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New content for The Sims 4 is being planned for the next three years.
By Vic Hood
Speaking to Variety, Grant Rodiek, senior producer on The Sims 4, revealed that, with the Sims 4: Seasons due for release this week, he is already in meetings discussing content plans for next three years of the game. Though Rodiek wouldn't go into details as to what these plans may consist of, he did tease, “Seasons is just the tip of the iceberg.'
Rodiek previously assured fans the team plan on producing content 'for years', when some Sims fans grew concerned over the future of the game, which came out four years ago, due to the departure of some senior members of The Sims 4 team.
Guys. We aren't done. I'm literally working with the team RIGHT NOW for YEARS out. Stop. Saying. We're. Done. We. Aren't.
I mean, just think of the stuff we haven't made that we know you want! https://t.co/h0WTdeibSf
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) May 26, 2018
The latest expansion for The Sims 4, The Sims 4: Seasons, is out later this week. The new pack adds 'impactful' weather, seasonal activities, and holiday celebrations to the game.
The Sims 4: Seasons is due for release on June 22 for Mac and PC.
Vic is a freelance news writer for IGN. Often found force-feeding people The Sims or gifting PlayerUnknown potato bread. You can follow her on Twitter.
The Sims is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling video games series of all time.[1]
The games in the Sims series are largely sandbox games, in that they lack any defined goals (except for some later expansion packs and console versions which introduced this gameplay style). The player creates virtual people called 'Sims' and places them in houses and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves. Each successive expansion pack and game in the series augmented what the player could do with their Sims.
Development[edit]
Will Wright
Game designer Will Wright was inspired to create a 'virtual doll house' after losing his home during the Oakland firestorm of 1991 and subsequently rebuilding his life.[2][3] Replacing his home and his other possessions made him think about adapting that life experience into a game. When Wright initially took his ideas to the Maxis board of the directors, they were skeptical and gave little support or financing for the game. The directors at Electronic Arts, which bought Maxis in 1997, were more receptive--SimCity had been a great success for them, and they foresaw the possibility of building a strong Sim franchise.[2]
Wright has stated that The Sims was actually meant as a satire of U.S. consumer culture.[4] Wright took ideas from the 1977 architecture and urban design book A Pattern Language, American psychologist Abraham Maslow's 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation and his hierarchy of needs, and Charles Hampden-Turner's Maps of the Mind to develop a model for the game's artificial intelligence.[2]
Games[edit]
Main series[edit]The Sims[edit]
The Sims was the first game in the series. Developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, it was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2000. The game used dimetric projection and featured open-ended simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons ('Sims') in a suburban area near SimCity. Seven expansion packs and two deluxe editions with exclusive content were released. It was repackaged in several different formats, and different versions of it were released on several different platforms. By March 22, 2002, The Sims had sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide, surpassing Myst[5] as the best-selling PC game in history at the time. The original game, all seven expansion packs, and the two deluxe edition content packs constitute the first generation of the series on the PC. All PC releases were developed by Maxis. By February 2005, the game had shipped 16 million copies worldwide.[6]
The Sims 2[edit]
Electronic Arts released The Sims 2 on September 14, 2004. The sequel, developed by Maxis, takes place in a full 3D environment as opposed to the dimetric projection of the original game. Sims age through seven life stages, from infancy to old age and subsequent death. Another major feature is the aspiration system. Each Sim exhibits wants and fears according to its aspiration and personality. Consequently, the level of the aspiration meter determines the effectiveness of a Sim at completing tasks. The fulfillment of wants provides aspiration points, which can be used to purchase aspiration rewards. In addition, the game features clear days of the week, with weekends when children can stay home from school and vacation days when adults can take time off work.
The Sims 2 is set some 25 years after the original game. For instance, the Goth family has aged significantly with Bella Goth mysteriously vanishing ('dying') at some point in the 25-year period. Because the entire game has progressed from 2D sprites to 3D models, all content in The Sims 2 had to be created from the ground up. Due to this, The Sims 2 was not made backwards-compatible with any content from the first generation of the main series. However, some objects and features from the original series were remade for the sequel.
Electronic Arts released eight expansion packs and nine stuff packs for The Sims 2. Over 400 items were also released for the game via The Sims 2 Store. In addition, items including pre-order items were released over the life cycle of this generation.
The Sims 3[edit]
Electronic Arts released The Sims 3 on June 2, 2009.[7] The sequel was announced by EA in November 2006. The game is set 25 years prior to the original game, and features an open, seamless neighborhood, improved tools for Sim creation, enhanced build and buy mode functions, and the introduction of wishes and goals. The game introduced a new form of directed gameplay through small, step-wise goals presented as opportunities which the player may choose to pursue or refuse. The Sims 3 sold 1.4 million copies in the first week, making it the largest release in PC gaming history at the time.[8]
Eleven expansion packs and nine stuff packs were released for the third generation of the series. In addition, many items are available online for additional fees at The Sims 3 Store.
