Here's an interesting article from CNN.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/17/sims.sales.ap/index.html?eref=edition_technology I've been playing the game since 2003 (the original Sims game) and continue to enjoy every expansion pack and some Stuff packs that come out.
Doesn't surprise me. Sims players are a tenacious and loyal lot. Been playing since TS1's House Party Came out....and have, scarily enough, bought every single EP for both Sims 1 and Sims 2.
Never got into it. Strongest memory of it how my dad when he used to run a computer firm went crazy over how the game and all it's expansion packs royally messed up peoples computers. I distinctly remember him putting down the phone once after speaking to a costumer and, clearly having held it in to not say it to the customer, exclaimed "STOP BUYING GAMES WITH SHITTY CODE THAT'S HOW YOU FUCKING FIX IT!"
Yeah...I love this game...but I wouldn't love it nearly as much if I didn't know who all the best hackers were. There is a whole cottage industry out there built around fixing EA's fuckups.
Yeah, I love The Sims. The interesting thing is that you would think after Sims 2 came out it would completely replace the original, but I actually play them both equally. They are both fun in their different ways. I am a purist when it comes to The Sims. No items downloaded from the Internet, no cheats, nothing like that. I just work with what I have. I like to make it as close to real life as possible, and there are no cheats in real life!
I grew bored of the first two pretty quickly, but I do have to say that The Sims 3 actually sounds pretty interesting.
A friend of mine got me into the Sims 2 last summer and I've been an avid player since, got nearly all the expansion packs, I was playing it before I logged in here lol. The Sims 3 does sound pretty good but it also has some worrying aspects that are making players of the current Sims second guess buying it, sounds like the new programming takes away a lot of the control the payer normally has over all the Sims, making it more like the SimCity games.
^Thats actually its first expansion pack "University", it does have Sorority's and for some reason Lesbian relationships in the Sims form more easily, but surprisingly turn out to be the most successful over time. It does have an annoying tendency to have female heavy Lots to form them, especially at University, the rest of the game isn't like that
I shouldn't say anything, but honestly... of all the people I know in my program right now, half of them are gay or lesbian, so... yeah.
Really? even when I have a good amount of Romance or Family Sims, only about a third of the couples in my game turn out gay, on looking up their "Debug - Autonomous Gender Preference" most of them are straight or bi.
Well, I don't use 'cheats' so much as hacks that fix stuff in EA's programming that will frell your game if you don't use these hacks. There is a site called More Awesome Than You, and most of JM Pescado's hacks are not to make the game easier, but to make it run as intended. I also use hacks that limit townie/dormie regeneration as the more characters in your game, the better chance it has of getting FUBAR. There are a few of his hacks that are anti-annoyance, and I like some of those. They don't make the game easier, but they eliminate certain REALLY annoying elements of sim behavior. The ones I can't live without are nobabyharassment, which forces your sims to leave sleeping babies and toddlers the HELL ALONE until they wake up...and a coffee cup hack that forces your sims to not leave coffee cups on every empty surface on their entire lot rather than just taking them back to the kitchen. Stupid sims will stand in the kitchen, drink a cup of coffee, and then walk to the other side of the lot to set it down on an nightstand otherwise. I also use one hack that allows them to buy clothes without going to the store - the prices are more expensive than they are in the store, but I don't care - it's worth it to not have to go off-lot. Now, I do use alot of build objects and furnishings downloaded from sites. One of the main things I do in the game is design and build houses...and the stuff that comes with the game really sucks. If I was you, at the very least I'd download some of the Maxis match objects. That way, you'd at least be able to use some of the Maxis provided furniture that doesn't go with ANYTHING except itself.
I don't have any hacks or patches right now but will be starting to download them soon, anything to stop them doing that damn Smustle Dance from Free Time. As for Townies I took an idea from the Matrix and created a multistory "Source" building in Downtown. It has a few of the cheat objects permanently placed, I just summon old or obsolete Sims and delete them using the full delete function (wipes them from the character list, and all Sims memories) and generate newer, upgraded Townies in their place.
When I played the original Sims game, I downloaded a shitload of free objects and skins to try to create storybooks for my sims (comic book characters, movies, etc.). Some of them were actually pretty good, but the others were crappy and had very bad quality. Nowadays I try limiting my Sims 2 downloads of skins. I can't imagine playing an open-ended game (or any other PC game, for that matter) like Sims 2 without using cheats ... Seriously, it's a "sandbox" game; you might as well have unlimited simoleons, maximum skills and awards, and complete control over your sims. The boolprop cheat is perhaps the best and most powerful.
I'm totally excited about the new expansion pack for the Sims 2. Apartment Life will hopefully bring something new to the table like Seasons did. I was pleasantly surprised that they're even bothering with another expansion pack considering TS3 is coming out next year.
Sims 2 expansion packs are released 5 months apart. The Sims 3 is slated for April/May 2009 which is another 12 months, Apartment Life is due in August, 5 months after that would be January 09, then the Sims 3 will be released a few months after that. We'll be getting a 9th expansion pack early next year as well
Well, some people play for building houses and decorating them. Some play to make lesbian relationships. I play to try and manage every detail of their life. I always turn Free Will off and I take a lot of pleasure in figuring out how to manage their money to buy the necessities with a crappy job. It's hard at first, but it's really fulfilling when they finally move into a bigger house, or can buy a new couch. Time management, like trying to fit in homework or skill development while still needing to sleep and be at work early the next morning are exciting to me as well. I am the type of person who loves planning and organizing, so these aspects of the game are perfect for me. Once or twice I have cheated and built a mansion with decadent furniture, but really I found it pretty boring...once you have everything, what's the point? There is nothing to aim for.
So you have used cheats before ... Well, I totally see your point about having everything provided for the sims. I think variety is a big fun factor in the game, and sometimes (not always) the only way to achieve variety is to use cheats like motherlode and boolprop. Why settle for an "old couch" when you can have a luxury sofa? Why carpool to work when you can get your own car? Sims can be materialistic (especially those with Money aspirations) and thus derive their satisfaction from acquiring objects for their homes (although you can do a lot more than get objects and rewards with the "boolprop" cheat). With a simple cheat, I can turn my sims into vampires, Plant People, or alien hybrids and see how they interact with others. I can get Career Rewards without having to wait 20,000 simoleons to buy an item. I have recently succeeded in making Alvin Bigfoot (part of Vacations pack) a selectable character and made him move in like a normal sim to one of the neighborhoods I built. And you have got to at least try the carnivorous cow plant! I think every sim should get this pet for their home.
Well I do have several rich Sims, and they still don't have "everything" despite having better homes than most. Overall I have a storyline that I write as I go along that spans two neighbourhoods and nearly 60 Sims thats playing out. Having/building families and relationships that determine who populates and controls the 'hood is still something to play for, I have several families that are in prominent positions but have all the other families take on the "grunt" level work to fill out the jobs. Getting the kids to do well at school, not having your Sims die from random accidents, keeping them from cheating, managing NPC's arriving and doing things they shouldn't be, building new lots, disassembling and rebuilding old ones or outright knocking them down and redeveloping, or like me having systems in place for Sim recycling, plenty to do