It's no secret that The Sims is one of  Electronic Arts' hottest selling game franchises. But in case you're wondering just how big the game is, EA's Steve Seabolt over at the GDC's Serious Games Summit hints that they'll be hitting the 100 million mark for The Sims sales by next month. More details on what Seabolt said on this matter are in the full article.

Looking for a quiet getaway from the routine bustle of civilization for this weekend? Electronic Arts is announcing that the Nintendo Wii, DS, and Sony PlayStation 2 ports of The Sims 2: Castaway is being readied for an October 26 release in Europe. The PlayStation Portable port will be coming in shortly after this year's Halloween festivities, on November 2.

The Sims 2: Castaway takes players on the wild side of Will Wright's The Sims game franchise as they struggle to survive, and hopefully flourish, on a deserted island. Players can look forward to adventuring in lush jungles and mysterious caves, as well as understanding the ancient civilization that's also on the island.

In addition to the exploration, DS owners will also be treated to six mini-games making the most of their handheld's controls - spear fishing, fire starting and bug squashing are among the activities you can expect.

Buy: [The Sims 2: Castaway (DS)]
Buy: [The Sims 2: Castaway (PSP)]
Buy: [The Sims 2: Castaway (Wii)]

We have no idea how they're planning to do it, but 20th Century Fox looks set on bringing Electronic Arts' popular Sims franchise to the big screen. According to Variety, Fox has acquired the rights to The Sims and will be making a live-action movie based on it.

"The Sims has done an interactive version of an old story, which is what it's like to have infinite power and how do you deal with it," said Sims Studio head Rod Humble. "Given that that's an old story, you can imagine how easily that would translate to traditional story telling."

Humble will be managing the creative property for Electronic Arts while Steve Asbell is overseeing the project for Fox. The script will reportedly be handled by Brian Lynch, who also penned Scary Movie 3 and the upcoming Big Helium Dog. The story is still under wraps and talents have yet to be associated with the project.

Starting today, the PSP's audio will resound to the pitter-patter of tiny virtual dog or cat feet. Or is that the sound of your dog or cat turning your living room floor into one gigantic fire hydrant/litterbox? (And I am NOT scooping that for you).

Electronic Arts' The Sims 2: Pets for the PSP is now in stores (or is supposed to be in stores today), joining its other portable sibling, which had been launched earlier in October.

Here are the published features of The Sims 2: Pets from EA:

• Stroll the Central Town Park: Take your Sims and their pet for a romp at any of the nearby park areas, or head to the Central Town Park which is a favorite of pet owners. While there, watch your pet play well with others while your Sim socializes with fellow animal lovers.
• Take in the scenery: Adjoining the Central Park is the Town Center, a great gathering spot for Sims that evolves over time.
• Shop 'til you Drop: Once you've seen the latest styles and decided on a purchase, deck your pet out in the latest clothing and accessories around. From geek to chic and cool to casual, your Sim can customize its pet's look with one stop in the town center. It's sure to be the coolest pet in town!

And according to 1UP, Hilary Duff and her little chihuahua are supposed to be included in the package - unless there's been a miss-com between 1UP and EA on the matter (Dunno if the Simlish soundtrack comes in the UMD, though).

And... what is that smell? Faith and begorra, doggie, the carpet is NOT a toilet! Bad dog, bad! Does the PSP version come with an I-don't-have-to-do-this obedience training school that works during standby mode?

It has been a while since we have last given you some new screenshots of the Sims 2 Pets and now we have eight of them right here for you to see. The last time we've reported about the game, we mentioned that EA plans on putting teen star Hilary Duff in the game with her pet chihuahua. Well, whatever it takes to get the tween market, we suppose.

The game is set to be released this coming December, so you may have plenty of time to think if you're going to buy it or not. For now, we could only hope that these screenshots could help you decide on it.

More screenshots after the jump!

Hollywood and gaming are two industries about to reach a crossroad. Take for example Director Peter Jackson on the Halo Project and Star Trek's five captains doing voice overs. Today, that relationship becomes even stronger as Electronic Arts announced the inclusion of Hilary Duff in the list.

The actress/fashion designer/recording artist will be appearing in the upcoming Sims title, The Sims 2: Pets for the DS and the PSP. This apparently is the video debut for Duff and her blue fawn teacup chihuahua. "I've logged hundreds of hours playing The Sims games, so I jumped at the chance to be in The Sims 2 Pets," happily shares Duff.

Furthermore, EA Executive Producer for the Sims division Rod Humble claims that Hilary Duff is the perfect partner in making the game. "Not only is she a huge animal lover, but she is also a Sims fan," says Humble. The Sims 2: Pets is scheduled for release at the end of this month.

Hey Rod Humble! Paris Hilton's got a chihuahua too, right?

G'day, mates! Ol' St. Nicky will be coming around in a few short months, and if you're reading us from Oz, then we here at QJ will be glad to help you with your Chrissie wish lists! It's no big, as we say back here; we do this courtesy of your fellows over at PAL Gaming Network Australia who've compiled this list. After all, the Pacific should never be a barrier to people who share the passion for gaming.

All dates are subject to change if their respective game publishers decide to change them, though (it's happened before, right?). Stay tuned to QJ for any new updates to this list as we find them.

