The Sims 2 Store Edition

The Sims 2 Store Edition was a client for The Sims 2 that enables users to use The Sims 2 Store content.

Players could shop at The Sims 2 Store online using real money to purchase items from expansion and stuff packs. Exclusive store items are also released for players to purchase. Money is converted to Sim points and $1 = 100 Sim points. Items range from 25-250 Sim points. The store closed while in Beta.

The client was able to be downloaded from EA officially, or was pre-packaged with Apartment Life, Fun With Pets, University Collection or Business Collection. Although being worthless now, it is still packaged with all new copies of the said expansions.

Support
It is possible to run it in Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000 and Windows Me. It does not work on Mac OS X but Boot Camp can be used to run it. It also runs on Windows 7. Although The Sims 2 Store Edition is only available in US and Canada, it is possible to run the game outside of North America in regions like Europe and Latin America.

This game requires Pets to be installed. If other Sims 2 games try to run, the user receives the error dialogue that he/she is running the wrong version of The Sims 2 and is prompted to start The Sims 2 Store Edition instead.

The addon was supported until March 31st when the store officially closed.

The Sims 2 Store Edition can no longer be downloaded from EA, however, for some reason when you purchase certain Sims 2 expansions on Origin, like Seasons or Pets, Store edition will appear in the download list, although useless.

If you try to go to The Sims 2 Store website, this screen appears saying that the Store is closed and says that you should visit The Sims 3 Store similar to how The Sims Carnival tells users to visit The Sims 3.

As with all EPs and SPs, The Sims 2 Store Edition will delete your saved games when you uninstall it and games in The Sims 2 Store are unreadable by prior Sims 2 Versions.

The Sims 2 Store Edition is unsupported as of March 31, 2011.

Installing
The Sims 2 Store Edition requires the user to have The Sims 2, any expansion from Pets onward and the EA Download Manager installed.


 * Recommended System Requirements for EA Download Manager


 * Windows XP OS, Win64 OS or later with admin rights
 * Internet Explorer 6 or later with Javascript enabled
 * Broadband connection (cable, DSL, or faster)
 * Free hard drive space

Trivia

 * This is the only game that does not require a DVD in the drive to play as it is a Download Version. However, the DVD of the collection (University Life, Best of Business or Fun with Pets) is required when The Sims 2 Store Edition is selected during installation.
 * This is one of the 2 games that lack a CD/DVD key. The other is Holiday Party Pack.
 * As with other Sims 2 products (with the exception of The Sims Stories and The Sims 2 Collections) on Windows, The Sims 2 Store Edition can be run on Windows 98 SE, Windows Me and Windows 2000 but EADM most likely does not support these versions of Windows.
 * Due to being in released in US and Canada only. This is the only game of The Sims 2 not released in the European Union but it is possible (Since The Sims 2 is not region locked) to install and run it on European PCs.
 * When The Sims 3 Store was launched, all countries were able to buy Simpoints and purchased items from The Sims 2 Store.
 * The Sims 2 Store Edition supports English, French and Spanish languages.
 * The Sims 2 store shut down late in 2012 so that the Store Edition could not be used, although still packaged with Expansion Packs.