The Sims

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The Sims
The Sims rot.svg
Logo of The Sims
Studio United StatesUnited States Maxis
Publisher United StatesUnited States EA Games
Senior Developer Will Wright
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 Windows February 4, 2000 March 31, 2000 PlayStation 2 January 12, 2003 January 31, 2003 May 29, 2003
North AmericaNorth America
EuropeEurope

North AmericaNorth America
EuropeEurope
JapanJapan
platform Windows , macOS , PlayStation 2 , Xbox , GameCube , iOS , Android
genre Life simulation
Game mode Single player
control Mouse , keyboard or gamepad
system advantages
preconditions		 233 MHz CPU , 32 MB RAM, 175 MB hard disk space, 2 MB graphics card
medium CD-ROM
language German
Age rating
USK released from 0
PEGI recommended for ages 12+
PEGI recommended for ages 7+
PEGI recommended for ages 3+

The Sims is a computer game in the The Sims series by the Maxis company . The simulation using characters , called Sims , and their lives is the best-selling PC game of all. According to Electronic Arts , the game series has sold a total of 175 million times.

The Sims

Gameplay

The player, who cannot be identified with any character immanent in the game, influences the game by founding and setting up a household in a city and issuing orders to its members. However, he is not tied to this household, but can set up a new household at any time or switch to an existing household and influence its members. As long as the player influences a certain household, all Sims that do not belong to it, including the members of the households created by the player, are NPCs until he selects their household again. Other Sims are NPCs until they move into a house and can now be taken over. The player himself is never a winner or a loser, but rather “looks after” a household and its members chosen by him.

The main task of the game is to build houses, make friends and make money. You can first create your own families or choose prefabricated ones from the “family suitcase” and let them move into your own house. Friendships can be made by talking to people, playing games, meeting them, etc. Money is made by looking for a job in the newspaper or with the help of a computer on the Internet.

A family can consist of up to eight different people; these can either be adults or children, whose bodies and characteristics are selected when the player is created. The player can now build a new house for this family or let them move into an existing one - provided that the starting capital is sufficient.

Be it to furnish their home or to be able to afford something to eat, at least one of the Sims has to make money. There are also different careers that make different demands on the Sim's talents and the number of friends.

One of the main attractions of the game is certainly the interaction between two or more Sims. Friendships are formed, which can ultimately lead to the wedding. If the intimate togetherness continues, partners can then also have a baby together that they have to raise, although the aging of the Sims is limited to three levels. With appropriate care, a baby becomes a child after a certain period of time, but never an adult. Children and adults do not age any further. In the sequel The Sims 2 this is now possible. Here the player can follow the life of his Sims from birth to death as an old man. The Sims can also get cold or food poisoning, but they rarely die from it. In the third part, The Sims 3, there are even more aging levels: Baby (cannot be created by yourself), Toddler, Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult and Senior. Since the expansion of the joy of life, you can now determine the duration of the respective phase of life.

The great success of the Sims series is also thanks to countless players who offer their own creations such as furniture, clothing or houses on their own pages or the Sims Exchange. With the help of various programs, players create their own furniture, which extends the range of furnishings in the game. Individual sites like TheSimsResource have specialized in self-created objects and the like and thanks to the high demand have been able to found a company that finances itself through the income from the sale of this data. But there are also countless sites such as Fancy Sims Houses or ModTheSims2 free of charge. The Sims Exchange offers all players that they can upload their self-made houses or objects directly to the main page of EA without their own website.

Expansion packages

The commercial success of the game led to the publication of seven extensions (add-ons):

No. German title Original title Published description Focus on objects, wallpapers, etc.
1 Full life Livin 'large August 2000 In this expansion for The Sims there is on the one hand new furniture, on the other hand new possibilities for the Sims. For example, you can now encounter a ghost. In addition, if a Sim dies, you can have someone else "beg" the Grim Reaper for the Sim Classic (early 21st century )
2 Endless party House party March 2001 Celebrating parties is simplified in this expansion package and is accompanied by "party objects" such as: mixer, serving table, dance floor, colorful spotlights, etc. You can also hire a party service to support the host. Party objects
3 Hot date Hot date November 2001 There is a downtown area with restaurants, shops, parks etc. where the Sims can find a rendezvous. In addition, there is now a long-term relationship bar in the “Friends” area. City center
4th Total vacation Vacation March 2002 The Sims can vacation on the new vacation island in the snow-capped mountains, in the forest and by the sea. Mountain, beach, camping
5 In an animal good mood Unleashed September 2002 With this expansion pack, the Sims also have pets - dogs and cats, but also birds, fish or lizards. In addition, the neighborhood has expanded considerably and there are additional community spaces in the new old town (with cafes, shops, pet stores, etc.). Classic (early 21st century)
6th Megastar Superstar March 2003 The Sims can have a career as a movie star, model, or singer. Famous (Sim) personalities such as B. Andy Warhol , Marilyn Monroe , Avril Lavigne or Christina Aguilera are part of the party. Studio, luxurious
7th Hocus pocus Makin 'Magic November 2003 In this expansion, Sims learn to do magic. In the City of Magic, they can not only perform their magic in community places, buy ingredients for concoctions or go to crazy fairgrounds, but also settle down at home. Gray and dark, Tuscan country style

