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Seventeen Years of 'The Sims'

In honor of The Sims turning seventeen, I thought we could go over a brief history of the franchise so far.

By Tara FoulkrodPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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Seventeen years ago, I didn't even know what a plumbob was. Now, it's something that's synonymous with one of my favorite game titles, which has its anniversary of its original launch this week. In honor of The Sims turning seventeen, I thought we could go over a brief history of the franchise so far, beginning with the game that started it all.

The Sims

There were other "Sim" games before The Sims, such as Sim Ant, Sim Earth, and Sim City. All of these titles were fantastic games in their own right, but none of them let you be quite as much of a micromanager or a sadistic overlord as The Sims did.

Whether you wanted to create the perfect family and thus control their every movement, or you wanted to lock them in a room filled with fireplaces and chairs, anything was possible for your little Sims - even an uncalled for death. The first in a long line of games, but certainly not the least, The Sims made its debut shortly after Y2K on February 4, 2000.

The Sims 2

Just keep dancing, and maybe the neighbors will go away.

With The Sims 2 came even more control and way smoother graphics. I remember thinking, "Whoa! These are almost lifelike!" back when it came out in 2004. Heck, you could even make your Sims have a potbelly if you wanted to. Slap on those expansions and the possibilities were endless!

The Sims 3

Baking pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes...

Even better graphics, and even more stuff to play with, The Sims 3 improved upon its predecessors with a vast array of wants and needs for your Sims. Additionally, if you bought the Collectors Edition, you were even rewarded with a plumbob that housed a flash drive inside.

And now, here we are today - The Sims 4 which came out in 2014. With toddlers and vampires joining the mix, who knows what will happen? I've thoroughly enjoyed playing The Sims 4, not only because it's an updated Sims game, but also because of all the subtle nuances that go into perfecting and controlling your Sims and the way they look.

My family in The Sims world.

One thing I've always enjoyed doing is putting myself and my family into The Sims games. Sometimes I get very controlling on every aspect of every little thing they do, and other times I just watch them go. Up until The Sims 4, I actually felt uncomfortable letting them go off on their own, because they'd do very different things than they would in real life. In The Sims 4, it's actually scary how close my virtual Sim family is to mine.

Other Sims Titles

I will not buy another expansion pack, I will not buy another expansion pack...

There have been other Sims games that have spun off of the main games as well, including Sims Online, Sims Social, Sims FreePlay, and Sims Medieval. Some have been hits, while others were misses, but they all sport that ever-present ability to control and manipulate tiny virtual people that has now existed for seventeen years.

Happy Anniversary to The Sims!

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About the Creator

Tara Foulkrod

http://about.me/myssiing

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