The Sims

The Sims (sometimes referred as The Sims 1, TS1 or Sims 1) is a life simulator, a spin-off from the SimCity series (released on February 4, 2000 for US and February 28, 2000 for EU) which has in turn eclipsed SimCity in popularity since its release in 2000. The game puts players in control of isometric neighborhoods and people, or "Sims". Originally released for the PC, the game has also been ported to the Mac, and versions have been released for several video game systems. The game was developed by Maxis and published by EA Games.

First released on February 4, 2000, the base game has sold more than 15 million copies, and the franchise has sold over 100 million units as of 2008. Since its initial release, seven expansion packs and a sequel, The Sims 2 (with its own expansion packs), have been released. A reboot to the series, The Sims 3, was released on June 2, 2009.

Sims require direction, via mouse inputs, in order to have their needs met and live their lives efficiently. Sims have a degree of free will, but not enough to be considered completely independent (and even this limited free will can be disabled). The residential lot that individual Sims or families call home can be upgraded both in terms of the structure (Build Mode) and the furniture which occupies it (Buy Mode).

The game has now won numerous awards, propelling the popularity of the game. As the next sequel (in release order) and reboot (in chronological order), The Sims 3 has big expectations to live up to, and is thought to sell millions of copies worldwide, much like the original games.

Overview
Strictly speaking, there is no primary objective to The Sims: It is open-ended and players are free to decide for themselves what constitutes success or failure. The game does, however, have plenty of clear secondary objectives, such as career and relationship success, although there are no set rewards for this. The player will need to make his or her Sim successful in many ways. Players must fulfill their need to sleep, eat, and many others, just like real human beings. They will also need to find a job, be promoted, or even marry other Sims so that one can have a successful family life.

The architecture and the artificial intelligence system are both praised by players. Players will need to build a well-designed house and put in different objects to fulfill the Sim's needs. Sims can only interact with the object in their house. A player can control a maximum of eight Sims at a time; the Sim you are controlling can be identified by the plumb-bob over its head.



Origin
After suffering a fire that burned away all his possessions, Will Wright was forced to find a new home and rebuild his life. It was this experience that inspired him to think of a game that simulates life, linking his ideas with the SimCity series he had developed. In 1993, he proposed the idea to Maxis but they rejected it, believing that computers at the time could not handle such a game. In 1995, he proposed it again to EA Games. This time, it was accepted. EA Games initially named it Project X, but renamed it The Sims in 1997. Promotions for the game were first seen on the SimCity 3000 installation CD.

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Legacy bug
A rare bug has been found that prevented users from installing any of The Sims products (such as expansion packs) if they reinstall an expansion pack. EA has made SimsEraser to fix the problem. Users also experienced errors when installing The Sims expansion packs, since then SimsEraser.exe was included on newer disks.

This only occurs on the PC version.

Pre-release trailer
Video:The Sims 1: Trailer

Expansion Packs
The Sims spawned 7 Expansion packs (EPs).


 * Livin' Large (UK title: Livin' It Up)
 * House Party
 * Hot Date
 * Vacation (UK title: On Holiday)
 * Unleashed
 * Superstar
 * Makin' Magic

Compilations with the original The Sims game
The Sims has now been repackaged in numerous editions. These editions are not expansions in themselves, but rather a compilation of the basic game plus pre-existing expansion packs and additional game content. These editions include:

North American releases

 * The Sims Deluxe Edition: Core game; The Sims: Livin' Large; The Sims Creator; exclusive contents.
 * The Sims Double Deluxe: The Sims Deluxe Edition; The Sims: House Party; bonus content.
 * The Sims Mega Deluxe: The Sims Double Deluxe; The Sims: Hot Date.
 * The Sims Complete Collection: Core game; all seven expansion packs; The Sims Deluxe Edition exclusive content; The Sims Double Deluxe bonus content; The Sims Creator.

Releases in other regions

 * The Sims Triple Deluxe (United Kingdom): The Sims Double Deluxe; The Sims: Vacation.
 * The Complete Collection of The Sims (United Kingdom): Core game; The Sims Deluxe Edition exclusive content; all seven expansion packs; The Sims Creator.
 * The Sims: Full House (Australia; New Zealand): Core game; all seven expansion packs.

Compilations of expansion packs
An expansion collection series was released in 2005:
 * The Sims: Expansion Collection Volume One consists of The Sims: Unleashed and The Sims: House Party.
 * The Sims: Expansion Collection Volume Two consists of The Sims: Hot Date and The Sims: Makin' Magic.
 * The Sims: Expansion Collection Volume Three consists of The Sims: Vacation and The Sims: Superstar.

Another expansion collection series was also released in 2005:
 * The Sims: Expansion Three-Pack Volume 1 consists of The Sims: Unleashed, The Sims: Superstar, and The Sims: House Party.
 * The Sims: Expansion Three-Pack Volume 2 consists of The Sims: Hot Date, The Sims: Vacation, and The Sims: Makin' Magic.

Custom Content
The Sims was designed to allow players to customize their experience with additional skins and buy/build mode items available from the official Sims website or third party fan sites.

Custom Content support was also included in The Sims 2, The Sims Stories and The Sims 3.