The Sims 2
Encyclopedia
The Sims 2 is a strategic
life simulation
computer game developed by Maxis
and published by Electronic Arts
. It is the sequel
to the best-selling computer game, The Sims
, which debuted on February 4, 2000. It was first released on September 14, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. A port to Apple Mac OS X was released on June 13, 2005. Eight expansion packs and nine stuff packs were subsequently released. In addition several console versions have been released. Though not commonly known, The Sims 2 is offered on mobile platforms. Mobile manufacturers such as Nokia offer The Sims 2 from the Ovi Store. A sequel, The Sims 3
, was released in June 2009.
The Sims 2 has the same concept as its predecessor and sequel, The Sims 3
, players control their Sims in various activities and form relationships in a manner similar to real life
. The Sims 2, like its predecessor, The Sims, does not have a defined final goal; gameplay is open-ended. Sims have life goals, wants and fears, the fulfillment of which can produce both positive or negative outcomes. All Sims age, and can live to 90 sim days depending on the degree to which their aspirations are fulfilled. The Sims 2 builds on its predecessor by allowing Sims to age through six stages of life and incorporating a 3D graphics
engine. Although gameplay is not linear, storylines exist in the game's pre-built neighborhoods. Pleasantview is based 25 years after the town in the original The Sims. Strangetown's storyline is based on the supernatural, and is loosely connected with Pleasantview. Veronaville's characters are based on Shakespearian characters.
The Sims 2 was an instant success, selling a then-record one million copies in its first ten days.
As of June 2009, The Sims 2 has sold more than 14 million units worldwide and was the best-selling PC game of 2004.
During April 2008, The Sims 2 website announced that 100 million copies of The Sims series had been sold.
In addition to its commercial success, The Sims 2 was well received by critics gaining a 90% score from aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings.
The player can choose between playing a pre-made inhabited lot, moving a household into a built-up lot, or constructing a building on an empty lot. One novelty from The Sims 1 is foundation
s.
The player switches among the "live" mode (default) to control Sims, the "buy" mode to add, move or delete furniture, or the "build" mode to rebuild the house. Buy and build mode for community lots is locked when player Sims visit the lot but are available from the neighborhood view.
It is also possible to import neighborhood terrains from SimCity 4
.
The game contains some time-bound social challenges that provide a reward if successful. Sims can throw parties to gain aspiration points or invite the headmaster over for dinner in order to enroll their children in private school. Some expansion packs have new mini-games, like running a Greek house in University or dating in Nightlife. In Nightlife, each day is a challenge to keep both Sims as happy as possible while accumulating aspiration points. Various other expansion packs introduce supernatural characters which Sims can be turned into. This includes Vampires, Werewolves, Plantsims, Zombies, and Witches.
, which used dimetric projection and fixed resolutions, as the camera was in The Sims. In The Sims, Sims are 3D meshes, but The Sims 2 introduces far more detail in mesh quality, texture quality, and animation capability. A Sim's facial features are customizable and unique, and Sims can smile, frown, and blink. The player can adjust a Sim's features in the in-game Create-a-Sim tool; for example, noses can be made to be very large or very small. Texturing is achieved through use of raster images, though it appears more lifelike.
The Sims 2 characters pass through six life stages - babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults (only with University), adults, and elders - with eventual death of old age, while babies in The Sims only become children before ceasing to continue aging. The aspiration system (described above) is also new to The Sims 2. Sims can become pregnant and produce babies that take on genetic characteristics of their parents, such as eye color, hair color, facial structure, and personality traits. Genetics play a major role in the game, and as such, dominant and recessive genes play a larger role than they did in the original game. A player can also aspire to have a Sim abducted by aliens. Males then have the chance to become impregnated and produce after three Sim days a half-alien child.
Some of the other additions to gameplay are career rewards, a week cycle, the cleaning skill (which was a hidden skill in The Sims), a variety of meals (depending on time of day), exercise clothing, body shape affected by diet and exercise, and houses built on foundations.
on May 13, 2004. Will Wright admits that while most of the content of The Sims 2 are original ideas, inspiration for its own expansions and constituents spawned from the successes of the first game. The community interest in the antecedent The Sims: Unleashed and The Sims: Hot Date
expansions ensured the creation of The Sims 2: Pets
and The Sims 2: Nightlife
expansions, respectively.
