SimNation

Possibly the symbol of SimNation (as seen at the top of the city hall building in The Sims 3)

SimNation is the fictional country in which all Sims games take place. Citizens of SimNation are known as "Sims." The country's official animal is the llama, and the official language is Simlish. Its official currency is the Simoleon (§), although in some more isolated rural areas MagiCoins are also used. One may assume that SimNation has a very strong economy, considering how items are priced in Simoleons in The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. There are notable things, such as garden gnomes and plastic lawn flamingos, which are or have been stereotypical aspects of American suburban culture. Real countries such as France, Norway, England, Japan, China, Egypt and Ireland are sometimes mentioned in object descriptions, and even visited in certain expansion packs.

According to SimCity 2000, the national population is 10,000,000 in 1900 and 150,000,000 in 2050, making the average population growth 933,333 per year. As the game progresses beyond the year 2050, it can reach up to 5 billion.

History

The oldest and earliest known Sims were SimNatives. They inhabited the islands that are now Vacation Island, Twikkii Island, and the islands featured in various versions of The Sims 2: Castaway. They are implied to still be around, though perhaps in a distant and unseen area.

Years before the start of The Sims 3, Admiral Landgraab sailed to the area that is now Vacation Island. Unfortunately, the natives were disgruntled by his presence, and the poor young admiral's life ends there. However, it seems that his body was later recovered, and he was laid to rest in a tomb in Champs Les Sims.

Geography and climate

Pleasantview, Strangetown, and Melbourne in The Sims 2 for console

The exact location and extent of SimNation is unknown. However, in many Sims games, there are mountains, swamps, deserts, and grassy plains, much like the environment in various parts of the United States. Hence, some players would call it Simerica. However, SimNation's official animal is the llama, which is native to the mountains of South America. It is still possible that llamas do not actually live in SimNation, but are used only as a symbol. Despite this, they do appear in SimCity 4.

SimNation could be an independent part of North America, possibly around real-life Nevada or California, but it is also possible that SimNation is a completely fictional part of the world or even a different world entirely. However, when travelling to the future in the Time Machine in The Sims 3: Ambitions, one box states (Sim Name) has been wandering around the New Earth Space Station, suggesting it is either located on Earth or that the Simlish name of the Sims' world translates as "Earth". When watching the weather channel in The Sims 2 with Seasons installed, the weather map will show a landmass shaped vaguely like India with the eastern coast continuing and not much of the west coast seen. India also has the features of SimNation geography, for example, mountains and deserts.

Easter egg

When using freecam in The Sims 3 by pressing the tab key and looking inside the school, a map showing an exact mirror image of the United States of America, with Florida on the west coast and California on the east can be seen. This could possibly be SimNation.

Locations of SimNation

Cities

• SimCity (Capital city)
• Urbzville
• Miniopolis
• Simtropolis
• Bridgeport (although it is still regarded as a neighborhood in the game, the size and build are based off a real city)
• Mount Fuji
• Calvin's Creek
• Interhogan
• East Jerome
• Fancey Fields
• Test Center
• Blazing Falls
• Alphaville
• Dan's Grove
• Jolly Pines
• Dragon's Cove
• Betaville
• Emerville
• East Bay
• Finnburgh

Towns and suburbs

• Old Country
  - It was first mentioned in Mortimer Goth's and Gunther Goth's bios in The Sims and The Sims: Unleashed, respectively. It is explained that Gunther, Cornelia, and Mortimer moved from "the old country" when Gunther founded what would become Pleasantview. Some people believe that Riverview is the Old Country; the Riverview cemetery is named "Old Town Cemetery".
• ToadVille
• Riverview
• Pleasantview
• Strangetown
• Veronaville
• Riverblossom Hills
• Sunset Valley
• Neighborhood 1
• Neighborhood 2
• Neighborhoods 3 - 8 (empty)
• Desiderata Valley
• Belladonna Cove
• Old Town
• Magic Town
• Studio Town
• Downtown
• Bluewater Village
• SimValley
• Four Corners
• Bitville
• Garden Heights
• Mesa Flats
• Arbor Falls
• Whiskerton
• Twinbrook
• Barnacle Bay
• Beacon Bay
• Moonlight Bay
• Vista Beach
• Melbourne
• Alpinloch
• Arbordale
• Aridia
• Briney Fjord
• Crystal Springs
• Driftwood
• Isla Segundo
• Oasis Valley
• Sedona
• Viper Canyon

