20 years of the sims <3

[MissNOFX]

Today I realized that I've been playing the sims since 2002!...20 years!!  This old lady still loves playing the Sims

How long have you been playing??

[GiardiniDiMarzo]

@MissNOFX I skipped only The Sims 3 (I didn't like the graphics), but I played the original and The Sims 2 plus SimCity.

[PugLove888]

@MissNOFX ,  I started with The Sims on PS2 which came out in January of 2003.  I loved it but it was missing pets.  Other than that I was thrilled.  I knew there were expansion packs for the PC that the console versions didn't have, but I wasn't interested until I saw a display for the Sims Unleashed !!! Unleashed had actually came out in Nov of 2002, but I hadn't played any Sims game so I didn't notice it. Once I saw it , I had to get the PC version and that expansion.!  I wasn't planning on getting any more expansion packs, buuuuut.... well, you can guess how that went! 🤣  

I have played all packs of TS1, TS2, TS3, and TS4 (but I didn't have all the stuff from the TS3 Sims Store! )  I've also played The Sims Medieval and its EP on PC.  I've played some more console versions (TS2 and TS3 console versions were very different from the PC versions.) and I've played Sims Bustin' Out and The Urbz: Sims in the City, as well as 3 of the My Sims on console (just not the party game ones since at that time I had no friends or family interested in video games, and my husband didn't want to play the Sims). There are some Nintendo DS versions I never played, and I don't play the mobile versions (though I played a little of one of them for a short while) , and I had no interest in playing the Sims Online when it existed. 

@GiardiniDiMarzo , the Sims 3 is my least favorite.  I didn't like how the open world had no people when you got to a venue, so it was an empty world most of the time, and it kept getting laggy and crashing, But I still loved some things about it

My favorite is The Sims 2!  🥰 I was obsessed with that one! 🤣 It is the GOAT! 🥇

[MissNOFX]

I've owned and played sims 1,2,3, and 4 with every expansion pack....sooooooo much money and time over the years, but I'm still obsessed lol...my two kids have grown up playing too! I raised them right lmao

[GiardiniDiMarzo]

@PugLove888 The Sims 2 is the 🐐 indeed! I had so much CC in that game, now I only own a couple.

[simsplayer818]

I can still remember the first tv ad for the Sims 1. I got it for my playstation and spent weeks trying to find out how to hang wallpaper and stop my Sims from catching fire!

My real obsession with it began when Sims Bustin Out platinum edition was released, the graphics were so much better and I loved the challenges. I moved on to Sims 2 and Sims 2 Pets after that and The Urbz. I got The Sims 3 on PC at first and that was where I discovered collecting. I loved finding the hidden gems and butterflies. My late mother was an awesome gamer (Desert Strike, Toejam and Earl, Sonic) and she got an Xbox before I did but I wasn't keen on it at first. Later though I got an Xbox 360 after computer problems and I got Sims 3 again for that and then Sims 3 Pets. I also loved Sims Castaway. I got Sims Freeplay on Android tablet but I personally don't like to play online with other players and without social points there was so much you could miss out on.

For the past several years it's Sims 4 plus now nearly all the packs on an Xbox series S. I didn't add vampires because I'm petrified of them, same with upcoming werewolves lol (although I'm happy for players that wanted them). I wish I could add those worlds without the scary monsters because they look amazing. I am an unashamed wuss! I can just about cope with the Jungle Adventure skeletons until they do that neck twist thing and start playing a tune on their ribcage!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been glad to have the Sims during the last couple of years. In fact it's always provided a welcome distraction. The bugs may send me up the wall but I still love my Sims.

Sometimes I play the retro channel on the Sims 4 radio just to hear the old themes!

[MissNOFX]

I'm obsessed with horror stuff lol...I'm sorry that stuff freaks you out. Im scared of chalkboards lol....chalk gives me unpleasant goosebumps...we all have something don't we lol!

