The Sims: Hot Date, released on November 14, 2001, is the third expansion pack for The Sims. It introduced community lots to the series, making it the first instance where players are able to play their Sims on lots other than the Sim's home lot. Its theme and many of its features, including the addition of a Downtown sub-neighborhood, were reimplemented in Nightlife, the second expansion pack for the sequel game The Sims 2. Some elements of The Sims 3: Late Night and The Sims 4: Dine Out also feature dating mechanics.
Interactions: Adds more than 40 new interactions to make Sim dates better, and a "three strikes and you're out" system, so if an interaction is repeated more than twice in the space of a few hours, it will be rejected. Also gives more options when using certain objects.
Interests: Adds seven new interests; Exercise, Food, Parties, Style, Hollywood, Technology, and Romance.
Soundtrack Music: Romantic jazz songs composed by Jerry Martin and Kirk Casey.
Sub-Categories in Buy Mode: Redesigned buy mode for easier object cataloging.
Auto-Lights: Rather than manually turning on/off lights, lights will automatically turn on/off depending on if there is a Sim in the room, removing the ability to turn on/off lights (with a few exceptions for certain lights).
Hot Date is the first time ever in The Sims series that Sims can visit locations other than their own home, introducing the concept of community lots to the series.
It also marks the first time that shops, parks and restaurants are featured in the game.