Universities

• Sim State University
• La Fiesta Tech
• Académie Le Tour

Vacation spots

• Vacation Island (one of the series of islands apparently just off the coast of SimNation)

The following destinations may or may not be a part of SimNation:

• Three Lakes, a forest themed destination similar to the North American Rockies or areas of Scandinavia
• Twikkii Island, a tropical themed destination similar to Hawaii or other Pacific island communities
• Takemizu Village, an Asian themed destination similar to rural Japan

The following vacation spots are specified as being separate from SimNation:

• Champs Les Sims, France
• Shang Simla, China
• Al Simhara, Egypt

Other

• Felicity Island
• Wanmami Island
• Shipwreck Island
• Airplane Island
• Volcano Island
• Crystal Island

• The Simuyan Sea
• Simomon River
• Simislaus Creek

• Castrova (mentioned in the Sims 3 Newspaper, a foreign capital city)
• Produsha (mentioned in the Sims 3 Newspaper, a foreign country with apparently corrupt politicians)

Life in SimNation

While the vast majority of the citizens of SimNation are Sims, there are many other sentient species, some of which are derived from Sims themselves. Many of these derived species, such as werewolves, vampires, witches, and mummies are the result of Sims undergoing some sort of transformation. PlantSims are unusual in that a new member of the species can be produced when a Sim is transformed, or when a PlantSim reproduces by sporulation. Some species, such as ghosts and zombies, are related to death; ghosts being the spectral remains of dead Sims, and zombies being incompletely resurrected Sims. Servos, and the earlier SimBots, being synthetic Sims, are somewhat of a special case.

Others, such as aliens, genies, Bigfoot, the Grim Reaper, and possibly the original tribe of PlantSims, do not belong to the same genus as Sims, and are not normally part of the society of SimNation. However, aliens can enter, and have entered, the Sim gene pool through pollination, and (very) occasionally "go native" and choose to live among Simkind. Also, members of the Bigfoot clan who have befriended Sims have been known to leave their native Three Lakes region and live among Sims.

It is unknown whether these species exist in numbers in the whole world of The Sims universe or only in SimNation, however, it is safe to assume they are a minority.

There are also many animal species. Some are pests, such as cockroaches and flies; others are wild, such as bears, butterflies and beetles, penguins, skunks and fish; others are domesticated, including aquarium fish, iguanas, turtles, several types of birds, womrats, hamsters, guinea pigs, dogs and cats. Llamas are implied to be present somewhere in the nation, although they have yet to be seen in gameplay.

Religion

Not much is known about the religion in SimNation. There appears to be no official state religion, and religious practice does not appear to play a significant part in the lives of modern-day Sims.

In The Sims 2: University, students majoring in Philosophy will take a class entitled "Who Controls the Pie Menu and Why?", implying that some Sims do take part in some sort of philosophical-religious debate; however, this is probably intended as a joke for the player, who controls the pie menu (usually presumed to be invisible to Sims, much like the PlumbBob) and is therefore in a sense "playing god".

In The Sims 2 for Nintendo DS, a god called the Prime Heifer is revealed. Ava Cadavra attempts to bring it into the physical world, but the player's Sim stops her by destroying the Prime Heifer's statue. After the Prime Heifer's statue is destroyed, Horus Menhoset IX replaces it with a statue of an Egyptian God. It is unknown if the rest of SimNation worships the Prime Heifer and the Egyptian God as well.

