EA Ships The Sims 2 Holiday Edition for PC; ''Deck the Halls'' of Your Virtual Homes With the Special Holiday Edition of The Sims 2 — One of the Most Popular PC Games in History

Business Wire, Nov 15, 2005

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Celebrate the spirit of the season with The Sims(TM) 2 Holiday Edition! Today, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced that The Sims 2 Holiday Edition, a special version of the world's most popular PC game, will hit store shelves across North America on November 17th. Rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB, the game is the perfect stocking stuffer for everyone on your gift list!

Available for a limited time only and listed at the same manufacturers suggested retail price as the original version, The Sims 2 Holiday Edition contains the original critically acclaimed game, The Sims(TM) 2, in its entirety, plus 40 new holiday-themed items that allow your Sims to celebrate the holidays in style. With this bonus content, a $14.99 value, your Sims can decorate their house, serve a festive holiday dinner, witness Santa's arrival and even host a happening New Year's party!

A Holiday Gift That Fits Everyone

The Sims 2 Holiday Edition makes a great gift for all your friends and family. The Sims(TM) franchise is recognized for being one of the few game brands to achieve popularity across all ages and genders. This widespread appeal has resulted in incredible success, with a string of top-selling games and combined sales exceeding 58M units worldwide.

The appeal of The Sims 2 is that the game is whatever you make it! The gameplay experience follows the day-to-day life of the Sims characters that you create and control over an entire lifetime. Players enjoy participating in all the ups and downs of their Sims' lives -- from the big events such as falling in love or building their first house to the more sentimental moments such as putting up their family's first Christmas tree and hosting a holiday dinner!

Key Features of The Sims 2:

--Create-A-Sim

The Create-a-Sim feature allows you to combine your choices from a vast selection of facial features, hairstyles and outfits, to create the Sims you most want to play, make your own family and friends or invent someone on the fly -- you can even create your own celebrity look-alikes!

--Aspirations

Help your Sims fulfill their lifelong aspirations. They can seek popularity, fortune, romance, family, or knowledge -- their choices are in your hands. Mix their genes, fulfill their dreams, and push them to extremes.

--Customization

Create and control every aspect of your Sims' world from their homes to the community shops or design an entire neighborhood from scratch! You won't need a degree in architecture to build dream homes and design neighborhoods with the easy-to-use building, design, and home furnishing options. And now, with holiday-themed bonus content from The Sims 2 Holiday Edition, you can even hang a stocking over the fireplace!

For Owners of The Sims 2 (PC)

Fans who already own The Sims 2 for PC won't be left out in the cold this holiday season! For $14.99, The Sims(TM) 2 Holiday Party Pack offers only the bonus content -- from merry to scary -- without having to re-purchase the full game. There are two ways to purchase The Sims 2 Holiday Party Pack! Order a CD from the EA Store at http://thesims2.ea.com/about/order_holiday.php or for more immediate gratification, purchase a download of The Sims 2 Holiday Party Pack from http://downloader.ea.com. By downloading, owners of The Sims 2 save money on shipping, and spare themselves the wait to the mailbox!

For more information on The Sims 2 and The Sims 2 Holiday Edition, as well as expansion packs such as The Sims(TM) 2 University and The Sims(TM) 2 Nightlife, which provide additional experiences for the original game, please visit http://www.thesims2.com.

About The Sims(TM)

The Sims franchise celebrated its fifth anniversary in February 2005. The game skyrocketed to the top of the charts when it began shipping to stores in February 2000 and quickly become a pop culture phenomenon. Released exclusively for PC, The Sims(TM) original product and subsequent expansion packs were the best selling PC games of 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. Translated into 17 different languages, The Sims has inspired seven top selling expansion packs including: The Sims(TM) Livin' Large, The Sims(TM) House Party, The Sims(TM) Hot Date, The Sims(TM) Vacation, The Sims(TM) Unleashed, The Sims(TM) Superstar and The Sims(TM) Makin' Magic. In 2003, the series broke away from being a PC-only franchise and debuted for the first time on videogame consoles and handheld platforms. The franchise issued The Sims and The Sims Bustin' Out -- each of which were met with great success. Combined, these two products have sold more than 8M units worldwide. The Sims 2 for PC shipped in September 2004 and brought fans worldwide a brand new experience with a richer depth of play, deeper emotional complexity and a laugh-out-loud sense of humor. Sales topped 4.5M units worldwide within its first year, making it the best selling PC game of 2004. The first expansion packs for the sequel, The Sims(TM) 2 University and The Sims(TM) 2 Nightlife shipped in March 2005 and September 2005 respectively. In Fall 2005, The Sims 2 was released for the videogame consoles. Today, the combined sales for the franchise have topped a staggering 58M units life-to-date. For more information on The Sims 2, visit http://www.thesims2.com and for more information on The Sims franchise titles, visit http://www.thesims.com.