The pirates have struck the X-mark again, claiming illegal booty with digitally ripped software. After hearing Rock Band: Unplugged's leaking into the Internet a month ahead of retail release, this bit of news brings another damper to the fight against piracy. It's been reported that The Sims 3 has now also found its way to torrent sites online, some two weeks ahead of its scheduled release (June 2).

Sent via press wire today , Electronic Arts announced that The Sims 3 has now reached gold status and is almost ready for its launch next month. There are more new features for you to enjoy, like the ones listed after the jump.

Who said E3 was going to be anything but great for the PC? The 100 million-selling franchise of Electronic Arts and internal studio Maxis is brewing up for another return to the PC, and according to official news streams it should land on Windows by 2009. Now that's not to say Maxis hasn't given The Sims 3 a lot of tender loving care - have a look for yourself. The Sims 3 took your whole Sims 2 world and extended it to whole towns. Feature starts in the full story in 3, 2, 1...

We all know what pushed EA's The Sims 2 to its stellar success: clever gameplay. Apparently, the cleverness in that brand has spilled over in real life as one of its top bosses almost pulled a fast one on the game media. Who would have thought that The Sims 3 was actually already out for some time now? But of course, there's a bit of a catch. How much of a catch? Check out the full article and be enlightened.

Curious to know what's in store for you guys with Electronic Arts' upcoming threequel, The Sims 3? In an interview, creative director Rod Humble was able to divulge some details on how the game can entice real gamers with more challenge and depth coming from it. Read more on this interview in the full article.

Can't wait to find out more about Electronic Arts' The Sims 3 for the PC? Then you might want to head on over to the full article where we have the latest details and screenshots of the game. Simply click on the "read more" link below to get there.

Remember that feature of Electronic Arts' The Sims 3 on Games for Windows that we mentioned? We went deeper into what were in the pages of the mag, and fortunately found more about what new features were revealed. If the promise of open world didn't get you off your feet, you might dig The Sims 3's droplets of RPG elements. Head over to the full article to learn more.