After development concluded, designers from Maxis regarded The Sims 2 as very capricious during creation. Bugs would appear, and Sims would be "tweaked", or have anomalies not present in a previous run.
A teaser trailer was provided on the Makin' Magic CD but was later uploaded to websites all over the Internet.
and GameSpy
upon final review of the finished product. From 71 online reviews, the average score was 90 out of 100. Seven of those sources awarded the game a 100 out of 100 score. X-Play
gave the game a 4/5. However, critics noted some serious bugs in the game.
The Sims creator, Will Wright was recognized by being nominated at the Billboard
Digital Entertainment Awards for Visionary and Game Developer. The game was also nominated for two international awards in 2005.
On July 22, 2005, former Florida attorney Jack Thompson
alleged that Electronic Arts
and The Sims 2 promoted nudity through the use of a mod or a cheat code. The claim was made that pubic hair, labia and other genital details were visible once the "blur" (the pixelation that occurs when a Sim is using the toilet or is naked in the game) was removed. Electronic Arts executive Jeff Brown said in an interview with GameSpot
:
Prior to Thompson's statement, there was an enterable code which removed pixelation accessible from the console menu. Shortly after the statement, subsequent patches and expansion packs removed the "intProp censorGridSize" code; this code was leftover from the beta testing stage of the original game and was not intended for a public audience.
The Sims live action
film
is currently in preproduction under an eponymous working title
.
On May 25, 2007, it was announced that The Sims film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox
. Not much is known yet about the upcoming film, although a rumored story involving the characters finding a way to control others through a "Sims"-like game has been reported on several movie sites. It will be written by Brian Lynch, co-writer of the Angel: After The Fall
comics and writer/director of the 1999 film Big Helium Dog
. The film will be produced by John Davis, responsible for films such as I, Robot
and Predator
.
EA has officially announced it and a MySims animated television series in development at Film Roman
.
, the Xbox
, Nintendo DS
and the Gamecube.
s provide additional game features and items. Eight expansion packs have been released with no current plans for more expansion packs beyond The Sims 2: Apartment Life
.
It also had featured seven exclusive item collections that could only be found in the store. The store used a point system that players can purchase. It was opened from July 2008 to March 31, 2011 as a beta version limited to the United States and Canada. To download, players must install The Sims 2 Store Edition and the EA Download Manager. The exclusive collections were "Cubic", "Art Deco", "Spooky", "Castle", "Asian Fusion", "Art Nouveaulicious" and "Oh Baby", including a total of 471 items.
In the Sims 2 website, there is also something called the "Exchange". In the Exchange, people with Sims2.com accounts could download custom Sims, pets, lots, and stories to their game. Those Sims, pets, lots, and stories were mostly created by other Sims2.com members.
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
life simulation
Life simulation game
Life simulation games is a sub-genre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual lifeforms...
computer game developed by Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. It is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the best-selling computer game, The Sims
The Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
, which debuted on February 4, 2000. It was first released on September 14, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. A port to Apple Mac OS X was released on June 13, 2005. Eight expansion packs and nine stuff packs were subsequently released. In addition several console versions have been released. Though not commonly known, The Sims 2 is offered on mobile platforms. Mobile manufacturers such as Nokia offer The Sims 2 from the Ovi Store. A sequel, The Sims 3
The Sims 3
The Sims 3 is a 2009 strategic life simulation computer game developed by The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims 2. It was first released on June 2, 2009 simultaneously for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows...
, was released in June 2009.
The Sims 2 has the same concept as its predecessor and sequel, The Sims 3
The Sims 3
The Sims 3 is a 2009 strategic life simulation computer game developed by The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims 2. It was first released on June 2, 2009 simultaneously for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows...
, players control their Sims in various activities and form relationships in a manner similar to real life
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
. The Sims 2, like its predecessor, The Sims, does not have a defined final goal; gameplay is open-ended. Sims have life goals, wants and fears, the fulfillment of which can produce both positive or negative outcomes. All Sims age, and can live to 90 sim days depending on the degree to which their aspirations are fulfilled. The Sims 2 builds on its predecessor by allowing Sims to age through six stages of life and incorporating a 3D graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
engine. Although gameplay is not linear, storylines exist in the game's pre-built neighborhoods. Pleasantview is based 25 years after the town in the original The Sims. Strangetown's storyline is based on the supernatural, and is loosely connected with Pleasantview. Veronaville's characters are based on Shakespearian characters.
