To the surprise of precisely no-one, EA’s gargantuan juggernaut of a gaming franchise, The Sims 3, has sold absolute shedloads. Here we go...

Gotta love those Sims. It’s probably some sort of criminal offence not to. Or at least it shows a marked lack of good taste in games. Perhaps that’s why a staggering 3.7 million of us have greedily snapped up the title since it launched on PC/Mac in June. That’s pretty good going, huh?

That’s just one of the key facts and figures from Electronic Arts’ recent first quarter earnings report, where we also learn that The Sims 3 has become the top-selling game for North America and Europe. On top of that EA Sports Active has racked up a remarkably healthy 1.8 million since launch; Fight Night Round 4 has sold 1.7 million units and Tiger Woods 10, Godfather 2 and Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince have shifted more than a million apiece.

Elsewhere things in the EA garden are not quite as rosy. Tough trading, low interest rates and the wheels beginning to wobble on some of the key vehicles in the EA portfolio (the music division, including Rock Band, is down 52%) have impacted on the company’s financial wellbeing. First quarter sales have shrunk by nearly 20% and the company has posted a loss of $234 million – it was only 95 million this time last year. Oof!

It’s all water off a duck’s back for a company the size of EA, though. Costs are being trimmed to suit and there’s plentiful confident chatter about future activities – Madden 10 pre-orders are already up on last year’s outing, there’s a new Medal of Honor title in the pipeline, EA Sports Active is expanding this ‘holiday’ and the company expects to reveal its Project Natal and PS3 Motion Controller plans in early-mid 2010. Can’t wait to hear what they are.