The Sims 4[edit]
Electronic Arts announced The Sims 4 on May 6, 2013.[9] The announcement stated that the game was in development by Maxis. The Sims 4 takes place in an alternative setting from the previous installment of the game. Later in 2014, further details on features and gameplay were announced. A release date of September 2, 2014 was announced at E3 2014.
As of April 2019, six expansion packs, seven game packs, and fourteen stuff packs have been released for the fourth generation of the series. Updates have added content that was previously absent due to time restraints, such as basements, ghosts, pools, toddlers and terrain tools. New careers have also been added.
Spin-offs[edit]The Sims Online[edit]
In December 2002, Electronic Arts released the Maxis-developed The Sims Online, which was later named EA Land. It recreates The Sims as a massively multiplayer online game, where human players can interact with each other. The spin-off did not achieve the same level of success as the original. Reviews for The Sims Online were lackluster. Many reviewers likened The Sims Online experience to an enormous chat room. On August 1, 2008, EA-Land's shops were closed.
The Sims Stories[edit]
The Sims Stories is a series of video games from The Sims series released in 2007–2008 that is based on a modified version of The Sims 2 engine. The modified game engine is optimized for play on systems with weaker specifications such as laptops. As such, its system requirements are lower than that of The Sims 2, but it can still be played on desktops.[10] The series is introduced mainly for three segments of the market: those who wish to play The Sims 2 on their laptops (which usually have lower specifications); those who wish to engage in other activities such as instant messaging while playing the game, and; those who are new to the franchise. In addition to a Free Play mode with classic, open-ended game play, the games contain a structured, linear Story mode where players are required to complete a series of goals in order to progress in the storyline. While Life Stories and Pet Stories each contain two separate stories, Castaway Stories contains one story that is double the length of any one story in the first two games. As an introductory series, major features are removed or modified from those in The Sims 2. For example, fears are completely removed in all three games, and the elder life stage is completely removed in Pet Stories. Officially, the save files from this series are not compatible with the main The Sims 2 games. However, players have experienced success at adapting some files.
Three games have been released to date.[11]
The Sims Carnival[edit]
The Sims Carnival was a casual games brand of The Sims. It had two separate product lines. First, it was an online community of crowd-sourced web games. Second, it was a line of packaged game titles sold via retail stores and digital download.
The Sims Medieval[edit]
The Sims Medieval is an action role playing spin-off game released in 2011. It is set in medieval time, and although it is based on The Sims 3 engine, it plays very differently. The Sims Medieval has one expansion pack, Pirates and Nobles.
The Sims Social[edit]
Launched in August 2011, The Sims Social was a Flash-based game developed by Playfish for Facebook. EA announced the game was upgraded from Beta to Live status in a press release issued on August 23, 2011.[12] Due to negative responses from players, the game has been shut down and was removed from Facebook on June 14, 2013.
Console and handheld versions[edit]The Sims era[edit]
The Sims is the first console release that shares the same name as the base game in the first generation of the main series.
The Sims Bustin' Out is the second title in The Sims console series. Bustin' Out was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and N-Gage in the fourth quarter of 2003. Sims can get out of the house to visit other locations such as Shiny Things Lab or Casa Caliente. There are two modes. Bust Out Mode which has mission based gameplay and Freeplay Mode which is open-ended gameplay very much like the original The Sims PC game. It was the second Sims game to not be on the PC; it was a follow up to The Sims, which was very similar to Bustin' Out, except the aims were shifted to getting job promotions and constantly fulfilling goals to get ahead in the game. The PlayStation 2 version also features the option to play online, though EA no longer supports it.
The Urbz: Sims in the City is a game focused on Sims living in an urban setting, presumably within Sim City. The player must earn reputation and complete tasks for characters. It was released for Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. It features The Black Eyed Peas as NPCs.
The Sims 2[edit]
The Sims 2, The Sims 2: Pets, and The Sims 2: Castaway have been released for various platforms including the Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox, and Nintendo DS systems. The Sims 2: Apartment Pets, considered a sequel to The Sims 2: Pets by Electronic Arts, was only released for the Nintendo DS.
In addition, EA has released several The Sims titles for the iPod Nano (3rd and 4th generation), the iPod Classic, and the iPod (5th generation). Some of these titles include: The Sims Bowling,[13]The Sims DJ,[14] and The Sims Pool.[15]
MySims[edit]
MySims is series of console games created by EA for the Wii and Nintendo DS (with SkyHeroes being the exception). They feature Chibi-like characters (a tiny bit smaller and similar to the Wii's Mii avatars). The first game in the series was released in September 2007. It is also known for being the first Sim game released in Japan. MySims SkyHeroes, the newest addition to the MySims line of games, was released in September 2010.
