REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) The wait for millions of Sims fans is over. Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) today announced that The Sims™2, has shipped to retailers under the EA GAMES™ brand and is now available on store shelves. The award-winning The Sims 2, developed by EA's Maxis™ studio, is the sequel to the #1 PC game of all time. The Sims game and its expansion packs have sold over 36 million units worldwide.

"We are excited to have reached this milestone and thrilled to turn over this revolutionary game to our community and fans and let them take playing PC games to a whole new level," said Lucy Bradshaw, Executive Producer of the game at EA's Maxis studio. "For the first time, players will see emotions, live through life's most memorable moments and unleash their inner film-making capabilities, all in one game."

The original The Sims game took the world by storm and became a cultural phenomenon spreading from hardcore PC gamers to the masses with its broad appeal, unique sense of humor and innovative gameplay that allowed players to create and control simulated people in an open-ended universe. Fans were immediately taken with the game's appeal of playing out life stories in a computer game and making them their own. The Sims 2 is poised to follow a similar path, with its advanced gameplay mechanics and endless creative possibilities.

For the first time, players control their Sims over an entire lifetime taking them through life's greatest moments. Every choice that is made has a relevant and dramatic effect on the life of a Sim. Players can now fulfill their Sims' life dreams as they take them from cradle to grave. More life-like Sims, all-new aspirations gameplay, and the ground-breaking addition of genetics, with the DNA of Sims passed down through generations, gives players a more vivid, realistic, and in-depth Sims experience. All of this takes place in a new amazingly realistic 3-D world.

In The Sims 2, your Sims now have a purpose in life. Will they aspire to a life of popularity, fortune, family, knowledge, or romance? Give them what they want and they'll lead a long, successful existence; indulge their fears and risk leaving their lives in shambles. Take them to extremes; from being left at the altar and needing a shrink to inheriting a fortune and becoming filthy rich. Witness the big and extreme moments that make every Sims' life uniquely memorable.

Unleash your creativity -- generate unique Sims with the new Create-A-Sim, packed with a vast selection of facial features, hairstyles, and outfits. Build dream homes and design neighborhoods with new building, design, and home furnishing options. Make films with the all-new movie-making feature. Create the cast, set the stage, take control of the camera, and capture your own screenplay in action. Zoom in close to record every detail as your very own Sims sitcom unfolds.

Posted: September 17, 2004