In The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, visitors to Twikkii Island may accidentally anger an ancient island god, Jumbok IV, by desecrating the ruins of his temple. The long-dead tribe of island people in The Sims 2: Castaway apparently worshipped a llama god, as another ruined temple containing llama idols can be found on Volcano Island. However, the temples of both gods have fallen into disrepair, suggesting that they are part of an ancient system of beliefs no longer followed by either the islanders themselves or their neighbours in SimNation.

Promotional material for The Sims Medieval shows that there will be a religious aspect to the game, resembling recorded adherence to Christianity in medieval Europe. The Jacoban religion is based in an imposing, gothic cathedral and attempts to convert people through fear in order to gain power; the Peterans are based in a small abbey and attempt to gain support through popularity and acts of kindness. However, it seems that the practice of both religions has died out in SimNation by the modern day.

Education

Education in SimNation apparently has only two levels, elementary school for children and high school for teens. There is no separation into grade levels. Universities do not offer post-graduate degrees; there is no SimNation equivalent of a master's degree or a doctorate. In The Sims 3, some community lots, such as the science labs, have classes that are open to all Sims.

Technology

SimNation is very advanced technologically compared to real-life nation-states. The technology of the country includes Servos and SimBots, the remarkable, and seemingly sentient, humanoid robots.

It is currently unknown if the rest of the world of The Sims universe is as advanced as SimNation. Foreign destinations like Champs Les Sims seem to be on a fairly similar level, although only small parts of these countries are seen.

Government

The government of SimNation seems to be a form of democracy. Careers like Politics have positions with names like senators and congressmen/women, suggesting that the government of SimNation is similar to that of the United States of America. In job descriptions, it mentions branches like the judicial and the executive. The fact that there is a position in The Sims 3 called "Leader of the Free World" suggests that there is a body similar to the United Nations. However, it may also simply be an elaborate, but informal, title.

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  A possible flag of SimNation, as seen outside Fort Gnome Military Base.

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  A possible flag of SimNation, as seen in SimCity Societies.

Military

The military of SimNation appears to be an all-volunteer force. It is open to both male and female Sims since both are able to join the Military career track. In The Sims 2, teens can also join.

No known wars have been identified in SimNation's history, although it is implied by Emperor Xizzle in The Sims 2 for Nintendo DS that Sims are at war with Aliens.

Law

A police force, as well as prisons, exist in SimNation. Crime does not seem to be treated harshly, with fines and short-term prison sentences being the only punishments. The police are also capable of raiding suspicious places. Few crimes are seen in-game. Careers like Law Enforcement and Law are examples that there is a solid law system in SimNation.

Healthcare

Doctors do not need college degrees (or for that matter a decent high school grade) to become one, they appear to learn on the job. In the Sims series, Sims prefer to use home methods of healing (most commonly resting), and hospitals are only used by sims in the Sims 3 mainly for pregnancy, though medical outreach programs and emergencies from out of town do occur also. There appear to be two healthcare systems in the Sims universe, in The Sims 3, hospitals can be owned by private individuals, doctors can receive extra payment from drug companies and visiting a doctor costs money, however, in the SimCity games, healthcare appears to be more socialized, since all the hospitals are government owned and run and medical staff and ambulances are on the city payroll, and funding government funding directly affects the numbers of medical staff.

Strangely, while SimNation seems to be technologically advanced in most areas, the average lifespan of a Sim in the normal life state seems to be quite short by modern standards. This is evidenced by the fact that all the characters who are teens or older in The Sims 3 (at least, those who also appear in later games in the series' chronology, and are unaffected by the time-travel storyline) are deceased by the time of The Sims 2, which supposedly takes place 50 years later. In real-life terms, this would place the average life expectancy of a SimCitizen somewhere in the mid-60s. The reasons for this disparity are unknown. Most likely it is simply a result of the creators' attempt to frame the series continuity in real time, despite the fact that Sims' life stages do not progress realistically.