations around the world inspired by famous destinations, and immerse themselves in the open-ended gameplay where they'll discover new cities in China, France and Egypt and share new stories."

Players can take their Sims on new journeys to famous real-world inspired destinations around the globe for the first time ever and seek out new adventures. While exploring the landmarks of an exotic city, there is no telling what the Sims will find. From mastering martial arts in Shang Simla, China, discovering rich culture and famous landmarks on a romantic getaway to Champs Les Sims, France or exploring the depths of ancient tombs in Al Simhara, Egypt, players can take their Sims on a journey that will change their Sims' lives.

Players can accept challenges to search for secret treasures, learn new skills and chase down new personal opportunities, meet new Sims with unique personalities, share their culture and bring them home, discover new styles on their travels, and share everything they encounter on their adventures with the world through personal photographs, movies, and stories.

Additionally, players will receive 1,000 SimPoints to be used online in The Sims 3 Store*** for the PC/MAC versions of the game. Exclusive online content, available only for the expansion pack at launch, will be revealed soon.

The Sims 3 World Adventures will also be available for mobile phones, the iPhone™ and iPod touch® in early 2010 from EA Mobile™. These versions will have customised mobile gameplay features which will be revealed in the coming months. For information on carrier availability and pricing for all EA Mobile games, please visit www.eamobile.com.

For more information about The Sims 3 World Adventures or The Sims 3, please visit www.TheSims3.com. Developed by The Sims Studio, The Sims 3 World Adventures has not yet been rated by the OFLC. To download artwork, please visit www.info.ea.com.

IGN Q&A with Lyndsay Pearson (Source)

IGN: Is there a different philosophy to the expansions for The Sims 3 now that EA can distribute a lot of new content via The Sims 3 Store? It used to be you needed to buy an expansion or a content pack at retail to get new items. Does that mean that you need to focus on different areas for the expansion?

Lyndsay Pearson: We're putting so much clothing and content up on the Store each month that it's a great way to let players pick and choose the elements they would like to use in their game. The Sims 3 World Adventures will offer an entire, whole new experience, something we couldn't deliver through the Store. Our challenge really becomes--with multiple avenues to get items or content to customers--how do we make sure we don't start overlapping too much? The Store also has the flexibility to do bite sized chunks of crazy content if we want to. We would probably never offer a set of moon-base themed furniture in an expansion pack, but we could put it on the Store if it's something people would really enjoy. The Store offers an excellent complement and enhancement resource, but we still plan to have major innovations and systems delivered by the expansion pack. The Sims 3: World Adventures focuses on delivering those along with actual, real-world inspired locations--something we couldn't give players through any other means.

IGN: The press release mentions that exclusive online content will be available for the expansion at launch. Are these exclusive items eventually going to be offered to those who don't buy the expansion?

Lyndsay Pearson: Additional content and SimPoints to be used at the Store are great ways for us to give extra incentives to the players that are out in the forefront and buying the game. That said, we realize there is a lot of value to the things we can offer and we are evaluating how we ultimately make sure it gets out there for everyone to enjoy. Stay tuned for further information on online content.

IGN: The release also mentions that you'll be able to meet new characters in these new places. Will you be able to bring these characters back with you, or transfer them somehow?

Lyndsay Pearson: While visiting any of our new locations your Sims will be able to meet locals and explorers. Just like any Sim in their home town, they can make friends, fall in love or make enemies! After returning home Sims will be able to call these new, foreign friends and invite them to visit or chat to keep up relationships. You can even invite them over, get married, or move in. Maybe your culinary Sim has always longed to learn new French recipes and fall in love with a renowned French chef--that's a story you can tell now.

IGN: Last question. Each expansion for The Sims 2 introduced a new gameplay mechanic. Will there be a new gameplay mechanic in World Adventures? If so, what is it?

Lyndsay Pearson: The Sims 3: World Adventures offers a whole new way to play that we've never done in a Sims game before. We're utilizing the opportunity system introduced in The Sims 3 to take your sims through a whole variety of different adventures. You can start by talking to a local merchant who will send you off to find a keystone that unlocks the treasure chest to get into the secret chamber and so on. You aren't just picking up random tasks--you can follow and participate in a story. Each location offers different back stories and secrets to uncover. We're also working on a much more interactive exploration system in our tombs and catacombs. The player will need to solve puzzles to get from room to room--you can't just click in the treasure room and say "Go Here" anymore. Using your sims' skills, special items and figuring out a puzzle will be how to get through the multitude of areas we've set up for you to explore. The whole team is really excited about these new possibilities and what we can build with them. We look forward to sharing more information as we go along!