MySims given keys to Kingdom

Yesterday, publishing powerhouse Electronic Arts reported on a solid 2008 fiscal year, saying that revenues had reached $3.67 billion for the period ended March 31, 2008. Although that tally easily outpaced archrival Activision's $2.9 billion fiscal-year haul announced earlier this month, it is a long way from the $6 billion in revenues that EA hopes to be bringing in by 2011, as the publisher laid out in a ranging investor's meeting in February.

To help it toward that goal, the publisher mentioned in February that it would be following up last year's MySims with a new installment in the franchise: MySims Kingdom. Today, EA officially announced MySims Kingdom for the Nintendo DS and Wii, saying that the game would arrive on both platforms this fall.

Once again picking up the Sims shtick, MySims Kingdom on the Wii focuses on life-management gameplay. This time, players serve as advisor to the king in a medieval setting, improving the land through public works and new building-construction projects. Players will be afforded a variety of other tasks, ranging from tending livestock to treasure hunting, and the game features extensive customization options.

The DS version of MySims Kingdom offers a more adversarial take on the life-management genre. Details on the game are slim, but players will be tasked with convincing the king of their particular fief's attractiveness through a variety of activities and minigames.