Although a version of The Sims has long been known to exist in development for the Nintendo Wii, aside from a variety of screenshots exhibiting Sims with Mii-like characteristics, not a whole lot else has been uncovered about the latest console version of one of the most popular videogames series of all time. However, the UK's Nintendo Official Magazine (NOM) has managed to snoop out some interesting details about MySims, Electronic Arts' upcoming virtual life replication.

The game begins with the player's Sim in a town, which is, to say the least, a bit of a run down kinda place. In the grand scheme of things, player tasks involve sprucing up the locality so that other Sims will look upon it as a nice place to move in to (Hmm, Viva Pinata, Animal Crossing? - Ed).

Once a little community has gathered, the player's Sim and others will be able to network in such a way not previously possible in the franchise. Rumour is that EA is aiming for the level of social interactivity demonstrated so well in titles such as Nintendo’s very own Animal Crossing.

"By using the relationships menu you can keep tabs on who likes you, who thinks you could do with a wash, and who wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire," NOM explains.

MySims will offer up to 80 characters to choose from, and despite their similarity to Nintendo Miis, EA's avatars are a lot more customisable. Facial features, tattoos, and a wider selection of skin colours, are just a few of the more expansive attributes on offer to help players to create their Sim. Additional gameplay features include the ability to construct houses and other buildings from scratch (LEGO-style, block by block), while planting seeds and tending to the plants that sprout as a consequence - a la Harvest Moon - which then compliment the exterior areas of said structures.

There's no word yet on a release date outside of Japan (which itself only has a vague '2007' marker), but such is the popularity of The Sims as a series, that we'd venture to put our money on MySims (and the similar Nintendo DS version) arriving in other regions of the world at some time in the near future.

In the meantime, why not head over to the game's official Japanese site for a look at a short teaser trailer for the upcoming title?