EA Announce The Sims 3 Pets for 3DS

After a mixed critical reception for launch title The Sims 3 on 3DS, EA are rolling up their sleeves and getting ready to bring more of those delightful gibberish-speaking little computer folks to your favourite handheld. To coincide with the PC expansion and the upcoming game of the same vein for HD consoles, The Sims 3 Pets has been declared to be in development for 3DS. There are no prizes for guessing what the cunning twist in this installment of the series will be!

"Do not be alarmed, Fido, but there's a gigantic blue thermometer floating above your head."

With animal companions often proving the most popular additions to The Sims as a franchise, it’s no surprise EA is wishing to mimic the success of The Sims 2 Pets, also released as a standalone console game back in the day across many formats, including Nintendo DS. The game itself seems to follow the same open-ended path taken by its launch game predecessor, though as for how identical the experience will be outside of the addition of fluffy lovely things remains to be seen.

Confirmed so far are traits for pets as well as their Sim masters. Piggy, skittish, lazy, destructive, proud and playful are the traits EA have let out of the bag so far. Of course, anyone with a dog or cat will attest that such critters have far more depth to their personalities than these things alone, so we can most likely expect more traits to be announced further down the line.

The game will of course also offer the skill-building and highly customisable gameplay you’ve come to expect of The Sims as a franchise, with a wide array of dog and cat breeds available for tweaking and such (please note however that ‘tweaking’ is meant in the ‘customising’ sense, not the ‘pinching’ sense – do not tweak animals in the latter way because they will not approve).

So furry! So fluffy! So loveably dumb! And the pets are cute too.

But wait a second. This is the 3DS we’re talking about, a device of most wonderful features. PC and HD console gamers are getting their own versions of this title, but what sort of exclusivity can we expect?

Well, for one thing, the pedometer can be used to gather Karma Points, paid for using Play Coins, our wonderful multi-game 3DS currency. In keeping with previous versions, it seems this game will allow you to take on the mantle of the whole going-around-coming-around thing with such Karmic meddling and mischief.

Additionally, expect to be able to swap Sims and pets via StreetPass. Pets are fully controllable and, in an apparent 3DS-only feature, you can have a Sim household comprised of animals only.

YES! Finally, quadrupeds of canine and feline persuasions can shake off the shackles of their lumbering human oppressors! The revolution has begun!

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By Tony White on 4 June 2011

Your humble writer, eccentric indie novelist Tony, one day blundered his way from being avid 3DS Buzz reader to avid 3DS Buzz writer. Somehow, he's come this far without being kicked off the team for consistent silliness. His fondest DS & 3DS memories are of Animal Crossing, Ace Attorney, Mario Kart and Dragon Quest.