"The Sims franchise has become a cultural phenomenon and The Sims 2 is a game that changes the way we think about our industry," said Frank Gibeau, senior vice president of marketing, EA. "The game has sold one million units worldwide in its first ten days at retail -- more than fifty percent of those games were sold in Europe."

"The Sims 2 was easily one of the most anticipated PC games of the year, and incredibly, the game turned out to be even better than we expected, earning our highest rating 5/5 stars and earning an Editor's Choice award," said Computer Gaming World's Editor in Chief Jeff Green. "The fact that the early sales of The Sims 2 are so high comes as no surprise at all, given the consistently great quality of this franchise. At a time when console gaming tends to dominate the hype and headlines, The Sims franchise is one of the current saviors of PC gaming."

The Sims 2 kicks off a diverse lineup of EA GAMES branded titles for the fall including: Def Jam Fight for NY and Burnout 3: Takedown, which are available now, and coming later this fall: Medal of Honor Pacific Assault, GoldenEye: Rouge Agent, The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-earth and the follow up to 2003's global best selling game, Need For Speed Underground 2.

The Sims franchise also will deliver a new console game this November to its loyal fan base, The Urbz: Sims in the City. For the first time, The Sims are moving to the city and it's all about building your reputation. Players will be able to unlock nine different districts in the city that never sleeps and gain access to all the hottest VIP spots while interacting with The Black Eyed Peas. The soundtrack to the game includes nine exclusive re-recorded music tracks from The Black Eyed Peas all in Simlish -- the game's quirky language. The Urbz: Sims in the City will be available early November for the PlayStation2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS.

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