The Sims 2

Did You Know?

• Mark Mothersbaugh composed the build mode, buy mode, Create a Sim, neighborhood music, and main theme of The Sims 2.
• The game features original Simlish-language songs on the radio by Jerry Martin, The Humble Brothers, Kirk Casey, and others.
• In 2005, Florida attorney Jack Thompson alleged that The Sims 2 promoted nudity through mods or cheat codes; EA responded that removing pixelation reveals Sims have no genitals, appearing like Ken and Barbie.

Gameplay

Players select a lot from the neighborhood view, choosing between residential and community lots, though Sims can only live on residential lots. Community lots allow Sims to purchase clothing and magazines and interact with NPCs and townies. Players may play a pre-made inhabited lot, move a household into an unoccupied pre-built lot, or construct a building on an empty lot. Foundations are a new feature. The player switches among Live mode to control Sims, Buy mode to manage furniture, and Build mode for structural changes; these modes are unavailable on community lots, but lots can be built using the neighborhood view. Neighborhood terrains can be imported from SimCity 4. Time-bound social challenges offer rewards, such as throwing parties for aspiration points or inviting the headmaster to dinner to enroll children in private school. Expansion packs add mini-games like running a Greek house in University or dating in Nightlife, where each date is a challenge to keep both Sims happy while accumulating aspiration points. Supernatural characters such as Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves, PlantSims, and Witches can be introduced. The core gameplay involves leading a Sim from birth to death. A baby is born after a female and male Sim try for a baby several times; the mother is pregnant for three Sim days, with the belly popping to a larger size each day. The baby's appearance and personality are based on parental genetics, though appearance is hidden until the toddler stage. Adoption is available via phone, even for single parents, old age Sims, or same-gender couples. The baby becomes a toddler after three days, a child after four more days, a teenager after eight days, an adult after fifteen days, and an elder after twenty-nine days; the elder stage length depends on the aspiration bar at the time of becoming an elder.

Development

Preliminary development began in late 2000 after the release of The Sims. EA Games announced on May 5, 2003, that Maxis had started development on The Sims 2. A teaser trailer appeared on The Sims: Makin' Magic CD in October 2003 and was later uploaded online. The game was first shown at E3 in Los Angeles on May 13, 2003. The development team identified core qualities of the original—relatability, creative freedom, irreverent humor, and open-ended gameplay—and aimed to build on them. The shift to 3D graphics was considered essential to encourage upgrades from players of the first game. Thirst and stress needs were considered but dropped after player feedback indicated fatigue with maintaining basic needs; instead, the team used existing needs to differentiate life stages, such as teenage Sims having a higher social need. Custom content was seen as vital to the series' popularity, so the team worked to make installing and managing user-made content as smooth as possible. Will Wright noted that the reception to the first game's expansion packs helped determine which features to include in the base game, citing community lots as an example. On December 15, 2012, Electronic Arts announced the official website would shut down on January 14, 2013, ending downloads, exchanges, and forum communities. On July 16, 2014, EA announced the end of support for The Sims 2 and released The Sims 2: Ultimate Collection as a limited-time free download on Origin, which ended at 10:00 PDT July 31, 2014.

Reception and legacy

The Sims 2 was a hit with critics, earning a 90 out of 100 on both Metacritic and GameRankings. Metacritic’s average, drawn from 61 reviews, signified universal acclaim. IGN and GameSpy each gave it an Editor’s Choice Award. The game also made a strong showing at E3. Across 71 online reviews, the average score was 90 out of 100, with seven outlets giving it a perfect score. X-Play rated it 4 out of 5. Computer Gaming World named it the 2004 Strategy Game of the Year (General), topping RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, The Political Machine, and Silent Storm. At the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences gave it Simulation Game of the Year and nominated it for Outstanding Innovation in Computer Gaming. Will Wright was nominated for Visionary and Game Developer at the Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards. The game also earned two international award nominations in 2005. The Mac version won an Apple Design Award in 2006. Computer Games Magazine ranked it the sixth-best computer game of 2004, calling it “more of a game and less of a dollhouse” than the original and praising its voice acting with a Best Voice Acting award. Commercially, it sold a then-record one million copies in its first ten days, 4.5 million in its first year, and 7 million by October 2006. In the UK, it received a Double Platinum award from ELSPA for at least 600,000 copies. In Spain, it earned a Double Platinum award from aDeSe for over 160,000 sales in its first 12 months.

Editions, compilations, and add-ons

Aspyr Media released Mac OS X ports of the base game, the first six expansion packs, and the first three Stuff Packs. The base game port was announced on October 19, 2004, reached beta on March 1, 2005, and was released on June 17, 2005. The Sims 2 Body Shop was also available for Mac OS X. In 2014, Aspyr released The Sims 2: Super Collection for Intel Macs, including all ported expansions and stuff packs, available on the Mac App Store for OS X 10.9 Mavericks and above. At release, it was compatible with Mac OS X Panther and above on PowerPC Macintosh systems. Macworld noted the game's technically impressive 3-D graphics and recommended a 1.2GHz or faster machine, with updated ATI graphics drivers. Console versions of The Sims 2 featured local splitscreen multiplayer, a story mode, and direct control of characters rather than queuing actions. Unlike the PC and Mac versions, Sims on consoles cannot have children or age realistically—only adults (excluding elders) appear—though they can marry. Players earn aspiration points to unlock rewards and complete story mode, which consists of multiple levels with developed storylines where each character asks the player to fulfill wants related to their story. A sandbox mode allows living in a preset family or building a custom one.