On February 4th 2020, The Sims franchise turned 20 years old. Quite a monumental birthday for a gaming franchise. For those that don’t know, it is a series of life simulation games that focus almost entirely on the idea “Play With Life.”
In honor of its 20th birthday, let’s take a look at some of the history of this popular game.
The Sims was released for Microsoft Windows in 2000, thanks to Maxis and Electronic Arts (EA). In 2002, having sold more than 6 million copies, it became the best-selling PC game of all time, and still holds spot number six on that list.
A common and important part of any Sims game is the expansion packs. The first installment had seven expansion packs.
The Sims 2 was released on September 14th, 2004, and added some extremely fun new features including aspirations, aging, and death. This particular installment was actually set 25 years after the original game, which brought in a significant amount of lore, the most popular being centered around Bella Goth and her mysterious disappearance. This installment is still a favorite of many Simmers, because of the various complexity and engaging features.
With this installment came eight expansion packs and nine stuff packs. Along with these packs was The Sims 2 store, which had over 400 items available for purchase.
The Sims 3 was released in June of 2009, and is set 25 years prior to the original game. Some of the new features included improved Create a Sim tools, better build and buy functions, the introduction of goals, and an open world!
The release of The Sims 3 became the largest release in PC gaming history (at that time) by selling over 1 million copies in the first week. This installment had eleven expansion packs and nine stuff packs. This was also a store for this game that had plenty of items for Simmers to sift through.
The Sims 4 was released in September of 2014, and is the current installment of this franchise. This game brought a revamped appearance and style to The Sims, by overhauling Create a Sim, build/buy mode, and by adding the importance of emotion to the game.
As of February 2020, there are eight expansion packs, eight game packs, and sixteen stuff packs (and one free pack!).
An important aspect to the game that I’ve yet to mention is the inclusion of custom content and mods. Most Simmers fall into the black hole of modding their game very early on. There’s a nearly endless supply of free content online that can be easily added to the game as a way to enrich the gameplay. Personally, I find it nearly impossible to play without mods because of how much they shape my game. (Not gonna lie, it’s also a great way to go online shopping without spending any actual money).
Now you’re caught up! The Sims is an impressively successful game that has prevailed as the best life simulation game out there. It still has its flaws and the community is not shy about expressing their thoughts on those (looking at you Happy Birthday Hot Tub), but overall, the love is real.
*Release dates mentioned do not apply to the console.