Writing on the official Sims 3 website, The Sims label head Rod Humble announced that The Sims 3 will feature greatly simplified copy protection with no online activation.

The game will have disc-based copy protection – there is a Serial Code just like The Sims 2. To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed.

We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future.

EA was recently criticized for its use of DRM in Spore where users had to call the company to activate their game if it was installed more than three times.

Seeing as how the Need for Speed franchise has become an annual one, what would 2009 be without a NFS game? EA sent out word that Need for Speed SHIFT, the latest entry in the series, will hit stores on September 18.

Deviating from the arcade gameplay of the series, the game will offer simulation gameplay, featuring some of the world’s most iconic racing tracks, including the storied Brand’s Hatch in the UK. It will also include high-performance cars such as the Pagani Zonda, Porsche 911 GT2 and Lotus Elise.

The game is being developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with Black Box and Patrick Soderlund. Slightly Mad consists of people who worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2.

NFS Shift is due out on PC, PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Nintendo just won’t stop milking its favorite cash cows, as they announced Pikmin 2 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat have been added to the Wii’s new Play Control family.

The Play Control series sees classic games recoded to take advantage of Wii’s unique motion-sensing controllers. Other games in the series include the original Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis.

Pikmin 2 is due out across Europe on April 24 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is scheduled for release this summer. Both will support the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers, along with widescreen graphics, new enemies and more.

EA has put out a new video showcasing the AI in The Sims 3, carefully pointing out that the characters have “carefully coordinated” underwear and that they can run themselves even when their creators are not around.

A v1.03 patch for Spore is now live, offering a couple of bug fixes and some free parts in the Creature Creator.

The design team has included 24 new exoskeleton limbs in the patch, all of which can be combined with parts from Creepy & Cute Parts pack to create new creatures.

The patch will be downloaded automatically when the game starts. It can also be downloaded manually using the EA Download Manager.

Football Manager 2009, the latest installment in the long-running football simulation series, has launched today along with a day-one patch that updates the game to v9.1.0 (build 26064).

Patch notes can be found in this forum topic. The patch itself can be downloaded from our very own Rapidshare link using a download manager.

Sony has announced that a couple of animal suit costumes are coming to LittleBigPlanet today. This includes shark, gorilla and plant costumes, along with a special MotorStorm costume, all of which you can view to the right.

Prices vary from free for the plant costume (which was designed by a fan), 99c for the animal costumes and the “holy shit” cost of $1.99 for the MotorStorm costume.

Looking forward to speaking with someone thousands of miles away using your Wii? Then mark your calendars for November 16 when the function will launch alongside Animal Crossing: City Folk, the new game in the long running series.

Those looking to chat independent from the game will have to wait till December, though.

Auran Games today announced that beta testing for Trainz Simulator 2009: World Builder Edition has started and that over a thousand members have been invited to join the initial group of testers, with more to be invited in the coming weeks.

“We’re thrilled to have reached our Beta milestone, and the early feedback from testers has been extremely positive” said Tony Hilliam, CEO. “We have built up a fantastic community over the past 8 years since Trainz began and everything is pointing towards Trainz 2009 being our best ever version.”

The 2009 version features enhanced graphics, new content management tools and a lot of other new additions, including a “Surveyor” module. It is due out in Q1 2009.

Some new screenshots from Ubisoft’s upcoming flight combat sim HAWX. The game is due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this Fall.

A new video detailing the cell phase of Spore has been released. The video shows the evolution of the creatures at the very basic level.

Spore is due out this September on PC, Mac and DS.

Not much is known about Guitar Hero 4, which is slated for release sometime later this year. But some new information has popped up, courtesy of none other than legendary guitarist Ted Nugent. In an interview on the Detroit Radio Station WRIF he mentioned that he is involved in the production of the fourth game in the series, using colorful language to express the motion capture work he did.

While he did not mention his level of participation in the game, he did mention one song specifically – “Strangle Hold”, though the game might feature more songs, or maybe even another different song. You can hear the whole interview here; just jump to the 12:30 mark if you want to skip the rest of the stuff.

Sega Europe sent out word that Football Manager 2008 will be released for the Xbox 360 this Spring. The upcoming installment in the renowned sports simulation series has been developed by Sports Interactive and is fully updated for the new season, including transfers being made in the mid-season stransfer window, allowing players to select their favorite club or international team and guide them to the title.

The game, as expected, will feature online play via Xbox Live, allowing players to challenge friends to one-on-one matches and even host tournaments. Football Manager 2008 will kick in to stores on March 28.

The promised demo for LittleBigPlanet, the cute sandbox game that is in development at Media Molecule for the PS3, will not appear this year, according to SCEA PR Manager Ron Eagle who confirmed this to MTV.

“I can officially confirm that there won’t be a demo this year,” Eagle told Totilo, as reported on MTV’s Multiplayer blog.

He said that the game is still on schedule for release next year and that more of the game will be shown off in January. Eagle also claims that he has played through 60% of the game’s 50 pre-designed levels.

Hoping to knock out the competition, 2K Sports has announced the Spring 2008 release of Don King Presents: Prizefighter, an upcoming boxing simulation, for the DS, Wii and Xbox 360.

“The combination of real-life fight scenarios, story-driven gameplay and photo-realistic graphics will set this title apart from the competition,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “Our goal has always been to deliver the most engaging and realistic titles, and Don King Presents: Prizefighter will exceed these expectations. Based on the game’s innovative features and high-profile fighters, this title will be a ‘must have’ for any sports gamer.”

It is being developed by Venom Games, who are hoping to deliver the realism of live-action match-ups and the tactics of boxing. Players will be charged with building the career of their boxers, balancing between training and promotion, and other stuff related to boxing.