Party like it's 2000
Last updated Jan 30 at 3:22 pm est
Throwing babies in grills, jumping out of cakes naked, and cars are some of the iconic things Sims players (simmers) could do in The Sims (2000) and The Sims 2 (2004) back in the early 2000s. Now, a new generation of simmers can experience the early sims titles with the rerelease of both games today on PC for the 25th anniversary of the franchise.
There are three bundles available for purchase. Simmers can expect to pay $29.99 for The Sims 2 Legacy Collection, $39.99 for the 25th Birthday Bundle, and $19.99 for just The Sims Legacy Collection from the Electronic Arts (EA) app, Steam, and Epic Games Store for the two-decade-old titles. The 25th Birthday Bundle includes both The Sims and The Sims 2.
Both games come with optimization for Windows 10 and 11 since the games were not available due to incompatibility with current tech. The Sims - the first game in the franchise - was never available digitally on the EA app formally known as Origin. Sadly, the new versions don't include MAC.
It's important to note that these are not remasters. The Sims have optimized both games to function but haven't done anything to the assets themselves.
According to the official release notes on the EA forum,"...we’ve brought The Sims and all packs up to date to make it work more easily with Windows 10 and 11! Revisit your favorite packs or finally play that one you haven’t tried yet."
However, one pack and some original songs for The Sims 2 are not available due to licensing as stated on the release notes.
"Please note that modern licensing restrictions have required the removal of 1 pack and some of the original songs, but we have included as many as possible," according to the forum.
The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection was available briefly back in the 2010s where players could redeem the digital version via the support chat after providing they owned a hard copy of the game. However, the game required multiple steps and third-party programs to make it functional on today's computers.
(This writer did receive a digital copy through the exact method)
The games were also considered “abadonware” and players could obtain the files through different methods but they still required tweaks to function and weren’t considered official copies of the game.
According to ecigames.net, “Abandonware is a term used mostly within PC Gaming. Abandonware is…a piece of software that has, aptly, been abandoned by the original developer with no continuing official support.”
This was related to The Sims and The Sims 2. All main titles of the life simulation game received no updates or news in the last 10 years. That changed when The Sims 3 received a small update on Jan 13 which helped it launch on newer computers, according to Gamerant.com.
News of the initial rereleases started back on Jan 27 when The Sims official X account posted a video with graphics of the old user interface. They also released a website full of features that added to the speculation and dubbed “The Sims Y2K.” The Y2K means the year 2000 which further helped the speculation continue.
You can view the system requirements for both games and the bundle below, according to the EA app.
How well the games run on newer machines is still too early to tell. But check back later and sign up for the newsletter to keep up-to-date.
This story is still developing. Check back later.
Clarification added to Sims 2 Ultimate Collection redeem
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