The Evolution of Sims!

Hey everyone! Its been awhile since we posted anything. I've got some free time now and every Thursday I will be posting something.The Sims is my absolute favorite game franchise. I can play Sims all day long honestly.With the Sims 4's new building scheme announcement a few days ago, I thought it'd be nice to take a walk down memory lane and see just how much the Sims franchise has grown. (Disclaimer: None of the pictures belong to me! Most of the information is either from Wikipedia or my own personal knowledge of the franchise!)

The Original Sims (PC):
It is often referred to as The Sims 1. It came out in February of 2000. By 2002, over 2 Million copies had been sold worldwide. In fact, the Sims Franchise is the best selling on PC. There are a total of seven expansion packs released for the original sims and 2 deluxe versions. These original versions have all been made by the gaming company Maxis and not Electronic Arts. (Wikipedia).

Source: Wikipedia

The graphics were primitive, but still good for their era. I remember getting the Sims deluxe which came with the base game and the House Party Expansion. 

Source: http://thesims.neoseeker.com/wiki/File:SD03.png

The Inflatable chair was my absolute favorite. I had these instead of couches. In the Sims, the object of the game was the same as the later games, control your sims and lead them to a life of riches and luxury or rags and crime. The expansion packs were a huge plus because they kept adding more and more to your game play.

The Sims 2 (PC):
The Sims 2 came out in 2004. It takes place 25 years after the original Sims. The game itself was a transition from 2D graphics to 3D graphics and therefore had to be built from scratch. The SIms 2 introduced six distinct life stages, ranging from infant to elder. Weekdays were also introduced where vacation days from work and school were available. Along with 8 expansion packs and 9 stuff packs, there has also been over 400 exclusive items that could have been purchased from the sims 2 store. (Wikipedia). The was also an exchange on the Sims 2 website that allowed players to upload their own creations and let other players download them. Custom Content and mods have also been introduced where players create their own things for the game and allow other players to add them to their games as well. Many people still play the Sims 2 today.


The most prominent expansion pack had to have been Seasons, which basically added weather to your game. No more constant sun. It made the game more realistic for many fans.

(Source: EA.com)

The Sims 3: 
This is the newest installment in the Sims franchise. There have been 11 expansion packs and 9 stuff packs released. Exclusive content is still being sold on The Sims 3 store. There are TONS of custom content and mods available to download created by fans of the series.

Source: Gamespot.com

The graphics have significantly improved and many new game features have been introduced.

The Sims 4:
This game has yet to come out but it has been officially announced by the Sims team. The newest addition to the franchise is emotions that affect how your sims interact with each other. In the Sims 4, creating a sim and building a house have become easier.You can check out the trailer below: 

These sims have a more cartoony feel to them than others in the franchise.

Console Games: 
The Sims, The Sims Bustin' Out

Urbz Sims in the City (Starkly different than the games in the original series. You did not create a family or have the opportunity to create one. Instead you visited several different cities and changed your style to gain reputation with the people there in order to be allowed access into their exclusive club rooms).

The Sims 2, The Sims 2 Pets, The Sims 2 Apartment Pets

The Sims Castaway (You play as a sim, or group of sims who were travelling and got stranded on an island. The objective was to get off of the island and back home.)

The Sims 3, The Sims 3 Pets

Android/Iphone games:
The Sims 3, The Sims 3 World Adventures, The Sims 3 Ambitions and Sims Freeplay (Time is based on actual time and not sims fast forwarded time. For example, showers take fifteen minutes and not five seconds.)

Other Versions:
The Sims Online (An online game where players created their own sims and interacted with others over the internet. It is since discontinued.)

The Sims Life Stories (It had the Sims 2 graphics but was created to be more laptop friendly. It introduced a story mode as well as freeplay.)

The Sims Medieval (A standalone Sims game. You control a kingdom of sims in the Medieval time period. It has one expansion pack: Sims Medieval Pirates and Nobles.)

The Sims Social (A discontinued Facebook game. You created a sim and had to do little quests. It was very friend oriented in which you had to constantly ask your friends to send you things in order to advance.)