The Sims 2 was an instant success, selling a then-record one million copies in its first ten days.
As of June 2009, The Sims 2 has sold more than 14 million units worldwide and was the best-selling PC game of 2004.
During April 2008, The Sims 2 website announced that 100 million copies of The Sims series had been sold.
In addition to its commercial success, The Sims 2 was well received by critics gaining a 90% score from aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings.
Buy and Build mode
From the neighborhood view, the player selects one lot to play, as in The Sims. There are both residential and community lots, but Sims can only live in residential lots. Community lots are where Sims travel to in order to purchase things like clothing and magazines, and to interact with NPCs.The player can choose between playing a pre-made inhabited lot, moving a household into a built-up lot, or constructing a building on an empty lot. One novelty from The Sims 1 is foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
s.
The player switches among the "live" mode (default) to control Sims, the "buy" mode to add, move or delete furniture, or the "build" mode to rebuild the house. Buy and build mode for community lots is locked when player Sims visit the lot but are available from the neighborhood view.
It is also possible to import neighborhood terrains from SimCity 4
SimCity 4
SimCity 4 is a city-building/urban planning simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was released on January 14, 2003. It is the fourth installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack called Rush Hour which adds features to the game...
.
The game contains some time-bound social challenges that provide a reward if successful. Sims can throw parties to gain aspiration points or invite the headmaster over for dinner in order to enroll their children in private school. Some expansion packs have new mini-games, like running a Greek house in University or dating in Nightlife. In Nightlife, each day is a challenge to keep both Sims as happy as possible while accumulating aspiration points. Various other expansion packs introduce supernatural characters which Sims can be turned into. This includes Vampires, Werewolves, Plantsims, Zombies, and Witches.
Comparison to The Sims
Graphically, The Sims 2 is more detailed than The Sims and lets players to view its world in full 3D. This is a change from earlier Sim games, such as SimCity 2000SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000 is a simulation/city building video game and the second installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 2000 was first released by Maxis in 1994 for computers running Apple Macintosh Operating System...
, which used dimetric projection and fixed resolutions, as the camera was in The Sims. In The Sims, Sims are 3D meshes, but The Sims 2 introduces far more detail in mesh quality, texture quality, and animation capability. A Sim's facial features are customizable and unique, and Sims can smile, frown, and blink. The player can adjust a Sim's features in the in-game Create-a-Sim tool; for example, noses can be made to be very large or very small. Texturing is achieved through use of raster images, though it appears more lifelike.
The Sims 2 characters pass through six life stages - babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults (only with University), adults, and elders - with eventual death of old age, while babies in The Sims only become children before ceasing to continue aging. The aspiration system (described above) is also new to The Sims 2. Sims can become pregnant and produce babies that take on genetic characteristics of their parents, such as eye color, hair color, facial structure, and personality traits. Genetics play a major role in the game, and as such, dominant and recessive genes play a larger role than they did in the original game. A player can also aspire to have a Sim abducted by aliens. Males then have the chance to become impregnated and produce after three Sim days a half-alien child.
Some of the other additions to gameplay are career rewards, a week cycle, the cleaning skill (which was a hidden skill in The Sims), a variety of meals (depending on time of day), exercise clothing, body shape affected by diet and exercise, and houses built on foundations.
Development
EA Games announced on May 5, 2003 that the Maxis studio had begun development on The Sims 2. The game was first shown at E3 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on May 13, 2004. Will Wright admits that while most of the content of The Sims 2 are original ideas, inspiration for its own expansions and constituents spawned from the successes of the first game. The community interest in the antecedent The Sims: Unleashed and The Sims: Hot Date
The Sims: Hot Date
The Sims: Hot Date is the third expansion pack released for the strategic life-simulation computer game The Sims developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts...
expansions ensured the creation of The Sims 2: Pets
The Sims 2: Pets
The Sims 2: Pets is the fourth expansion pack in The Sims 2 series of games, as well as a stand-alone game for several consoles. It is published by Electronic Arts...
and The Sims 2: Nightlife
The Sims 2: Nightlife
The Sims 2: Nightlife is the second expansion pack for The Sims 2, which was released on September 13, 2005 and September 16, 2005 . It was released for Mac OS X on March 27, 2006...
expansions, respectively.