The Sims 3[edit]
The Sims 3, The Sims 3: World Adventures, and The Sims 3: Ambitions were released for the iPhone/iPod Touch. In addition, The Sims 3 was also released for Android mobile systems and the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS in October 2010, and the Wii in November 2010, and the Nintendo 3DS on March 25, 2011 in Europe. The 3DS version of the game was launched with the console. The Sims 3: Pets was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo 3DS.
The Sims 4[edit]
Versions of the game for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles were released on November 17, 2017
The Sims FreePlay[edit]
The Sims FreePlay, a freemium version of The Sims for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android phones (and tablets), and Kindle Fire, was released worldwide on December 15, 2011 for iOS devices, and on February 15, 2012 for Android. The game made it to Kindle Fire in October 2012 and to BlackBerry 10 on July 31, 2013. Unlike other Sims games, The Sims FreePlay runs in real-time and takes real time to complete actions. Players can progress through 55 levels and unlock new content, create up to 34 Sims, build town map buildings, complete goals to earn Lifestyle Points, Simoleons, Social Points, and XP (Experience Points). All of these,(except for Social Points) can be get by baking, planting, going to school (Only for preteen and teens) or going to work. To get Social Points, you will need to go to neighbouring houses or add your Facebook friends.
The game is regularly updated with new content and has many events and competitions, announced at official Facebook page. Several updates for the game have been released.
The Sims Mobile[edit]
Released for Android and iPhone smartphones, The Sims Mobile was announced on May 9, 2017 in a launch trailer, and was released on March 6, 2018. It features a combination of multiplayer and story mode elements to give the player an experience more like that of the PC versions.
Legacy[edit]
The success of The Sims has resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series numerous world records, including, as of 2017, 'Most Expansion Packs for a Videogame Series' and 'Best Selling PC Game Series', with sales estimates ranging from 36 to 50 million units.[16]
Film[edit]
A live actiondramafilm based upon The Sims was announced in 2007.[17] On May 25, 2007, it was announced that The Sims film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox.[18] It was to be written by Brian Lynch and produced by John Davis.[19][20]
See also[edit]References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Sims&oldid=903245950'
With so many versions of The Sims released over the years, you would be forgiven for thinking they’re all the same. This isn’t the case. Over the years, with each release, new features have been added, and others have been removed.
For some players, this has been a problem, with many sticking with The Sims 3. For others, though, The Sims 4 is the pinnacle of the series. But which is best? And what are the big differences between The Sims 4 and The Sims 3?
The Sims 3 vs. The Sims 4
The Sims 4 added quite a few new features over its predecessor. Of course, the games were released five years apart (The Sims 3 in 2009 and The Sims 4 in 2014), and the differences are based on hardware advances as much as they are on improving the gaming experience.
However, many popular features have been removed or revised in The Sims 4. The differences between The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 include:
Let’s look at these key differences between The Sims 3 and The Sims 4.
1. New Create-a-Sim Tool
The Create-a-Sim tool lets you make custom Sims characters that resemble family, friends, celebrities, or even characters from your imagination. In The Sims 4, the experience is more tactile and intuitive than ever before.
Rather than tweaking sliders to shape characters, features can be manipulated by clicking on frames and faces, dragging bellies to make them wider or thinner, or tugging them up or down to make them taller or shorter.
Even fine features like eye angles, cheek bones, and lip shapes are all edited this way.
Personalities are different, too. The Sims 3’s character traits have been reduced from five to four; gone are rarely-picked, highly specific traits. The Sims 4 introduces traits that affect more aspects of life and gameplay. There’s also an animation style, from a confident swagger to a primitive hunch, to match their identity.
2. Cross-Neighborhood Travel
Travelling to other neighborhoods in The Sims 3 was a clumsy proposition. Basically, it involved freezing time for everyone in the main neighborhood while one group left for a new adventure. In The Sims 4, things are far simpler.
Not only are other neighborhoods and future special worlds (like the University and World Adventures areas from The Sims 3) just a short loading screen away, but you’ll be able to make regular trips without compromising a commonsense timeline.
In The Sims 4, your sim can easily commute to the city for work and make it home at night.
3. More Emotion-Driven Gameplay
Like its predecessors, The Sims 3 focuses gameplay around the desires and moods of your sims.
With The Sims 4, the emotional state of the sims is a bigger part of the game. Here, you can understand their moods just by looking at their faces.
This can have major implications on social interactions. For example, a sim who is feeling down will need some cheering up before they can hope to succeed at more cheerful or ambitious endeavors.
