The Sims 2

1001 Video Games

The Sims 2 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Copy protection

Electronic Arts released The Sims 2 with a hard-coded protection that can actually detect if you are using a no-CD crack, CD drive emulator, or other similar tools for bypassing a CD copy protection check, and disables the game to something like a "shareware" version, in which you can play the game, create families etc, but Build Mode (for constructing your houses) and saving your game are disabled.

ESRB

The description of a memory of "doing WooHoo" with a a service person such as a maid includes the sentence "Hey, what am I really paying for here???" This was originally removed due to ESRB issues, but apparently made it into the game.

Machinima

The Sims 2 is used to make The Strangerhood, a machinima sitcom from the creators of the Halo-based sci-fi comedy Red vs. Blue.

Mods

Modifications to tweak a game to your needs are common practice, but some of the hacks in The Sims 2 have been spreading like viruses. Popular hacks allow you to keep multiple lovers without the issue of jealousy or let you be pregnant as a teenager. These need to be downloaded and installed, but others are spread unwillingly.

EA provides a feature to export your house to an online "Lot Exchange" to let other gamers admire your work. Unfortunately, hacked items and routines are included as well and some of them replace the default settings for the entire game. People reported their sims to be abducted by aliens every time they looked through a telescope, a single shot of espresso would fill every need and all sims were graced with eternal youth.

Therefore, similar to the virus scene, hack scanners and anti-hack cleaners have been developed, but often a complete uninstall is the only solution.

Online servers

The game's online servers, including TheSims2.com website, were shut down on 14 January 2013.

References

• Characters from other Sim games make cameos in The Sims 2 through job "chance cards". For example, Malcolm Landgraab, a wealthy developer from SimCity 3000, is mentioned in one of these.
• In the University expansion go to the create a student mode. See that guy in the portrait? That's the games creator Will Wright!.
• If you are wondering about the pigs that are often floating in the sky when you are browsing through a neighbourhood (eg Pleasantview). The pigs are a reference to a very famous Pink Floyd cover for their album Animals which depicts a flying pig.
• The town Veronaville is a parody of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet and contains two equivalent families.

References to the game

• The game is featured in the first episode of the fourth season of the US HBO drama series Six Feet Under. Arthur, an intern, is shown playing the game for about twenty seconds.
• The Sims 2 was parodied in an episode of "Die Redaktion" (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. It was published on the DVD of issue 05/2008.

Sales

Having sold one million copies in a week, The Sims 2 was Electronic Arts' strongest launch up to date.

Weather

Weather was originally planned on being included, but was scrapped due to a bug that had it rain inside houses. It was re-introduced in the expansion The Sims 2: Seasons.

Awards

• 4Players
  • 2004 – Best PC Simulation of the Year
• Apple Design Award
  • 2006 - Best OS X Game
• Computer Games Magazine
  • March 2005 - #6 Game of the Year
• Computer Gaming World
  • March 2005 (Issue #249) – Strategy Game of the Year (General)
  • March 2005 (Issue #249) – Best Weapon of the Year Runner-Up (for the vacuum)
• GameSpy
  • 2004 – #4 PC Game of the Year
• Golden Joystick Awards
  • 2005 - Girl's Choice for 2005

Information also contributed by Agent5, Nelson340, Paul Graves, PCGamer77, piltdown_man, Rambutaan, Sciere and Vaelor