After development concluded, designers from Maxis regarded The Sims 2 as very capricious during creation. Bugs would appear, and Sims would be "tweaked", or have anomalies not present in a previous run.
A teaser trailer was provided on the Makin' Magic CD but was later uploaded to websites all over the Internet.
Reception
The Sims 2 had a successful E3. The game also received the Editor's Choice Award from IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
and GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
upon final review of the finished product. From 71 online reviews, the average score was 90 out of 100. Seven of those sources awarded the game a 100 out of 100 score. X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
gave the game a 4/5. However, critics noted some serious bugs in the game.
The Sims creator, Will Wright was recognized by being nominated at the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
Digital Entertainment Awards for Visionary and Game Developer. The game was also nominated for two international awards in 2005.
Controversy
The Sims 2 malleable content and open-ended customization have led to controversy on the subject of pay sites and sexual modifications. Custom content is distributed through independent websites, some of which charge for downloading materials. It has been alleged that this is a breach of the game's EULA, which prohibits the commercial use of Electronic Art's intellectual property.On July 22, 2005, former Florida attorney Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson (attorney)
John Bruce "Jack" Thompson is an American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. Thompson is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games....
alleged that Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
and The Sims 2 promoted nudity through the use of a mod or a cheat code. The claim was made that pubic hair, labia and other genital details were visible once the "blur" (the pixelation that occurs when a Sim is using the toilet or is naked in the game) was removed. Electronic Arts executive Jeff Brown said in an interview with GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
:
Prior to Thompson's statement, there was an enterable code which removed pixelation accessible from the console menu. Shortly after the statement, subsequent patches and expansion packs removed the "intProp censorGridSize" code; this code was leftover from the beta testing stage of the original game and was not intended for a public audience.
Film and TV series
The Sims live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
is currently in preproduction under an eponymous working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
.
On May 25, 2007, it was announced that The Sims film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Not much is known yet about the upcoming film, although a rumored story involving the characters finding a way to control others through a "Sims"-like game has been reported on several movie sites. It will be written by Brian Lynch, co-writer of the Angel: After The Fall
Angel: After the Fall
Angel: After the Fall is a comic book published by IDW Publishing. Written by Brian Lynch and plotted with Joss Whedon, the series is a canonical continuation of the Angel television series, and follows the events of that show's final televised season...
comics and writer/director of the 1999 film Big Helium Dog
Big Helium Dog
Big Helium Dog is a 1999 comedy film. It is produced by Kevin Smith's View Askew production company and also features the Broken Lizard comedy troupe in starring and supporting roles....
. The film will be produced by John Davis, responsible for films such as I, Robot
I, Robot (film)
I, Robot is a 2004 science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay was written by Jeff Vintar, Akiva Goldsman and Hillary Seitz, and is very loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name. Will Smith stars in the lead role of the film as Detective Del...
and Predator
Predator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
.
EA has officially announced it and a MySims animated television series in development at Film Roman
Film Roman
Film Roman is an animation studio founded by Phil Roman, best known for producing the animation for The Simpsons, King of the Hill for 20th Century Fox, as well as the Garfield and Peanuts animated TV specials....
.
Editions, compilations, and add-ons
Many Sims games have been ported to Mac OS X by Aspyr. The Sims 2 has also been released for a number of video game consoles including the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and the Gamecube.
