The Sims 3 console bug causing widespread crashing, EA baffled

A recently discovered and very nasty bug in the console versions of The Sims 3 has caused dismay among players, and e no explanation from EA.

The bug occurs on auto or manual save, and completely freezes the player's PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. A hard reset is required to get the game back up and running, and any progress since the last, pre-crash save will be lost.

In a minority of cases the game allegedly become entirely unplayable after an instance of crashing, although whether this issue can be addressed by deleting saves and wiping the console's cache is unverified.

Reports suggest the bug is slightly more likely to occur after longer playing sessions. The sudden surge of examples may indicate the problem was introduced in a recent title update.

So far, EA has been unable to provide any explanation, work-around or fix but did tell Joystiq that staff are "continuing to look into" the bug.

In Gaming We Trust has created a hub for awareness of the crippling bug, with links to proper channels for reporting problems.