Launcher

The Launcher serves to present news related to the game and alert the player about game updates.

The Sims 2
The Launcher first appeared in Bon Voyage. It is not present in the base game, or in expansion packs up to and including Seasons. The executable for the Launcher may be present if stuff packs released after Bon Voyage are installed. However, unless Mansion &amp; Garden Stuff is installed, that should not be an issue if Seasons is the latest expansion pack installed, as stuff packs prior to Mansion &amp; Garden Stuff are based on either Open for Business or Pets.

The Launcher will also be present if The Sims 2 University Life Collection, The Sims 2 Best of Business Collection, The Sims 2 Fun with Pets Collection or The Sims 2 Double Deluxe has been installed, and if the compilation disc and shortcut are used to start the game.

The Launcher has been removed from The Sims 2: Ultimate Collection, however, it is still present in The Sims 2: Super Collection but it is actually a launcher made by Aspyr Media for all Aspyr games released on the Mac App Store. All three Mac App Store re-releases of The Sims Stories games are also affected by this change.

While the Launcher's news pane is no longer used, the promotional pane is still used. As of August 24, 2013, some content shown in that pane has been observed to cause the Launcher to stop responding. This can be avoided by clicking the Play button before the promotional pane finishes loading, or by bypassing the Launcher as described below.

Avoiding the Launcher in The Sims 2
The Launcher can be avoided by starting the game directly from the executable. This can generally be done by right-clicking on the shortcut used to start the game, selecting Properties, and editing the textbox labeled "Target:" so that "Sims2Launcher.exe" is replaced by the filename of the game's executable file. For an illustrated guide on how to do this, see this page at ModTheSims.

In general, the executable that is used to start the game will be in the same folder as the Launcher. However, this may not be the case if the disc and shortcut for one of the compilations is used to start The Sims 2.

Compilations and the Launcher
The Sims 2 Double Deluxe, The Sims 2 University Life Collection, The Sims 2 Best of Business Collection, and The Sims 2 Fun with Pets Collection all include the Launcher.

The Sims 2 Double Deluxe includes the base game, The Sims 2: Nightlife, and The Sims 2: Celebration! Stuff, and the player cannot decide which parts to install. Since ''Celebration! Stuff is based on Open for Business, it can be assumed that its executable (Sims2SP4.exe) will be used to start the game unless the player has a later stuff pack, or an expansion pack later than Open for Business''. This file should be located here:
 * The Sims 2 Double Deluxe

The Sims 2 University Life Collection contains The Sims 2: University as well as The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff and The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff, and the player can decide which ones to install. The paths to the executable files should be
 * The Sims 2 University Life Collection

University:

Teen Style Stuff:

IKEA Home Stuff:

Both stuff packs are based on the Pets expansion pack, so neither Sims2SP6.exe nor Sims2SP8.exe will be used if a later expansion pack is installed. Sims2EP1.exe will only be used if no Packs other than University are installed.

The Sims 2 Best of Business Collection contains The Sims 2: Open for Business as well as The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff and The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff, and the player can decide which ones to install. The paths to the executable files should be
 * The Sims 2 Best of Business Collection

Open for Business:

H&M Fashion Stuff:

Kitchen & Bath Stuff:

H&M Fashion Stuff is based on Open for Business while Kitchen & Bath Stuff is based on the Pets expansion pack, so none of the executables in this compilation will be used if The Sims 2: Seasons or later is installed.

The Sims 2 Fun with Pets Collection contains The Sims 2: Pets as well as The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff and The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff, and the player can decide which ones to install. The paths to the executable files should be
 * The Sims 2 Fun with Pets Collection

Pets:

Family Fun Stuff:

Mansion & Garden Stuff:


 * This executable will be used if Fun with Pets was used to install Mansion & Garden Stuff.

Family Fun Stuff is based on Open for Business. Sims2SP1.exe will not be used if any later stuff pack is installed, or if Pets or later is installed. Sims2EP4.exe will not be used if The Sims 2: Seasons or later is installed, and may not be used if Teen Style Stuff, Kitchen & Bath Stuff, or IKEA Home Stuff is installed.

The Sims 3
The Sims 3 launcher connects to Origin (formerly known as the Electronic Arts Download Manager) when new updates are available and enables the player to install and upload .sims3packages. It also displays the player's installed expansion packs and their game version. The Steam version of The Sims 3 omits the ability to install game updates via the launcher as they are handled by the Steam client due to the different file structure utilised by Steam. Also, players are able to download custom launchers from 3rd party sites such as Mod The Sims.

Criticism
The launcher and the .sims3package format has been criticized by some community creators as it is slow and can potentially mess up packages.

Avoiding the Launcher in The Sims 3
To fully avoid the launcher, the player needs to cover its functionality by other means:
 * Start the Sims game directly from the executable.
 * Download and install patches manually. (See The Sims 3 patches)
 * Use a user created tool to install .sims3packages, see below for suggestions.

Expansion and Stuff Packs Manager
Patch 69 added Expansion and Stuff Packs Manager to the launcher. It enables the ability to disable installed packs without uninstalling them.

Similar Sims 3 tools

 * TS3 Install Helper Monkey by Delphy at ModTheSims.
 * More tools