The Sims 3: Seasons announced

Finally, after a couple years wait, EA has finally done what fans of The Sims 3 have been begging for.  The Sims 3: Seasons has been announced.  The feature of having seasons and days rotate the year through cycles has been long asked of the Sims Studio ever since The Sims 3 launched in 2009.  The idea for such a feature stems from The Sims 2 expansion of the same name.

However, many new features will make their appearance in this new expansion as well, in addition to many of your favorites from the original version.

One of the more confusing aspects of the Sims has been the fact that even though the default region has a beach and oceanfront, you’ve never really been able to take full advantage of it (beyond fishing).  Now you’ll be able to swim in the ocean, at least during the summer.

Finally, you can take your Sim to the beach and actually enjoy it.

Each season has events that occur as well.  In the fall, you can bob for apples and go trick or treating, all the while enjoying the ambiance of the autumn leaves all around you.  In the winter, you can expect to be able to take your Sims to the halfpipe to do some snowboarding, as well as dress up in the warmest clothes.  Spring brings Sims together for the spring festival, with kissing booths and the occasional passing rain shower (that you can prepare for with a raincoat and umbrella).

The spring festival will bring kissing booths for the adults and egg hunts for the little ones.

New activities like football (soccer) allow the Sims to enjoy each others company in all new ways.  Halloween will bring haunted houses, jack-o-lantern carving and trick-or-treating to the game, as well as holiday spirit with lights and other decorations.

Jack-o-lantern carving will likely take some artistic skill, at least to make the nicer ones.

Winter time will obviously bring snowy days to the city, allowing everything from snowball fights to igloo building, whereas spring and summer will allow you to have a reason to go swimming, with diving boards and hot summer days.

Festivals for each season will make an appearance, letting you get out and mingle around a common theme.  Whether participating in a neighborhood snowball fight at the winter festival, getting their faces painted with friends in the summer, bobbing for apples in autumn, or dancing the night away at the spring dance, they’ll always have something to do in the depth that is Seasons.

Take your Sims to the halfpipe in the winter for some snowboard action. No news yet whether or not you’ll be able to use it in the summer for skateboarding.

With Seasons comes the obvious change in weather.  No more will it be indeterminately mild and sunny every day.  Weather effects change with the time of the year, and bring a tanning sunshine, thunderstorms (watch out for the lightning!) and the cold weather, complete with the risk of falling ill.

The city looks so nice in the snow.

New furniture and appliances are also being introduced, including the all new tanning booth.  Building on what they’re attempting in the Supernatural expansion, aliens and UFO’s will be making their appearance in the Sims again as well (hopefully they’ll be grandfathered into the sliders that adjust appearances of supernatural beings, for those of us that want to keep the game as realistic as possible).

The limited edition this time around will feature an Ice Lounge community lot, complete with all types of ice architecture, furniture, decor and themes.

The Sims 3: Seasons is expected to launch on November 13, 2012 in North America and November 15, 2012 in Europe.

Source: TheSims.com