EA announces first Sims game for Nintendo DS

EA has announced that The Urbz: Sims in the City will appear on Nintendo DS. In development "in conjunction with Griptonite Games" in Redwood City, CA, The Urbz is due out on DS in the US this November, and, much like the system itself, a specific European date has yet to be confirmed. However, since Nintendo has previously stated Q1 2005, we reckon The Urbz has the potential to be a European launch title.

Like its siblings on PS2, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance, The Urbz will be different to The Sims in that you're trying to build and improve the reputation of your Sims as they strike out in the big city of 'Miniopolis'. Your goal will be to uncover the truth about the place and the mysterious Splicer Island, all the while you're training your pet and trying to keep your crew there happy.

As you'd imagine, the DS version benefits from various hardware-specific features, albeit nothing too earth shattering by the sound of it. The touch screen will be used for menuing, there will be wireless multiplayer functionality (presumably short range, for now), and the DS version will also boast exclusive content like 24 new objects, 5 mini-games, 7 characters and 8 pet species which won't be found in any other version.

Although EA has already pledged several titles to the DS' not-rival PlayStation Portable, The Urbz is only the second EA title we've seen connected with the DS; the first being Need For Speed, which appeared on Nintendo's launch announcement literature as "in development".

For the meantime, there's no word on any others; and indeed there's no word on a PSP version of The Urbz. Although, having already pledged Tiger Woods, NBA and NFL Street and Need For Speed Underground to the Sony format, EA is hardly acting shy about committing to the Sony format, and we wouldn't be overly surprised if we heard about PSP Urbz in the not-too-distant future.