Core game editions
| Name | Release date | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| The Sims 2 | Windows: Mac OS X: June 13, 2005 |
The first release of the core game on four CDs. |
| The Sims 2 Special DVD Edition | Windows: |
The core game on one DVD, plus a bonus DVD DVD A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions.... with exclusive content. |
| The Sims 2 Holiday Edition (2005) | Windows: |
The core game and The Sims 2 Holiday Party Pack. |
| The Sims 2 Holiday Edition (2006) | Windows: |
The core game and The Sims 2 Happy Holiday Stuff. |
| The Sims 2 Deluxe | Windows: |
The core game and The Sims 2 Nightlife, and a new bonus DVD that is different from the one included in the Special DVD Edition. |
| The Sims 2 Double Deluxe | Windows: |
The core game and The Sims 2 Celebration! Stuff and The Sims 2 Nightlife |
Expansion-only compilations
Compilations of expansion packs and stuff packs without the core game have also been released.| Name | Release date | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| The Sims 2 University Life Collection | Windows: |
The Sims 2: University The Sims 2: University The Sims 2: University is the first expansion pack for the strategic life simulation computer game The Sims 2 developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on March 1, 2005 to mixed reception. The expansion pack adds a new aging period to Sims which is Young Adult... , The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff The Sims 2 Stuff packs Stuff packs are minor expansion packs for The Sims 2 that add new items, clothing, and furniture to the game without implementing any significant changes to gameplay.-Happy Holiday! Pack:... , and The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff The Sims 2 Stuff packs Stuff packs are minor expansion packs for The Sims 2 that add new items, clothing, and furniture to the game without implementing any significant changes to gameplay.-Happy Holiday! Pack:... . |
| The Sims 2 Best of Business Collection | Windows: |
The Sims 2: Open for Business The Sims 2: Open for Business The Sims 2: Open for Business is the third expansion pack for The Sims 2, released on March 3, 2006, which allows Sims to run a home or community lot based business. Aspyr released a port of the game for Mac OS X on September 4, 2006... , The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff The Sims 2 Stuff packs Stuff packs are minor expansion packs for The Sims 2 that add new items, clothing, and furniture to the game without implementing any significant changes to gameplay.-Happy Holiday! Pack:... , and The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff The Sims 2 Stuff packs Stuff packs are minor expansion packs for The Sims 2 that add new items, clothing, and furniture to the game without implementing any significant changes to gameplay.-Happy Holiday! Pack:... . |
| The Sims 2 Fun with Pets Collection | Windows: |
The Sims 2: Pets The Sims 2: Pets The Sims 2: Pets is the fourth expansion pack in The Sims 2 series of games, as well as a stand-alone game for several consoles. It is published by Electronic Arts... , The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff The Sims 2 Stuff packs Stuff packs are minor expansion packs for The Sims 2 that add new items, clothing, and furniture to the game without implementing any significant changes to gameplay.-Happy Holiday! Pack:... , and The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff The Sims 2 Stuff packs Stuff packs are minor expansion packs for The Sims 2 that add new items, clothing, and furniture to the game without implementing any significant changes to gameplay.-Happy Holiday! Pack:... . |
Expansion packs
The Sims 2 expansion packExpansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
s provide additional game features and items. Eight expansion packs have been released with no current plans for more expansion packs beyond The Sims 2: Apartment Life
The Sims 2: Apartment Life
The Sims 2: Apartment Life is the eighth and final expansion pack in the The Sims 2 video game series.A flyer included in later copies of The Sims 2: FreeTime expansion pack and The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff Pack announced Apartment Life, which brings magic back to the franchise...
.