[PugLove888]

@GiardiniDiMarzo , nice to meet another TS2 fan!🥰  I also had a lot of CC for that game! I also recolored some items myself!  Back then I still played where every family I created started from humble beginnings and worked their way up... so there weren't many Build/Buy items they could afford and I got sick of them all looking the same!   So I recolored some of them for variety! I specifically remember my first item I recolored-- it was the cheapest shower in the game! 😄

@MissNOFX , that is wonderful that you introduced your children to The Sims!  I bet y'all have a lot of fun together! 🥰
@simsplayer818 , that is fantastic that your mother was a big gamer! I'm sorry for your loss!😭 But I'm glad you have happy memories of playing Xbox with her! 🥰

@simsplayer818 , wow!😮  I don't remember the first Sims 1 TV ad!  That is impressive that you remember that!👏   The first I remember hearing about the Sims 1 was on a cable show that had many names over the years (or maybe it was the channel that kept changing names? I don't remember), that was called X-play and it was hosted by Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. They talked about this weird game where you could direct little people called Sims to take care of themselves, make friends, learn skills, start families, or just spend time chatting in a hot tub! 😂 I was intrigued, especially by the voices of the Sims and the Simlish they spoke. 🤣 
I also got Sims 3 Pets for console! And Sims Castaway!  I forgot to list those!  But back then the console versions were so different from the PC/Mac versions! (But the Sims 1 on the console was closer to the PC version than the console versions of TS2 and TS3 were, but not as close as the TS4 version is!)
You probably already know all this, but maybe someone else reading this doesn't know! 😅

@MissNOFX and @simsplayer818  There are many people who don't like supernatural Sims for various reasons, such as religious/cultural reasons, fear and revulsion, or they just prefer more realistic gameplay!  On the other hand there are many people who love scary things due to the adrenaline boost!  I enjoy playing supernatural Sims ( I love that there are different rules, challenges, and benefits to these Sims, as well as story-telling opportunities .  Plus I have always loved fantasy! )  However, I'm  creeped out by seances, because that is just asking for trouble!😬  I have the Paranormal pack, but have yet to play with the features of the game.  I might eventually so I can better help others here on AHQ,, but I've been putting it off.  @MissNOFX , as for you getting goosebumps from chalk, I know a lot of people with that problem , and especially from fingernails on a chalk board!  That noise doesn't bother me, but the feeling of cardboard, or the sound of cardboard rubbing against cardboard, or rubbing paper towels on cloth, or feet on the rug, etc, that all gives me the same reaction as fingernails on a chalkboard does!😣  And so do popsicle sticks! 😬😅  And speaking of adrenaline boosts from scary stuff, I love roller coasters!  However, I'm terrified of Ferris Wheels! 🤪🤣

[simsplayer818]

@PugLove888 I can even remember exactly what I was thinking as I watched the trailer for Sims 1! Believe it or not... I thought it was going to be like The Simpsons lol. As a massive Simpsons fan that was the initial draw for me. Got the game, thought "Where's Bart? Ah, right erm nope this isn't anything like Simpsons!" But too late, I was already invested in the game. I was a platform game fanatic before that and was pretty devoted to blue hedgehogs and little purple dragons (we still have adventures together though). It was the idea of building houses that I really enjoyed. I also loved the Sim design, I love to set styles and looks for Sims. I loved dolls houses as a child and was really sad to age out of that. So here was something that was like a digital dolls house but better because of all the different variations and character creation. Now it's evolved way past that, it's come a long way.
I have a real horror phobia though after once walking in on a horror show about vampires as a toddler. Trying to overcome it with more horror just made it worse unfortunately.
I felt very brave adding Paranormal stuff to my game but that was mainly for the lovely decor and because I didn't find it too bad in Sims 3 Pets, but I missed my ghost zapper for security. It's not the same without my ghost zapper! Every Sim in Sims 3 Pets had one! I used to create a shell house with a few items in it, save it like a little storage locker and then use it for all my Sims so they'd have the items I'd unlocked already like the dog castle and fancy bed too.
It's funny when you suddenly realise you're a pretty devoted gamer, without actually thinking of yourself as a gamer! I think it's because I'm quite strict with cut off times where one of my close friends whose house I can see, he's like headphones on, focus, lights on till daylight and then suddenly realises he forgot to go to bed! I'm quite sensible. 4 to 5 hours of Sims and then switch them off.
In February I had to take a short break from them because of crashing and loading bugs and while I enjoyed revisiting classic platforms (except for the disobedient orange marsupial, he knows who he is and what he did!) I was so glad when my game loaded up again and my Sims were back!

[MissNOFX]

@PugLove888 my feet on sheets without lotion!! I think that's probably the feeling you get with feet on the rug!!! hate it! when I was younger I had to put lotion on and then a pair of socks to sleep lol. I also hate cardboard on cardboard! the sound of my cats scratching against the plastic cat box...scraping ice off of car windshields..AHHHH!!!..humans are so weird lmao
I love all of the occult stuff in the game, but I don't mess around in real life..too scared of the consequences lol but bring on the HORROR ;-)