The Sims cash in

In the materialistic world of the The Sims, there's only one real reason to develop skills – and that's to make money. Previously turning talent into hard cash meant getting a job but, thanks to the latest Sims 2 expansion pack, Open for Business, your Sim can become his own boss.

Open for Business allows you to create any kind of business for your Sim to run, from an exclusive clothes boutique to a fancy restaurant. The idea is that your Sim has to hire the most qualified staff and keep them happy in order to keep the business profitable.

EA has released several new screenshots that display the various types of businesses that can be created, as well as some of the 125 new items included in the expansion pack which include cash registers, work stations and shops displays.