While it’s easy to spot when sims don’t get along in The Sims 3, the sequel combines this with ambitions to award bonuses. Sims are basically rewarded for being unpleasant (although the same system also awards perks to creative sims when they feel inspired).
The key difference here is a reduction in “interaction spamming”—the pre-programming of a set of interactions. This is often used in sim-to-sim romantic situations in The Sims 3.
4. Flexible Building Tools
The Sims 3 and its sequel both feature impressive building tools. Armchair architects will love The Sims 4’s prefabricated rooms (a feature added to The Sims 3 via an expansion pack). The Sims 3’s building tool is an aspect that still seems rooted in the original game.
Meanwhile, more forgiving building rules in The Sims 4 let you move poorly placed homes. New wall heights make vaulted ceilings easier without workarounds. You can even snap full rooms free of the main structure to rearrange your house’s layout.
No more dragging one object at a time when you decide you want the bathroom and bedroom to swap positions.
5. Brand New Game Engine
Expansions have been released for every version of The Sims, extending the gameplay with new skins and items and locations.
With The Sims 3, once you add a few expansions it sadly becomes the Frankenstein’s monster of video games. Neighborhoods get glitchy when they interact with content they weren’t future proofed to handle, and crashes become frustratingly common.
While some mods alleviate the worst of the problems, running too many can have similarly unexpected results.
The Sims 4 features a whole new game engine which is more stable. Some different issues have arisen, however, such as player-built mods requiring an update following game updates.
6. Say “Goodbye” to Create-a-Style
The Sims 3’s Create-A-Style tool allows players to drag choices from a library of patterns onto furniture and clothing. These items can then be recolored to your liking.
Want a zebra striped couch? Pick the couch model of your choice and drag it on. Then make it offensively garish by subbing hot pink and sky blue in for the black and white.
Sadly, this simple, powerful tool is absent in The Sims 4.
7. No More Toddlers and Swimming Pools
One of the key features introduced in The Sims 2 was babies aging into toddlers and then children. This was carried into The Sims 3, but the feature is missing from The Sims 4. Also absent is the sight of sims swimming.
While developers claimed the feature removals were to prioritize work on more interesting content, it means that the only way to create Sims with a full lifespan is to play The Sims 3.
What Year Did Sims 4 Come Out8. New DLC to Spend Your Money On
The Sims games have long been sustained by downloadable content (DLC). The Sims 3 saw 11 full expansions, 9 stuff packs of themed furniture and clothing, 10 standalone neighborhoods, and thousands of objects available via microtransactions.
As with previous versions, however, The Sims 3 DLC is incompatible with The Sims 4.
On one hand, it’s unreasonable to expect a newer game to have content parity with its predecessor. On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine playing The Sims 3 without its rich diversity of content.
Of course, DLC is available for The Sims 4, but again, this isn’t backwards compatible.
What’s Best: The Sims 3 or The Sims 4?
Whether you’re edging towards The Sims 3 or The Sims 4, both remain available. You’ll find The Sims 3 available to buy on Amazon for PC and Mac.
Meanwhile, The Sims 4 can be grabbed direct from EA’s Origin digital distribution service. Or, if you prefer to own physical discs The Sims 4 is also available on Amazon.
Are you ready to play The Sims 4? Or do you prefer the older versions to The Sims 3? Here are the differences between all of the games in The Sims seriesWhat Is the Difference Between the Sims Games?What Is the Difference Between the Sims Games?The Sims is a beloved and long-running franchise. Learn all about the Sims games and their highs and lows in this guide to all four mainline Sims games!Read More so that you can make a proper comparison.
Explore more about: Simulation Games, The Sims.
Sims 4 Vampires, the latest expansion to the popular game, is set to launch on Jan. 24. But what time does Sims 4 Vampires come out? We don't know for sure, but based on previous releases we may have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Update: It's out!
Sims 4 Vampires Release Time: Our best guess
According to a discussion on the Sims forum, these expansion packs typically launch at 1 p.m. Eastern time (that's 10 a.m. Pacific and 6 p.m. GMT). If that's the case, Sims 4 Vampires should be ready to go by early afternoon in New York.
However, some Sims 4 players have pointed out that releasing a vampire-themed pack in the middle of the day doesn't exactly fit with the new subject matter. It would make a lot more sense to launch the expansion at night, in which case we may have to wait a little longer for the release time to arrive.
Sims 4 Vampires Release Time: What to expect
Sims 4 Vampires brings a ton of new content to the game. The key feature of the expansion is turning your Sims into vampires. After that, you'll have to keep them out of direct sunlight and make sure they have a steady supply of 'Plasma' to stay alive.
The expansion also includes new character customizations and a world called Forgotten Hollow.
Check out the full trailer for Sims 4 Vampires below while you wait for its release.
Jan. 24, 2017, 1:41 p.m.: This story has been updated.
More video game news and updates
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