Comparison between The Sims and The Sims 2

Merge

This article or section is being considered for merging with Comparison between The Sims base games. See the discussion page for details.

Delete

This page has been nominated for deletion. Reason: Page that's suggested to be merge includes all the repeated information from here..
You can discuss this nomination by following this link. If the discussion page does not exist yet, you can create it by using the "Start a deletion discussion" box on The Sims Wiki:Pages for deletion.

This article is a Comparison between The Sims and The Sims 2, with regard to the major differences between the two. It should be noted that unless otherwise indicated, these comparisons are between the base games without any Expansion packs. Also, some of these factors may change when cheats are used.

The Sims	The Sims 2
Released 2000	Released 2004
Isometric perspective	Fully 3D
Neighborhood is pre-designed	3 pre-designed neighborhoods (Pleasantview, Strangetown and Veronaville) which may be (to some extent) tweaked by the player, and terrains may be imported from SimCity 4. Additional neighborhoods built from scratch may be created and added to the menu screen.
3 age groups (baby, child, adult)	6 (7) life stages (baby, toddler, child, teen, adult, elder, young adult if your Sim goes to university)
Only babies age, other lifespans are indefinite.	All Sims, except townies and NPCs, age and eventually die
No genetics.	Genetics determine skin, hair and eye color.
6 skills	7 skills
Only Adults gain skills	Any age group except babies can gain skill points.
No aspirations	Teens and older have one of 5 aspirations. Toddlers and children aspire to Grow Up.
No wants or fears	All Sims except babies have 4 wants and 3 fears. The University expansion pack allows teen Sims to add up to 2 wants by attending college.
Family structures are not clearly defined. Marriage does little more than move a Sim into the lot and there is no scope to break up.	Family structures very clearly defined, including family trees. Marriages and unions (the same-sex equivalent) also defined and can break up, most often triggered through infidelity.
No days of the week, weekend, or days off work or school (Sims would not be fired for skipping work provided they did attend the following day)	7-day week with different days off depending on job. Children and Teens have the weekend off from school. Able to call in sick to work or quit. Sims will be fired if they miss too many days of work.
Sims do not collect memories	Sims collect memories
Bills delivered once every 3 days	Bills delivered on Tuesdays and Thursdays
PlumbBob color reflects precise mood: optimum is green, worst is red	PlumbBob color represents approximate mood: optimum is platinum
No pregnancy, babies can simply appear after user says yes to random "Should we have a baby?" prompt after romantic interaction, no genetics passed down	Try for baby may lead to 3 day pregnancy for female Sim, genetic traits passed down from both parents (and grandparents)
Household accounts screen can be accessed, showing income and expenditure over past 3 days and current day	No such screen
Buildings limited to 2 floors. Basements, foundations and lofts not possible. Variable roof pitches.	Buildings limited to 5 floors, or 4 with foundation. Buildings with foundation can have basements incorporated into them. Lofts theoretically possible. Fixed roof pitch.
Children with failing grades are banished to Military School and never return.	When a child in the family has failing grades, all children are taken away by a social worker, and other families may adopt them.
Random phone calls pranking or giving out money. Other Sims never call.	No money calls, but friends and acquaintances may call at random. In FreeTime, hobby instructors call when a Sim gains hobby enthusiasm. Teens may make "crank" calls.
Chance cards at some career levels, causing gain or loss of skill points and/or funds.	Chance cards at all levels of career, causing gain or loss of rank, skill points, etc.
Chance cards force career change at top level of career. Sims cannot retire.	No forced career changes. Elder Sims can retire.
Many NPCs not interactive	All but a few NPCs (drivers, Rod Humble, social workers, etc.) interactive

See also

• Comparison between The Sims base games
• Comparison between The Sims 2 and The Sims 3
• Comparison between The Sims 3 and The Sims Medieval
• Comparison between The Sims 2: Bon Voyage and The Sims 3: World Adventures
• Comparison between The Sims 2: Open for Business and The Sims 3: Ambitions
• Comparison between The Sims 2: Nightlife and The Sims 3: Late Night
• Comparison between The Sims 2: Pets and The Sims 3: Pets
• Comparison between The Sims 2: Seasons and The Sims 3: Seasons
• Comparison between The Sims 2: University and The Sims 3: University Life