The Sims 2 was release thirteen years ago and is still actively being played by people everywhere. In the tech world, games often become outdated fast, but not The Sims 2. What makes this game stand the test of time? Will there ever be an expansion of The Sims franchise as successful as The Sims 2?
After the enormous success of The Sims, released in 2000, EA and Maxis got together to release The Sims 2. A game, that some say is a cult classic, and revolutionized the entire brand. One of the main things that changed from The Sims, to the Sims 2 (besides the use of better camera angles and graphics) is the fact that the sims themselves not only have personalities and needs, but they had aspirations. By giving sims hopes and fears, EA brought the game to an entirely new level. Your sims no longer needed to just survive, they needed to find their calling.
The marketing of The Sims 2 was also very well done. It played on the fact that the game now had life stages, and legacies. The trailer to The Sims 2, encompassed all of that and more, drawing lots of attention from people who didn’t even play The Sims 1. The new life stages that were added to the game made the player feel an emotional investment to The Sims because they were able to watch them grow from infant to elder and experience all the milestones in-between. That is one thing that I think The Sims 2 did better than The Sims 3 or 4; the life stages felt realistic and the milestones felt meaningful. It wasn’t a rush to get to adulthood. I think it was because it was the first time The Sims had ever had life stages, developers really took the time to play up the experiences of each one, something I think they neglected in later franchises in order to focus on other aspects.
The towns and characters in The Sims 2 are iconic. Veronaville, a european-looking town which was based on of different Shakespeare plays, Strangetown, a small and run down town in the middle of the desert, and Pleasentview, a pretty suburban town, filled with drama, mysetery. By setting up a story for the families before the players begin the game, it gave an even deeper sense of personality to The Sims.
Since The Sims 2 came out in 2004, its graphics and software are pretty low by todays standards, because of this it is easy for modders to get into the game and adjust it to however they want. The rise of Mod The Sims, was during The Sims 2’s reign and it was the first time players could effect what happened in the game.
The Sims 2 introduced the idea of machinima, to the game. Players were using the three-dementional camera angles and recording options to make movies with their sims, and put the videos of it up on YouTube. It added a completely different way to use the game. The Sims 2 is extremely versatile and can be played many different ways.
The Sims 2 managed to be the perfect amount of cartoony and realistic. It had fun quirks and characters, like, the social bunny, Mrs. Crumplebottum, and The Grim Reaper, while incorperating important life-moments and personalities to the sims. The development of story-telling mixed with the ability to play freely and make your own decisions makes the game a classic even to this day.
Just Another Sims Groupie 