September 2006:
21: Need For Speed Most Wanted (Platinum), FIFA Street 2 (Platinum), NASCAR 2007: Chase For The Cup, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (Platinum), NHL 2007
22: Pocket Racers
28: Big Bobble Evolution, The Godfather, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007, NBA Ballers: Rebound, FIFA 2006 (Platinum)
30: 50 Cent Bulletproof, Mercury Meltdown

October 2006:
  2: Madden NFL 2007
  5: FIFA 2007, Gitaroomman Lives
  6: Street Supremacy, Gradius Collection, Ys: The Ark Of Napishtim
12: Taito Legends, B-Boy, Capcom Puzzle World, The Hustle: Detroit Streets, Pilot Academy, NBA Live 2007
15: Dynasty Warriors Vol 2, Powerstone Collection
19: Ape Escape Academy 2, Ridge Racer 2
26: MotoGP, Buzz Junior Jungle Party Bundle, Junior Jungle Party, Ford Street Racing: LA Duel
27: Chess Battle, Rengoku II
28: LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
31: Blade Dancer, Yu Gi Oh GX Tag Battle, Planet, Arthur and the Minimoys, Eragon, Justice League Heroes, Metal Slug Anthology

Click "Full Article" to view the entire list.

With all of the great titles being released its easy to tell that Christmas is coming up soon. The PSP makes sure to make itself noticed in the Christmas rush. Many great titles will be available within the next few months. Take a look at the list below.

September:
29: Infected
29: Mercury Meltdown
TBC B-Boy
TBC Destiny's End

October:
6:  Capcom Puzzle World
6:  Open Season
13:  Power Stone Collection
20:  Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
20:  The Sims 2: Pets
27:  Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light
27:  Ford Street Racing: LA Duel
27:  Metal Slug Anthology
TBC Rengoku II: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N.

November:
3:  Need For Speed: Carbon
3: Scooby Doo! Who's Watching Who
10: Capcom Classic Collection Reloaded
10: Thrillville
10: WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007
17: BattleZone
TBC Brothers In Arms: D-Day
TBC Dave Mirra BMX Challenge
TBC Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony
TBC Eragon
TBC Football Manager 2007
TBC Hard Rock Casino
TBC Legend of the Dragon
TBC NBA '07
TBC Pro Evolution Soccer 6
TBC Scarface: Money. Power. Respect.
TBC Test Drive Unlimited
TBC The Hustle: Detroit Streets

Turn up the radio in the upcoming The Sims 2: Pets, and you just might hear familiar songs. Contemporary artists from around the world in rock, pop, hip-hop, and other music genres have rerecorded their songs in Simlish, the quirky who-said-what? language in The Sims and The Sims 2. So far, the 25 Simlish-translated songs EA has announced are present on the console and PC versions of the game, and they might just be included in the DS and PSP versions of the game. The Sims 2: Pets for the handhelds will be coming out late October (DS) and early November (PSP).

So take a look now at the list of songs and artists who will be included in The Sims 2: Pets soundtrack.

• "Chemicals React" (Aly & AJ)
• "Candles Cast Long Shadows" (Brazil)
• "I play Chicken with a Train" (Cowboy Troy)
• "Future" (Cut Copy)
• "Fortuzala" (Dena Deadly)
• "Free Radicals" (The Flaming Lips)
• "Colours" (Hot Chip)
• "So Glad To See You" (Hot Chip)
• "Hit It" (Isabelle Huang)
• "Topsy Turvy" (Jessi Malay)
• "Unthinkable" (Joanna J)
• "Come On Come On" (Kristen Dex)
• "Turn Out the Light" (New Amsterdams)
• "Dixie Dixie Where Have You Been All My Life" (Prescott)
• "Hurt Nobody" (Prescott)
• "Boombox Breakdown" (Ralph Myerz and The Jack Herren Band)
• "Girl Next Door" (Saving Jane)
• "Boyhunter" (Skye Sweetnam)
• "I Never Know" (Something for Rockets)
• "Wow Wow Wow" (Tanaila)
• "Black Shoes" (The Films)
• "The Compromise" (The Format)
• "Topy Apa Ty" (The Netw0rk)
• "Don't Cha" (Pussycat Dolls)
• "Simpatico" (Touchstone)
• "Aff Wubbas Doo" (W of P3)

Simlish first debuted in SimCopter, and Sims creator Will Wright brought it back for The Sims when he realized he needed some sort of dialogue in the game that wouldn't sound repetitive. Simlish is the result of the dev team playing around with Ukranian and Tagalog (a Philippine dialect). If you're wondering what a Simlish-translated song sounds like, below's the Sims 2 Pets video for Aly & AJ's "Chemicals React."

Adorable. That's what these screenshots are. Because The Sims 2: Pets looks as if you can't play through it without having a cuteness-seizure. Or maybe that's just us. But anyways, we're sure some of you readers could agree: our pets make our lives more meaningful. Sounds cliche, but it's true.

The Sims 2: Pets, developed by Maxis, is available in various consoles, mainly built for the PC and ported to the PS2, PSP, GameBoy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, and Nintendo DS. "Ported," however, is a term taken loosely. Each console will have different features unique to their platform, but across the board, you'd still be able to care for your pet. You can choose what kind of pet you want and what breed (maybe even a mix). If you're not satisfied, there's even a Create-a-Pet option, which allows you to customize your perfect companion: what body type, fur type, unique markings, and temperment. You can also make them learn dog tricks and take them for a walk, or maybe even give them a career path.

Being a simulation, the game really captures the bond between pet and owner, as your sims (and sims pet) go through their virtual life together, through hardships and camaraderie, friendship and irritation; roll-overs, dress ups, Scooby Snacks, and all.