Lodsys, the troll previously suing independent iOS and Android developers for infringing on a fax-machine era patent they claim covers in-app transactions such as upgrades and upsells, has now modified the suit to go after Angry Birds developer Rovio, SIMS developer Electronic Arts, Atari, Final Fantasy maker Square Enix, and 2K sports developer Take-Two Interactive. That takes the number of developers involved in the suit from 7 to 11.

FOSSPatents points out that this might mean:

• Lodsys isn’t afraid to go after “deep pocket” developers.
• Is content targeting Android as well as iOS
• Isn’t intimidated in the least by Apple legal
• Due to their existing licenses, Apple and Google might be precluded from trying to invalidate Lodsys’ patents as a means of interceding.

Apple is still trying to intervene based on patent exhaustion, though that may or may not prove successful. Some developers, meanwhile, have removed their apps from the US App Store to avoid any potential suits.

For more, listen to our special edition iPhone Live 160: World War Patents.

[FOSS Patents]

EA Mobile’s Sims 3: World Adventure for iPhone brings an airport to your simulated town, first established in the original Sims 3 game, and you can now jump on a plane and visit France, Egypt, and China — and play mini-games like accelerometer air sickness avoidance — while you fly. (Yes, it’s fun!)

We don’t have all the details, but EA mentioned some way to capture image-based information from the original game and use that to load character info into the new game. If it’s as slick as it sounds, that’s a smart way to get around Apple’s no-sharing data sandbox for apps.

Either way, if you enjoyed the first iPhone Sims 3 game, EA is planning to give you more of what you loved — lots more, and they give TiPb a sneak peak look at it — after the jump!

[YouTube link]

Hey iPhone users, not enough excuses yet to abandon real life and run down your battery? Never fear, EA is here! Seems the uber-developer is readying a release of Sims 3 for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). Says TUAW:

it’s set for an almost simultaneous release on PC, Mac, the iPhone and the iPod touch. The popularity of iPhone apps may have done what Mac gamers couldn’t do for years: convince developers that releasing their games simultaneously on Mac and PC was worth it.

PC version set to ship June 2. No release date for the iPhone version yet, but EA claims Summer 2009.

Anyone here eager to get their Sims on?

(In response to llofte)