Object limiter

An object limiter is present in all console versions of The Sims. The object limiter limits the number of objects that can be placed in a house, and warns the player if nearing the limit. The game will compensate for going over the limit by setting one of the items in the house on fire.

The object limiter was created so the lots don't take much time to load and the game can perform well on the console hardware.

Object limiters are not present in PC games as consoles tend to have less memory. For example, the PlayStation 3 has 512MB of RAM (split between two 256 MB chips) and the Xbox 360 has 512MB of RAM. The Sims 3 on PC requires 1/1.5GB of RAM. As this is much more memory than the console, The Sims 3 for console has the object limiter due to the smaller amount of RAM whereas the PC version doesn't.

Trivia

 * In The Sims 2 for PSP, the object limiter is known as Feng Shui. However, it simply does not allow the player to buy more stuff, rather than setting the object on fire.
 * The object limiter in The Sims 3 for console is similar to the Feng Shui although it is still refered to as the object limiter.