All of these expansion packages each contain a number of new objects, skins, etc. Outside of this series there are two other add-ons, but not from Maxis, but from Pointsoft GmbH :

Logo of the games series until June 2013

Bundles

The original game The Sims was sold by Electronic Arts in increasingly large bundles along with add-ons over time . Today, according to the publisher , the game is only produced as The Sims Super Deluxe XL . However, some of the earlier versions are still available in (online) stores.

  • The Sims (Original Game)
  • The Sims Deluxe (contains the base game and Full Life )
  • The Sims Super Deluxe (contains the base game, Full Life and Endless Party )
  • The Sims Super Deluxe XL (contains the base game, Full Life , Endless Party and Total Vacation )
  • The Sims Mega Deluxe (includes the base game, Full Life , Endless Party , Total Vacation and Hot Date , currently only available in the US)
  • The Sims Complete Collection (contains all The Sims expansion packs, not available in Germany)

reception

GameStar rated the fun of the original game as 87% and classified the game as a “mixture of daily soap, build-up game and real-time strategy”, with “everyday domestic life” being simulated. GameStar praised the game for offering "more tactical thrills than many a space conquest or fantasy battle". Uni.de describes the Tamagotchi as a "template" for the computer game The Sims . The magazine test of Stiftung Warentest also refers to it in its report in the 7/2000 issue. "Test" praises the game as "complex and versatile", but criticizes that it is "banal like the TV soap" Big Brother ", but much more captivating".

On November 29, 2012, the Museum of Modern Art announced the purchase of 14 computer games, including The Sims , for a new permanent design exhibition in the Philip Johnson Galleries from March 2013. The announcement identified the titles as outstanding representatives in the field of interaction design. In addition to the visual quality and the aesthetic experience, criteria were therefore all aspects that contribute to the design of the interaction, such as the elegance of the program code or the design of the player behavior.

The Sims 2

Sims 2 logo

The Sims 2 is the sequel to The Sims . At the beginning of the game, the player has three neighborhoods to play with (Schönsichtingen, Merkworthighausen and Veronaville). Sims 2 is supplemented with additional content with software extensions of different sizes. This is usually about new clothing for the characters or new furniture for their apartments. Expansion packs: Wild Campus Years, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Bon Voyage, Four Seasons, Leisure Time, Apartment Life.

The Sims Stories

On December 7th, 2006, the new game series The Sims Stories (as a new standalone version, does not require a Sims) was officially announced. It includes a free game mode, as well as story modes in which you have to bring certain Sims to a goal and complete certain tasks in this way. The story modes are staggered in chapters. The Sims Stories are laptop-friendly versions.

The following games have been released:

  • The Sims life stories
  • The Sims animal stories
  • The Sims Island Tales

The Sims Carnival

This game series focuses on the target group of casual gamers . The games are designed in such a way that they are easy to play and can thus captivate the player for a long time.

The following games, which were distributed by download, have been released:

  • The Sims Carnival: BumperBlast , a computer game reminiscent of Tetris .
  • The Sims Carnival: SnapCity , a shoot 'em up

The Sims 3

Sims 3 logo

In July 2007, after various speculations, it was officially confirmed that the Sims 3 was being worked on. At a Sims FanDay for The Sims 2 add-on recreational fun , a screenshot appeared that seemed to come from The Sims 3 and the characters themselves have since been able to pass the time on the PC with "The Sims 3". The official release date for the standard game and a limited Collector's Edition with bonus content was announced at an EA press conference. Both should be available worldwide on February 19, 2009. At a press conference on February 3, 2009, EA postponed the date to June 2, 2009, or June 4 for Germany. The game appeared illegally in Internet exchange sites in mid-May, but not in full, according to EA .

