Sims 3 Online Features Include a Downloadable Second Town, More

Electronic Arts has revealed more information about the online features found in The Sims 3, which will include a downloadable second town called Riverview, a store for purchasing more in-game content, and ways for players to track their downloads, uploads, created media, and more. The Sims 3 will ship for Mac, PC, iPhone, iPod touch, and other mobile devices on June 2.

The game will include US$10 worth of SimPoints toward the purchase of exclusive in-game items, such as outfits and furniture. Players will be able to purchase more SimPoints through the Sims 3 Game Launcher, which will also connect players to the Exchange, where they can share movies and screenshots from the game, upload and download shared content, and more.

EA will launch the full Sims3.com web site when the game ships. There, players will be able to maintain profile pages where they can compose blog posts, connect with other players, and use the My Studio section to manage their movies, stories, images, and custom-created objects.

New features in The Sims 3 include more customization options for Sims' looks, the ability to choose up to five traits to construct unique personalities, goal-oriented gameplay with short- and long-term objectives, new movie creation capabilities, and more.

Players will also be able to customize everything as well as have their characters interact with others in a seamless neighborhood. In previous Sims games, players had to wait through a loading screen to visit another house go to a specific location, such as a downtown shopping area.