New Sims 3 Expansions Send your Sims to University or an Island Paradise

EA has revealed that three new expansion packs for The Sims 3 – plus one of the smaller “stuff” packs – are currently in development. While one of the expansion packs remains unnamed, we do know that the other two are The Sims 3 University Life and The Sims 3 Island Paradise.

Those who've played The Sims 2 will find the first familiar, though there are a few key differences. For The Sims 2, the University expansion pack was the introduction of the young adult period of a Sim's life, and only those who chose to go to university had the privilege of that extra time between the teenage and adult stages. But in The Sims 3, every Sim gets to be a young adult. And university is optional to Sims of any of the latter three stages: young adult, adult, or even elder. The info we've got, however, suggests that besides the accelerated pay and higher career entry that will be open to Sims who earn a degree, the benefits of university life lean towards the social. There'll be plenty of new activities to satisfy fun-loving Sims, like a bowling alley in the college town, spray painting murals, and an emphasis on relationships and young love.

The Sims 3 Island Paradise takes things in a slightly calmer direction, though there's still an emphasis on fun with the introduction of scuba diving and snorkelling. Apparently we'll even be able to build houseboats, which sounds pretty awesome. This sounds like it will make good use of the new spring and summer activities that were introduced in The Sims 3 Seasons, and make players glad of the option to turn off autumn and winter.

We've also got a few hints as to what the unnamed expansion pack will hold, apparently giving Sims the ability to travel into the future. Sounds potentially awesome, though it could just be a new world with a few futuristic-looking objects. And the stuff pack is the typical affair, including clothes and objects inspired by movie themes.

The Sims 3 University Life is due in March, and The Sims 3 Island Paradise is set for June. Given that The Sims was replaced after four years, and The Sims 2 kept going for five, will we start to see glimpses of The Sims 4 soon now that The Sims 3 is in its fourth?