For the 10th anniversary of The Sims , EA is offering free game objects for download in the Sims 3 Store , which are known from the games The Sims and The Sims 2 .

In the fall of 2010, The Sims 3 appeared on various consoles. See The Sims 3 Console Versions .

The Sims Middle Ages

This game is a standalone version, so it is not an expansion pack for The Sims 3 , which was released on March 24, 2011 for Windows and Apple Mac . The Sims Middle Ages contains new graphics and a completely new gameplay. Still, a lot of emphasis is placed on life simulation . The game consists mainly of task-oriented narrative chains, which were also found in the two predecessors, the Sims 3 add-on travel adventure and the Sims life stories . Family management is less important. Building a house is not possible in the game, only the interior design is still included. Christian Schmidt from GameStar describes the game as “funny boredom” due to “funny animations and texts”, but it is “too shallow and too limited to be motivating in the long term”. It is criticized that the "greatly simplified Sims everyday life remains undemanding" and becomes "too tiring routine" for the player.

The Sims Middle Ages: pirates and nobles

On July 7, 2011 EA announced an expansion pack for "The Sims Middle Ages" as part of the "EA Summer Showcase". In the expansion pack "The Sims Middle Ages: Pirates and Nobles", pirates and nobles are included in the game. It is criticized that there are restrictions in the design options of the game compared to Sims 3 because, like the main game, it relies on the principle of "missions instead of micromanagement ", whereby "small, humorous stories in the form of so-called quests" are the focus of the game. The player can carry out missions for the party of pirates or nobles. The expansion pack contains clothing, hairstyles, make-up utensils and furnishings, and new animals, parrots and falcons are integrated into the game. The add-on was released in Germany on September 1, 2011 for PC and Mac.

The Sims 4

Sims 4 logo

On May 6, 2013 Electronic Arts announced the regular 4th part of the series. Contrary to the fears of some players, the game remained offline-based. Release date was September 4, 2014. However, Maxis announced that there will be no way to build pools or play toddlers as sim characters at the time of release. Both have now been submitted with an update.

More games in the series

Console versions

In the beginning, The Sims was only available for Windows and Macintosh , but now various console versions and even a version for mobile phones are available.

All console versions are level-based, as is typical of the console, many objects, for example, have to be unlocked first. Apart from the first version, they also allow a free game mode on the large consoles.

The graphics of MySims are very different from the usual, because the world of the Sims and the Sims themselves are similar to the Nintendo DS game Animal Crossing .

While the game principle remains the only big difference to the PC version in the first two console versions, The Urbz is relocating the game to the city, where it is no longer just about meeting one's own needs, but also getting recognition from the most diverse cultures to create and to influence them.

The Sims Online

Meanwhile, The Sims Online , an attempt at an online game from The Sims , in which players from all over the world can spend their simulated lives together. The game is considered an economic fiasco . One of the biggest features was the The Sims online presidential election. Another success was achieved on New Year's Eve 2002/2003 when 5,000 people watered the New Year online. It was only sold in the United States , where it was only sold around 80,000 times. Translations into other languages ​​were therefore never implemented.

On February 27, 2007 EA shut down the servers for "The Sims Online". At the same time, however, a successor, EA-Land , was set up. This was based on The Sims Online , but was generally free. However, with the help of payments you could also enter areas that other users cannot enter. On April 29, 2008 EA announced the final closure of the project for August 1, 2008.

The Sims Social

During the E3 2011, on which the publisher Electronic Arts was based, this announced a new The Sims "game". "The Sims Social" was specially made to reach the 500 million fans on Facebook . The game concept is reminiscent of The Sims Online, which was discontinued a few years ago due to a lack of interest. Playful 2D graphics supported the game, which was created in cooperation between EA and the Facebook game manufacturer Playfish.

Some characters from well-known games were there again, for example "Bella", which fans already know from The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. As with other Sims games, the main idea was again to create a Sim and play in the world, while not forgetting to maintain social contacts, or even to feed him. It was also possible to create and design your own rooms again, but this required a certain number of friends in the game.

However, The Sims Social was discontinued on June 14, 2013 together with SimCity Social due to falling user numbers.

language

For the The Sims computer games a kind of separate language ( English " Simlish ") was invented. The language draws on various aspects from Ukrainian , Navajo and Tagalog . The meaning of many similar sentences opens up to the player through the respective tone and intonation. A displayed symbol also provides information on the content of the conversation.

