It's been a long time since we got any information about Sims 3. So i decided to take a look at what we have and digg a bit deeper. Looking at those screenshots we were able to get some further details about upcoming part 3 of the best-selling series.

 

  (click on any image to see larger version)

Looks like EA listened to their clients and decided to loosen DRM scheme in their upcoming titles. Serial numbers will only be checked when user tries to download new content for the game. So as long as you don't update or download new stuff you can play offline.

BBC interviewed Nancy Smith asking about their Sims franchise. She haven't given any new information, however at the end she said that the team is focusing on getting the game out on pc, and they will see where it gets from there. Some sources interpreted it as an announcement of upcoming console versions. Read the interview and decide yourself.

As you might have already heard EA is plans to use a new version of SecuROM in their upcoming game Spore, also Bioware will use it in Mass Effect. The protection will be particulary nasty it will require online activation to play the game. Also every ten days your serial will be checked online, so if you're using pirated serial your game will be blocked.

Another interview with Rod Humble showed up on Joystiq, there's no new information about Sims 3 though :( They speak about Sims selling in 100 milion copies and some ideas for new expansions. If you're interested click here to see the interview.

There's a nice article on gamesindustry.biz about the development process of Sims 3. It describes some of the prototypes the team used to design the game. It turns out that they actually had the game running in 2D engine before even 3D engine was implemented. Another interesting information is that simulation will run on two different levels. High level will simulate how people meet other people, get married, get rich and eventually die.

There's a new article about Sims 3 on Informative Post. This one is very critical, saying that all the features advertised as new to the series, were actually present in earlier sims games. Well for me one big coming feature would be better Sim AI. Check out the article Here

There are some scans of russian gaming magazine on prosims.ru forum, looks like there's some interesting info about prototyping applications. If you know russian, or just want to look at some more sims 3 graphics then click here to go there.

Vox has a small comparision of screenshots between Sims 2 and Sims 3. You can check it out here

Rod Humble spoke with MCV about Sims 3 and he reveals a bit of interesting information about Sims 3. He says that the game will be more goal oriented than previous versions. Rod himself got obsessed with book collecting, while other possible activites are for example fishing and gardening. Also he stresses the importance of the new "out of cage" gameplay. Original article can be found here