The Sims 2/History

EA Games announced on May 5, 2003 that the Maxis studio had begun development on The Sims 2. The game was first shown at E³ in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2004. Will Wright admits that while most of the content of The Sims 2 are original ideas, inspiration for its own expansions and constituents spawned from the successes of the first game. The community interest in the antecedent The Sims: Unleashed expansion, for example, ensured the creation of The Sims 2: Pets expansion.

After development concluded, designers from Maxis regarded The Sims 2 as very capricious during creation. Bugs would appear apparently spontaneously, and Sims would be "tweaked", or have anomalies not present in a previous run.

Controversy

The game's highly malleable content and open-ended customization have led to controversy on the subject of paysites and sexual modifications. Custom content is distributed through independent websites, some of which charge for downloading materials. Some modifications, purportedly revealing sexual anatomy, sparked legal controversy.

On July 22, 2005, Florida attorney Jack Thompson alleged that Electronic Arts and The Sims 2 promoted nudity through use of a mod or a cheat code. The claim was made that pubic hair, labia and other genital details were visible once the "blur" (the pixelation that occurs when a sim is using the toilet or is naked in the game) was removed. Electronic Arts issued a statement saying that when the blur was removed, Sims lack such anatomical definition, similar to Barbie and Ken dolls. Electronic Arts executive Jeff Brown said in an interview with GameSpot: "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."

Reception

The Sims 2 had a successful E³ showing in 2004. In all, it garnered four awards based on that exhibit alone, and two more upon further review. The Game Critics awarded the game Best Simulation Game at E³ 2004. GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN also awarded The Sims 2 their Best of Show at E³ 2004 designation. The game also received the Editor's Choice Award from IGN and GameSpy upon final review of the finished product. From 71 online reviews, the average score was 90 out of 100. Seven of those sources awarded the game a 100 out of 100 score. In addition to its awards, the Sims 2 creator, Will Wright was recognized by being nominated at the Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards for Visionary and Game Developer. The game was also nominated for two international awards, Best PC Game, 2005 from BAFTA, and the International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Puzzle/Strategy Game, 2005.

Subsequent Releases

For the PC, there have been six released editions of the core game, six released expansion packs and six released stuff packs. There has also been another stuff pack and expansion announced. Many of these have been ported to Mac OS X by Aspyr. The Sims 2 has also been released for a number of game consoles.

Core game

Name	Windows release date (USA)	Mac OS X release date	Features
The Sims 2	September 14, 2004	June 13, 2005	First release of the core game
The Sims 2: Special DVD Edition	September 17, 2004	N/A	Core game, Bonus DVD content
The Sims 2: Holiday Edition (2005)	November 17, 2005	N/A	Core game, content from The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack
The Sims 2: Holiday Edition (2006)	November, 2006	N/A	Core game, content from The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
The Sims 2: Deluxe	May 8, 2007	N/A	Core game, The Sims 2: Nightlife, Bonus DVD

Expansion packs

The Sims 2 expansion packs provide additional game features and items. Generally, expansion packs add one central gameplay element, several peripheral elements, a new type of "expansion neighborhood", a new mythical creature (e.g. zombies in University and vampires in Nightlife), and over 100 new objects. Six expansion packs have been released so far, with the seventh expansion pack to be released in early February 2008.

Name	Windows release date (USA)		Mac OS X release date	Major additions	Neighborhood expansions	New NPCs	Creature
Name	North America	Europe	Mac OS X release date	Major additions	Neighborhood expansions	New NPCs	Creature
University	March 1, 2005	March 2, 2005	December 12, 2005	Colleges, Secret Societies, Dorms, Fraternaties and Soroties, Young Adult life stage (only accessible in college), lifetime wants, Influence, new careers only available to graduates	3 premade College Towns, Sim State University, La Fiesta Tech, Academie Le Tour	Baristas, mascots, students, cheerleaders, streakers, bartenders, cafeteria workers, professors,	Zombies
Nightlife	September 13, 2005	September 13, 2005	March 27, 2006	Dates, Groups, Attraction and Chemistry, Inventory, Furious State, Restaurants	Downtown	Gypsy Matchmaker, Host, Waitor, Chefs, Grand Vampires, Downtownies, DJs, Slobs, Divas, Mr Bigs	Vampires
Open for Business	March 2, 2006	March 2, 2006	September 4, 2006	Ownable shops, Talent Badges, Business Perks, Customers and Employees	Shopping districts (Bluewater Village)	Reporters, barbers	Robots
Pets	October 17, 2006	October 20, 2006	November 6, 2006	Dogs, Cats, Small Pets, Pet Careers and Tricks, Game Encyclopedia, Pet Genetics, Build Mode Enhancements	None	Animal Control Officers, Obedience Trainer, Wolves, Skunks	Werewolves
Seasons	March 1, 2007	March 2, 2007	June 11, 2007	Seasons, Weather, Outerwear, Gardening, Fishing, New Careers	Riverblossom Hills	Garden Club Members, Penguins	Plantsims
Bon Voyage	September 4, 2007	September 7, 2007	December 23, 2007	Hotels, Vacations in Tropical, Mountain and Far Easten themes, Vacation mementoes panel, Beaches, Tours	Vacation Neighborhoods (Twikki Island - Beach, Three Lakes - Mountain and Takemizu Village - Far East)	Fire Dancers, Housekeepers, Bellhops, Wise Old Man, Pirate Ghosts, Pickpockets, Tourguides and Ninjas	Bigfoot (Only Male)
FreeTime	February 26, 2008	February 26, 2008	February 22, 2008	Hobbies, sports, ballet, activities, restoring cars, pottery, additional careers, crafting club	Desiderata Valley	Hobby Members	Genie

Stuff packs

Stuff packs are add-ons to the base game that add only new objects. There are currently seven released. Stuff packs were originally called booster packs, as seen in the release of The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack. Current releases are called "Stuff Packs" and include certain gameplay elements introduced in previous expansion packs (as opposed to Holiday Party Pack, which only added a package file containing object data). Stuff packs typically add around 60 new items.

Name	Windows release date (USA)	Mac OS X release date	Major components
Holiday Party Pack	November 17, 2005	N/A	Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years
Family Fun Stuff	April 13, 2006	April 30, 2007	Fairy tale, Nautical
Glamour Life Stuff	August 31, 2006	June 2007	Luxury, Couture
Happy Holiday Stuff	November 7, 2006	September 2007	Includes Holiday Party Pack, with Asian and European holiday elements
Celebration! Stuff	April 3, 2007	N/A	Celebrations, Fiestas (Weddings & Birthdays)
H&M Fashion Stuff	June 5, 2007	N/A	Latest fashion collections from H&M
Teen Style Stuff	November 5, 2007	N/A	New bedroom décor themes ('Goth,' 'Thrashers,' and 'Socialite'), teen outfits and hairstyles.
Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff	April 8, 2008	N/A	New kitchen and bathroom objects, kitchen clothing & 'homey' hairstyles
IKEA Home Stuff	June 24, 2008	N/A	New IKEA objects for Sim homes
Mansion & Garden Stuff	November 17, 2008	N/A	Objects like ceiling fans and eco-energy stuff for mansions, new architecture menu in build mode

The Sims 3

The Sims 3 was announced by EA in November of 2006. The production of The Sims 3 started after the release of The Sims 2. It was then released on June 2, 2009.