Various well-known bands produced versions of their songs for the game in simlish, including the Black Eyed Peas for Urbz: Sims in The City , and for example Charlotte Martin's song Beautiful Life and Abra Moore's song Big for the Wilde Campus-Jahre ( University ) expansion pack for Sims 2 Sky .

In 2006, for example, Depeche Mode re-recorded the song “ Suffer Well ”, which was later distributed as a free download, for the Open for Business expansion package . That same year, Pussycat Dolls recorded their hit "Don't Cha" for the Pets Expansion Pack on Simlish. Likewise, Lily Allen released a version of her song "Smile" in Simlish of 2007. A Simlish version of Trivium's “Like Light to the Flies” can be heard on the in-game Nu-Metal radio station. Natasha Bedingfield's song "Pocketful of Sunshine" was also recorded on Simlish. The song can be found in Simlish in the expansion pack "Freizeit-Fun" (English. Freetime) for The Sims 2.

Rise Against also re-recorded their song "Savior" for The Sims 3. Another song that was re-recorded for The Sims 3 on Simlish is "Kill the Light" by the Italian metal band Lacuna Coil .

Even Katy Perry produced u. a. their song "Hot n Cold" also in the "Simlish" language, there are even music videos to match .

music

Most of the music was composed specifically for the game: on the one hand there is the usual background music that is played in the menus and in neighborhoods, on the other hand there is the music that comes from the radio in virtual reality: pop , Latin , heavy metal and other genres of music (with similish lyrics) or, for classical music fans among the Sims, piano works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . In addition, the menu Firth of Fifth of Genesis to hear. There is also the possibility that the Sims make music themselves by playing or practicing the instruments (e.g. piano) that can be part of the facility.

MySims

The Nintendo DS / Wii offshoot from 2007 is about a small town that the player should revive by inviting new residents and providing them with the right houses and furnishings. Gradually the level rises and new areas / objects are unlocked and more people come into the city, e.g. B. the cook or the policeman. The motivation and needs bars typical for "The Sims" are only rudimentary and have almost no playful meaning. For example, you can play through the game without ever sleeping or eating. You can only control your own Sim and not all of them. The graphics and design are cute and colorful in the Japanese anime chibi style (children's characters). In some cases, MySims has significant parallels to Animal Crossing .

In addition, various mini-games can be unlocked in the NDS version, e.g. B. flower wreaths, diving or racquetball (a type of tennis).

MySims for Nintendo DS differs from the Wii version, because there you can e.g. B. don't build houses. You have to do without the mini-games in the game for the Wii.

Besides the main game there are also many other MySims games. All appeared exclusively for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii . Here is an overview:

  • MySims Kingdom ( Simulation ) Release: October 30, 2008
  • MySims Party ( mini-game collection) Release: March 12, 2009
  • MySims Racing ( Funracer ) Release: June 18, 2009
  • MySims Agents ( Adventure ) Release: September 24, 2009
  • MySims SkyHeroes ( Adventure ) Release: September 30, 2010

SimAnimals

Another offshoot of the Sims series, which appeared in early 2009, is called SimAnimals . In this series, your job is not to look after virtual people, but to look after animals. The location of the action in SimAnimals is the forest. At the end of 2009, the game Sim Animals Africa was launched. Here the setting is the steppe in Africa.

reception

Jan Wöbbeking from 4Players criticizes Sim Animals for the fact that EA “used Viva Piñata at every nook and cranny ”, but that the game “seemed much less complex and mature” because the computer player “looked after animals most of the time and plants busy ”. Sandra Ready from Gamezone rated the game Sim Animals: Africa with 5.2 out of 10 points (verdict: “goes like this”) and describes it as “simple, nice food for in between” that is “tailored to a younger audience”. The game was "cut with motivating elements" so that "solid optics and good controls [...] could not make a good game".

Awards

Interactive Achievement Award

  • 1999: Game of the Year (The Sims)
  • 2000: Game Design (The Sims)
  • 2000: Gameplay Engineering (The Sims)
  • 2002: Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year (The Sims Online)
  • 2002: Simulation Game of the Year (The Sims are in a good mood)
  • 2003: Console Family Game of the Year (The Sims Break Out)
  • 2003: Simulation Game of the Year (The Sims Megastar)
  • 2004: Simulation Game of the Year (The Sims 2)

Game Critic Awards

  • 2001: Best Simulation Game (The Sims Online)
  • 2002: Best Simulation Game (The Sims Online)
  • 2004: Best Simulation Game (The Sims 2)

Spike Video Game Awards

  • 2008: Gamer God (Will Wright, for The Sims and Spore)

Game Developers Choice Awards

  • 2001: Game of the Year (The Sims)
  • 2001: Lifetime Achievement Award (Will Wright for The Sims)
  • 2001: Excellent in Programming (The Sims)

Web links

Commons : The Sims  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Anniversary of a cult game: The Sims turns 15!
  2. ↑ a b c d e The Sims in the test: Everyday life becomes a (addiction) game , published in Gamestar 3/2000 on March 1, 2000.
  3. ↑ Fancy Sims Houses
  4. ↑ ModTheSims2
  5. ^ Richard Kehl: Morals and Ethics in Video and Computer Games
  6. ^ Stiftung Warentest: The Sims in test 7/2000
  7. ^ Paola Antonelli: Video Games: 14 in the Collection, for Starters. In: Inside / Out. A MoMA / MoMA PS1 Blog. Museum of Modern Art , November 29, 2012, accessed November 29, 2012 .
  8. ↑ Mike Fahey: The Sims Get More Casual ( Memento from September 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) on komtaku.com from December 21, 2007.
  9. ↑ http://thesims2.ea.com/ ( Memento of the original of July 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thesims2.ea.com archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), July 11, 2007.
  10. ↑ Announcement from the publisher ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.electronic-arts.de
  11. ↑ industrygamers.com ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.industrygamers.com
  12. ↑ Sims 3 moves to June
  13. ↑ The Sims 3 will appear in June (www.electronic-arts.de) ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.electronic-arts.de
  14. ↑ Sims 3 three weeks before the start of sales in Internet exchanges
  15. ↑ Sims3.de News
  16. ^ "The Sims Middle Ages" at Amazon.de , accessed on January 22, 2011.
  17. ↑ EA announces “The Sims Middle Ages” ( memento of the original from August 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 3, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ea.com
  18. ↑ The Sims: Middle Ages Test: Funny Boredom on gamestar.de from March 24, 2011.
  19. ↑ Bernd Fetsch: Weird birds, noble Gesocks: In the short test: The Sims: Middle Ages - Pirates and Nobles ( Memento from February 11, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) on netzwelt.de from September 7, 2011.
  20. ↑ simtimes.de: "EA announces first expansion for The Sims Middle Ages" ( Memento of the original from July 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed July 11, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.simtimes.de
  21. ↑ The Sims Online Review: I didn't clean the toilet 'cause I was making out. LOL! on pc.ign.com on January 13, 2003.
  22. ↑ Sims Online: Huge Loss for EA on the PC Action website on April 24, 2004.
  23. ↑ Sims Online: EA switches off servers on the PC Games website from April 30, 2008.
  24. ^ Duncan Riley: EA Turns The Sims Online Into Free EA Land, Second Life Competitor. TechCrunch , accessed August 22, 2008 .
  25. ↑ EA FAQ: What are the details of EA Land's Sunset? (No longer available online.) Electronic Arts , archived from the original on December 16, 2012 ; Retrieved August 22, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / support.ea.com
  26. ^ Daniel Terdiman: 'EA Land' closing just weeks after debut. Crave , accessed August 22, 2008 .
  27. ↑ iSims.de: "The Sims Social has a fantastic Facebook" called on 1 September 2012 found.
  28. ↑ internetworld.de , accessed on August 9, 2013.
  29. ↑ a b c Depeche Mode and Co. sing "simlish" on the website of Swiss Radio DRS on June 23, 2009.
  30. ↑ Tom Leupold: Simlish singing: The music behind The Sims on the CNET website cnet.com, March 24, 2005.
  31. ↑ The Sims 2: Open for Business - Depeche Mode sings in Simlish Gamestar from March 2, 2006.
  32. ↑ Bedingfield sings Simlish Sims in new soundtrack
  33. ↑ The Sims 3: Dream Careers - Rise Against in the new trailer on gamestar.de from June 2, 2010.
  34. ↑ Jan Wöbbeking: Test: MySims on 4players.de from October 4, 2007.
  35. ↑ Article on DSi-Fans.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.dsi-fans.de  
  36. ↑ simfans.de ( Memento of the original from May 26th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / simfans.de
  37. ↑ a b Sandra Ready: SimAnimals Africa Review on gamezone.de from November 12, 2009.
  38. ↑ Jan Wöbbeking: SimAnimal: Test on 4players.de from January 30, 2009.