| Name | Release date | Major Additions | Neighborhoods | New NPCs | New Lifestate/Creature | New Careers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University The Sims 2: University The Sims 2: University is the first expansion pack for the strategic life simulation computer game The Sims 2 developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on March 1, 2005 to mixed reception. The expansion pack adds a new aging period to Sims which is Young Adult... |
Windows: Mac OS X: December 12, 2005 |
Universities University A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education... , Young Adult age group, Influence system |
Campus: La Fiesta Tech, Sim State University, Académie Le Tour |
Barista Barista A barista is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.- Application of the title :... , Bartender, Cafeteria Worker, Cheerleader, Coach Coach (sport) In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:... , Evil Mascot, Mascot, Professors, Streaker Streaker Streaker may refer to:* Someone who engages in streaking, purposely appearing and running nude in public* Streaker , a sailing dinghy* Streaker , a 1987 computer game published by Bulldog... |
Zombie Zombie Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli... s (Also in FreeTime and Apartment Life) |
Natural Scientist, Paranormal, Show Business, Artist |
| Nightlife The Sims 2: Nightlife The Sims 2: Nightlife is the second expansion pack for The Sims 2, which was released on September 13, 2005 and September 16, 2005 . It was released for Mac OS X on March 27, 2006... |
Windows: Mac OS X: March 27, 2006 |
Dates Dating (activity) Dating is a form of courtship consisting of social activities done by two persons with the aim of each assessing the other's suitability as a partner in an intimate relationship or as a spouse... , Groups system, Outings, Pleasure and Grilled Cheese aspiration, New relationship states, ownable cars, Attraction system |
Downtown: Downtown |
Gypsy Matchmaker Matchmaking Matchmaking is any process of matching two people for the purpose of marriage or a sporting contest.-Practice:In some cultures, the role of the matchmaker was and is quite professionalized... , Waiter, Chef, Bartender, DJ, Mrs. Crumplebottom, Vampires (Counts/Countesses) |
Vampires | None |
| Open for Business The Sims 2: Open for Business The Sims 2: Open for Business is the third expansion pack for The Sims 2, released on March 3, 2006, which allows Sims to run a home or community lot based business. Aspyr released a port of the game for Mac OS X on September 4, 2006... |
Windows: Mac OS X: September 4, 2006 |
Businesses, talent badges | Shopping District: Bluewater Village |
Reporters, Barbers |
Servos (Robots) | Shop Employees |
| Pets The Sims 2: Pets The Sims 2: Pets is the fourth expansion pack in The Sims 2 series of games, as well as a stand-alone game for several consoles. It is published by Electronic Arts... |
Windows: Mac OS X: November 6, 2006 |
Ownable Pets | None | Animal Control Officers, Obedience Trainer, Wolves, Skunk Skunk Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora... s |
Werewolves | Pet careers: Security, Showbiz, Service |
| Seasons The Sims 2: Seasons -Reception:-External links:*... |
Windows: Mac OS X: June 11, 2007 |
Weather system, Season Season A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution... s, fishing Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.... , new talent badges, gardening Gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use... |
Main: Riverblossom Hills |
Garden Club Members, Penguins |
PlantSims | Adventurer, Education, Gamer, Journalism, Law, Music |
| Bon Voyage The Sims 2: Bon Voyage The Sims 2: Bon Voyage is the sixth expansion pack released in The Sims 2 series of PC games. It was released on September 4, 2007 in North America and September 6, 2007 in Europe for the Microsoft Windows Operating System. For the Mac OS X Operating System, it was released on December 17, 2007 by... |
Windows: Mac OS X: December 17, 2007 |
Vacations in different cultural areas | Vacation: Twikkii Island, Three Lakes, Takemizu Village |
Fire Dancers, Hotel Maids, Bellboys, Masseurs, Wise Old Man, Pirate, Tour Guides, Unsavory charlatan Pickpocketing Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person of a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. It requires considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection... , Witch Doctor Witch Doctor "Witch Doctor" is a song written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., and released in 1958 by Liberty Records under the name David Seville, a character whom Bagdasarian portrayed.-Song information:... , Ninja Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations... s |
Bigfoot Bigfoot Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid... |
None |
| FreeTime The Sims 2: FreeTime The Sims 2: FreeTime is the seventh expansion pack in the The Sims 2 video game series.A flyer included in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage expansion pack and The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff announced this expansion and read: "Now your Sims can enjoy hobbies! Your Sims will have fun taking up a variety of... |
Windows: |
Hobby system, lifetime aspiration system, new talent badges. | Main: Desiderata Valley Secret: Hobby |
Hobby Members, Rod Humble Rod Humble Rod Humble is the Chief Executive Officer of Second Life creator Linden Lab, and former Executive Vice President for the EA Play label of the video game company Electronic Arts. He has been contributing to the development of games since 1990, and is recently best known for his work on the... , Hobby Leaders, Food Judge, Genie Genie Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that... |
None | Oceanography, Intelligence, Entertainment, Dance, Architecture |
