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The Sims 3: Showtime expansion announced, arrives March 2012

The Sims 3 will receive its sixth expansion, Showtime, in March 2012. The clubbin' and stagecraft expansion will allow puppet masters across the globe to send their Sims into a friend's game to "perform at their venue in front of their Sims where you both will earn rewards."

Beyond the "SimPort" feature (and its misplaced intercapping), the expansion will allow players to create different types of music venues for their Sims to perform in. There are also in-game rewards for accomplishing goals, such as performing a legendary show in a high-level venue.

And by "legendary show," we're guessing EA doesn't mean unleashing the disaster of Woodstock 1999 into your friend's world.

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SHARE THE STORY OF YOUR SIMS' RISE TO FAME IN EA'S THE SIMS 3 SHOWTIME
Pre-Order the Newest Expansion Pack from the Best-Selling PC Franchise of 2009* and Receive an Automatic Upgrade to a Special Limited Edition**

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., December 6, 2011 – Here is your chance to become a star and tell the story of your journey! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that The Sims™ 3 Showtime Expansion pack*** for PC/Mac is in development and will launch worldwide in March 2012. The latest expansion pack from The Sims Studio allows players to live the rags to riches story with their Sims and share these experiences with their friends. Using new and innovative social features such as individual in-game news feeds and live updates, players are connected to each other like never before.

"The Sims 3 Showtime is a huge step forward for The Sims franchise," explains Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims Studio. "For the first time, we are introducing social features that allow you to send your Sims to a friend's game, perform at their venue in front of their Sims where you both will earn rewards, and capture and share these in-game moments of your rise to fame."

The Sims 3 Showtime allows players to connect and share with their friends and fellow fans of The Sims without ever leaving the game. Players will venture into a new world and live the dream as singers, acrobats, magicians and DJs. Using the all-new SimPort feature, players can send their Sim into a friend's game to perform in their world, book gigs in their friends' town, go on tour, and be reviewed. Along the way, players can earn rewards for achieving goals and accomplishing special challenges that can be tracked and shared via in-game social wall posts. Players have the opportunity to post their Sims' successes, share gameplay techniques, create wishlists and send gifts, search for new friends and share memories through their in-game news feeds and as e-cards.

Players who enjoy building can customise their Sims' stages using props and special effects to create unique venues such as a swanky concert hall, a massive stadium or an indie club. How the stage is built will directly influence a player's Sim's performance and career progression. For players who love a challenge, they can earn in-game rewards and accomplish goals such as performing a legendary show in a high-level venue. For players who enjoy experimenting, an endless amount of gameplay opportunities and choices within the game provide a vast array of situations for cause-and-effect play and hilarity to ensue.

The Sims 3 Showtime is currently available for pre-order****. Those who pre-order now will be automatically upgraded to a special Limited Edition version, which features the Ultimate Stage venue. Players can place this fully customisable venue in their world and will be able to use it as an additional stage for their Sims to perform on, complete with in-game props, backgrounds, lights and special effects. This bonus venue is available through pre-order and while supplies last.

For more information, please visit http://thesims.com/en_gb/the-sims-showtime, like the game on Facebook or follow us on Twitter®. For more information on The Sims 3, please visit http://www.thesims3.com/.

*In North America and Europe according to NPD data, Chart-track, Gfk France, Gfk Spain, Gfk-MCC Germany and EA internal estimate.
**While supplies last.
***Requires The Sims 3 for PC/Mac to play.
****Conditions and restrictions apply. See http://store.origin.com/store/eaemea/en_GB/pd/productID.241940500?sourceid=ea5068 for details.

About The Sims
The Sims™ franchise, the groundbreaking game series that allows players to create and live a virtual, simulated life on a computer, celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2010 and has sold more than 140 million units since its launch in February 2000. Now translated into 20 different languages and available in 60 different countries, The Sims series has quickly become a universal gaming and cultural phenomenon. Since its June 2009 launch, The Sims 3 has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide across multiple platforms and was the #1 best-selling PC title for 2009 in North America and Europe. Fan intensity is evidenced through more than 300 million downloads of player-created content including: The Sims characters, houses, stories and more. The Sims 3 community site, www.thesims3.com, welcomes more than five million unique visitors monthly, handles more than 100 content downloads every minute and more than 3.5 million uploads to date. In addition, The Sims 3 has a broad range of community channels reaching millions of fans daily. The Sims 3 YouTube Channel videos have been viewed more than 63 million times and The Sims 3 Facebook and Twitter pages have a combined fan base of more than 10 million. Visit The Sims 3 official website to see what the players are creating at www.TheSims3.com or the official YouTube Channel for The Sims at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSims. Join The Sims 3 Facebook and Twitter communities to see what fans have to say about the game at www.facebook.com/thesims3 and www.twitter.com/thesims3. The Sims 3 is available for PC, Mac, iPhone®, iPod touch®, mobile devices, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, Nintendo DS™, Wii™ and Nintendo 3DS™. In August, 2011, The Sims Social browser-based game launched on Facebook and within one month garnered an impressive 50M monthly active users and secured the #2 position on Appdata's chart of top Facebook games. To play The Sims Social, visit www.facebook.com/TheSimsSocial.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company's game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield, and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.

The Sims, The Sims Social and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Mass Effect is a trademark of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS are trademarks of Nintendo. iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner.