Talk about an addiction, gamers world-wide love their Sims! Electronic Arts has announced that The Sims has sold over 100 million units since its launch in February 2000. This is the second franchise to cross the 100 million mark, the first being the Mario franchise. The Sims is not only the #1 selling PC game of all-time, it’s also #2 selling global game across all platforms.

The third Sims title will be launching in 2009. After 7 expansions, the question that remains in my head is, is it possible for this franchise to jump the shark? I would have said this series did long ago, but apparently there are millions of gamers both male and female that disagree with me. Personally I’d rather be spending my time building and destroy cities than controlling lives in a virtual form.

For those who are into such things just a few hours ago full details have been given over Sims 3 coming out on PC in 2009. Below are the full PR bits covering all the new features. What is also interesting is how the game will feature a new game engine.