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This article is about the series of The Sims video games. For the list of The Sims games, see List of The Sims games. For the complete list of Sim games, see List of Sim games.
The games in The Sims series lack any defined goals. The player creates virtual people called "Sims" and places them in houses and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves. Each successive expansion pack and game in the series augmented what the player could do with their Sims.
[edit] Video games As of February 2005, The Sims franchise had shipped more than 52 million copies globally.[3] As of April 16, 2008, the franchise has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide,[1] and as of March 19, 2008, is the best-selling PC franchise in history.[2] [edit] Main series[edit] The SimsMain article: The Sims The Sims is the first game in the series. Developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, it was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2000. The game uses isometric projection and features open-ended simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons ("Sims") in a suburban neighborhood near SimCity. Seven expansion packs and two bonafide deluxe editions with exclusive content have been released this game. It was repackaged in several different formats and different versions of it were released on several different platforms. By March 22, 2002, The Sims had sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling PC game in history, surpassing Myst.[4] The original game, all seven expansion packs, and the two exclusive deluxe edition content packs constitute the first generation of the series on the PC. All PC releases in this generation were developed by Maxis. [edit] The Sims 2Main article: The Sims 2 Electronic Arts released The Sims 2 on September 14, 2004. The sequel, developed by Maxis, takes place in a full 3D environment, as opposed to the dimetric projection of the original game. Other additions to the original gameplay include aging through six life stages from infancy to old age, which eventually leads to death. In addition, this game features clear "days of the week" with weekends when children could stay home from school, "vacation days" when Sims could take time off work, an "Aspiration Meter" that fills up or empties according to the desirable or undesirable experiences of a Sim, and "Aspiration Rewards" which could be purchased using "Aspiration Points" which are earned each time a Want is successfully fulfilled (thereby creating a desirable experience).A new feature allows the player to have sexual contact with another Sim. The Sims 2 is set some 25 years after the original game. For instance, the Pleasant family (available in the family bin in Sims 1) has settled in a suburban neighborhood, and their family tree panels reveals relationships with the original Pleasant family from the Sims 1. Additionally, the Goth family has aged significantly with Bella Goth mysteriously vanishing sometime during the 25-year period (suggestively from an alien abduction). Brandi Broke (the daughter of Bob and Betty Newbie) is mourning the loss of her husband and has to raise two children alone. Johnny Burb has become an adult and is married to Jennifer Pleasant. Michael Bachelor (deceased at the start of The Sims 2) is revealed to be Bella Goth's brother. The entire game has progressed from from 2-D sprites to 3-D models, thus all content in The Sims 2 had to be created from the ground up. Some objects and features were ported from the original game to the sequel. Due to this, The Sims 2 was not made backwards-compatible with any content from the first generation of the main series. Electronic Arts has released eight expansion packs and nine stuff packs for The Sims 2. Over 400 exclusive items have also been released for this game via The Sims 2 Store. All of these releases constitute the second generation of the main series. It is noted that development of this generation was handed over from Maxis to The Sims Division sometime during 2006-2008, with the former studio focusing its resources on its next project - Spore. [edit] The Sims 3Main article: The Sims 3 The Sims 3 was announced by EA in November 2006. It was available at retailers worldwide and available by digital download on June 2, 2009.[5] The production of The Sims 3 started after the release of The Sims 2. It is believed to be set 25 years after the original game, and features improvements to the User Interface as well as an open, seamless neighborhood. This core game and future releases will constitute the third generation of the main series. The first expansion pack, called World Adventures is developed by The Sims Division and it was released in North America on November 17th, 2009. In addition, many items are available online for additional fees at The Sims 3 Store. [edit] Spinoffs[edit] The Sims OnlineMain article: The Sims Online In December 2002, Electronic Arts shipped the Maxis-developed The Sims Online, which was later named EA Land. This online game recreates The Sims as an MMOG, where actual human players can interact with each other. This spinoff did not achieve the same level of success as the original The Sims game that the producers and developers anticipated. Reviews for EA Land were extremely lackluster. Many reviewers likened The Sims Online experience to an enormous chat room where few participants, if any, had anything worthwhile to say. On August 1, 2008 (the year before Cory Aquino died), EA-Land's servers were closed permanently. There have been many attempts to revive the game, all of which have been so far unsuccessful. [edit] The Sims Bustin' OutMain article: The Sims Bustin' Out The Sims Bustin' Out is the second title in The Sims console series. Bustin' Out was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and N-Gage in the fourth quarter of 2003. As the title suggests, Sims can get out of the house to visit other locations such as Shiny Things Lab or Casa Caliente. There are two modes. Bust Out Mode which has mission based gameplay and Freeplay Mode which is open-ended gameplay very much like the original The Sims PC game. It was the second Sims game to not be on the PC; it was a follow up to The Sims, which was very similar to Bustin' Out, except the aims were shifted to getting job promotions and constantly fulfilling goals to get ahead in the game. The PlayStation 2 version also features the option to play online, though EA no longer supports it. [edit] The Urbz: Sims in the CityMain article: The Urbz: Sims in the City A game set in a city, presumably Sim City. The player must earn reputation and complete tasks for characters. It was released for Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance. It features The Black Eyed Peas as NPCs. [edit] MySimsMySims is series of console games created by EA exclusively for the Wii and Nintendo DS. They feature Chibi-like characters (similar to the Wii's Mii avatars). The first game in the series was released in September 2007. It is also known for being the first Sim game released in Japan. [edit] The Sims StoriesThe Sims Stories is a series of computer games from The Sims series, based on the original The Sims 2 engine, optimized for play on laptops, as it has lower system requirement than The Sims 2, but can still be played on desktops. One feature of this game, if played on a laptop, is the auto-pause function, which stops and starts the game according to when the laptop lid is closed.[6] At present, three games have been released.[7] [edit] The Sims MovieJune 6, 2007 - [8] Producer John Davis gives classic 80's flick Weird Science a nod in the movie concept, which involves a couple of kids getting their hands on something called The Sims Infinity Pack. "What they realize is that they can scan their world in, because this is the most life-like, real Sims game ever. As they are playing this, they are all of a sudden realising [that] what they are playing on the game is having an effect on the real world. So in effect, through the game, they are able to control their world. It's wish fulfillment, and obviously it turns against them." [edit] AwardsThe success of The Sims resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series 5 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include "World's Biggest-Selling Simulation Series", and "Best Selling PC Game of All Time" for the original The Sims game, which sold 16 million units, 100 times EA's original projection of 160,000 units. [edit] References
[edit] See also[edit] External links
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