The Simpsons: Tapped Out Gets a Lovely Valentines Update

Goodbye snow, hello hearts. The Simpsons: Tapped Out got a new update today and if you can't tell from the picture above -- it's Valentine’s Day in Springfield!

Even though the actual Valentine's Day is still a couple of weeks away, The Simpsons is getting the jump on the holiday, packing in tons of new, romancey-type content into the game. And because this is The Simpsons we're talking about, there is plenty to go around.

Tapped Out, which has been a cash cow for Electronic Arts, is showing no signs of slowing down. In October last year, The Simpsons: Tapped Out was updated with a Treehouse of Horror Halloween update. In November, there was a Thanksgiving Update. And in December, the game got a Christmas update.

So what's in this Valentine’s Day update? New buildings like Phineas Q. Butterfat’s, Howard’s Flowers and Sir Putt-A-Lots will help get the Homey fires burning. New decorations like rose bushes and cherub topiaries will be just what the doctor ordered. And there are new characters as well, like Shauna from "Beware My Cheating Bart."

But most important of all and the question that's likely on the minds of Simpsons and Tapped Out fans everywhere. Will there be Ralph Wiggum? The little one-liner factory has been conspicuasly absent from the game thus far and there is no sign as of yet that he's a part of this update. However, if the "I Choo-Choo-Choose You Train" option is any indication, we'll hopefully see him skipping around town in no time. If not, well then ... EA we can pinpoint the precise moment that you ripped our hearts in half.

Other tweaked features in this update include the ability to send Valentines to your friends towns and collect hearts as currency, replacing the Santa coins from the Christmas update. You can also buy Itchy and Scratchy lottery tickets at the Kwik-E-Mart.

If you are a Simpsons fan and haven't started playing this yet, it's time to get your act together. Grab it today for your iPhone and iPad.