Electronic Arts announced on February 3rd 2009 that the release date for the eagerly anticipated The Sims 3 has been delayed.

The title was originally due to hit shelves towards the end of February 2009, but now The Sims 3 will be released in the United States on June 2nd 2009 and will follow in Europe shortly after on June 5th 2009.

This news has already angered many fans of the series who have been desperately awaiting the February release date both sides of the atlantic for quite some time now, many of which having pre-ordered The Sims 3 months ago. If you are one of those people you should check with the retailer you placed your pre-order with as soon as possible to see how they are dealing with the delay. In most cases your order will be completely unaffected, and you will simply receive your game when it is released in June.

Although Electronic Arts have not confirmed this, it is widely believed that the large financial losses they announced are the main reason behind the delay in releasing The Sims 3, and many suggest they have not recouped as much cash from pre-orders for The Sims 3 as they were anticipating. EA have confirmed the delay will enable them to market the game more and to spread awareness further, which backs up the reports that it is a purely money-motivated delay.