It could be one of the biggest game releases of 2009, bar none and now Electronic Arts has announced that The Sims 3 has "gone gold". For those not familiar with the term, it means the main development of EA's next entry in its people sim series is completed and is now being replicated onto disk for manufacturing and shipping.

While the game was originally supposed to be released last February, EA decided to push back its ship date until June 2. While the game will be available in both retail and downloadable versions for $49.99 a collector's version will also come in a $69.99 collector's edition. It will feature the game, a special bonus in-game sports car, a hints and tips book and a 2 GB USB Flash drive shaped like a plumbob . . .for some reason that we can't figure out right now.