| Apartment Life The Sims 2: Apartment Life The Sims 2: Apartment Life is the eighth and final expansion pack in the The Sims 2 video game series.A flyer included in later copies of The Sims 2: FreeTime expansion pack and The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff Pack announced Apartment Life, which brings magic back to the franchise... |
Windows: |
Rentable apartments, reputation system, witchcraft system | Main: Belladonna Cove Secret: The Magical World |
Butler, Landlord, Roomies, Breakdancers, Street Performers, Social Group Sims, High Witch of Light/Darkness, Spectral assistant (played by cats), Human statues |
Witches, Warlock Warlock The term warlock in origin means "traitor, oathbreaker".In early modern Scots, the word came to be used as the male equivalent of witch .... s |
None |
Stuff packs
Stuff packs are add-ons that intend to add only new items (usually in the amount of 60) to the base game. However, some releases include certain gameplay elements introduced in previous expansion packs. There are nine stuff packs so far. The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack served as the pilot release for this line of products, which were called "booster packs". After the success of the pilot release, EA named the releases "stuff packs" and launched the line with The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff. The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff is the final stuff pack for The Sims 2.| Name | Release date | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Holiday Party Pack | Windows: |
Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days... , Halloween Halloween Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day... , Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the... , Hanukkah Hanukkah Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE... , Kwanzaa Kwanzaa Kwanzaa is a week long celebration held in the United States honoring universal African-American heritage and culture, observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. It features activities such as lighting a candle holder with seven candles and culminates in a feast and gift giving... and New Year New Year The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner.... themed stuff, plus new NPCs: Santa Claus Santa Claus Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus... , Father Time Father Time Father Time is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, somewhat worse for wear, dressed in a robe, carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device... , and Baby New Year Baby New Year The Baby New Year is a personification of the start of the New Year commonly seen in editorial cartoons. He symbolizes the "birth" of the next year, and that the "old" year is gone; in other words, a "rebirth"... |
| Family Fun Stuff | Windows: Mac OS X: April 30, 2007 |
Family-oriented Fairy tale Fairy tale A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies... , outer space and nautical themed items mainly for children's bedrooms |
| Glamour Life Stuff | Windows: Mac OS X: June 1, 2007 |
Luxury, couture Couture -Places in France:* Couture, Charente, in the Charente département* Couture-d'Argenson, in the Deux-Sèvres département* Couture-sur-Loir, in the Loir-et-Cher département-People:* Randy Couture , American mixed martial arts fighter... and glamour themed objects, floors and walls |
| Happy Holiday Stuff | Windows: Mac OS X: September 4, 2007 |
All items from Holiday Party Pack plus added Asian and European holiday themed stuff |
| Celebration! Stuff | Windows: |
Wedding Wedding A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes... themed hairstyles, fashions and accessories, furniture, and other party enhancers |
| H&M Fashion Stuff | Windows: |
Fashion Fashion Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person... collections from H&M H&M H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children.... and H&M branded build objects |
| Teen Style Stuff | Windows: |
Goth Goth subculture The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify... , Thrasher and Socialite Socialite A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events.... themed stuff for teenagers' bedrooms, teenage haircuts and new teenage clothes |
| Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff | Windows: |
Kitchen and bathroom objects, floors, walls and clothing items |
| IKEA Home Stuff | Windows: |
Fashionable furniture, floors and walls from the styles of IKEA IKEA IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer... |
| Mansion & Garden Stuff | Windows: |
Items featuring three new decorative themes (Moroccan Moroccan style Moroccan style is a new trend in decoration which takes its roots from Moorish architecture, it has been made popular by the vogue of Riads renovation in Marrakech. Its becoming popular in some circles in UK and the USA. Riad Laksiba notably formed part of a reality TV program following a family... , Art Deco Art Deco Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and... and Second Empire) |
The Sims 2 Store
The Sims 2 Store was an online store where players of The Sims 2 for PC could purchase and download content for their game online for additional fees. It offered objects, clothing, skins, and hairstyles that are both exclusive to the store and also come from earlier expansion and stuff packs.It also had featured seven exclusive item collections that could only be found in the store. The store used a point system that players can purchase. It was opened from July 2008 to March 31, 2011 as a beta version limited to the United States and Canada. To download, players must install The Sims 2 Store Edition and the EA Download Manager. The exclusive collections were "Cubic", "Art Deco", "Spooky", "Castle", "Asian Fusion", "Art Nouveaulicious" and "Oh Baby", including a total of 471 items.
In the Sims 2 website, there is also something called the "Exchange". In the Exchange, people with Sims2.com accounts could download custom Sims, pets, lots, and stories to their game. Those Sims, pets, lots, and stories were mostly created by other Sims2.com members.