Discovering the Other Love of my Life

My wedding anniversary was this week, and I have been married to my best friend for 22 years now. The other thing that I have been doing for almost 20 years (December) is playing The Sims.

At the time, there was one base game, and one expansion pack out. Christmas in Arkansas was marked by a massive ice storm. Power was out across the state because the trees could not handle the weight of the ice, and would topple down, taking power poles with them. We went to stay with friends who had power, I picked up the game from Wal-Mart to help occupy my time.

Oh, No, There’s More of Them

Very shortly thereafter, I went back and bought the expansion pack, ‘Living Large’ which was like a party pack. In quick order, I also discovered on-line custom content. I was burning backup disks of files from ‘The Well Dressed Sim’ (Brianna was one of my favorite designers for a long time). Around the SIMS – Parsimonious Sims – Persimmon Grove were some of my most frequented and favorites.

Eventually, I took a class offered by one of the big sites or forums back then and began making my own custom content. There was lessons on cloning an object, recoloring things (I made a sofa with a tulip pattern on it), transparencies/alphas channels (a coffee table with glass), etc, and it was free, just because this community has always been so awesome and supportive (and greedy for new custom content makers).

Eventually SIMS 2 came out in 2004. I couldn’t play it on my computer. In 2005, I bought The Holiday Edition. I could barely install it, but I was determined. Eventually, like many others, this became my favorite version of the game. 18 years later, I still have an active version on my laptop, and constantly struggle to get my load time down vs all the custom content that I think I need.

I bought and have SIMS 3, and have played it a bit, but pretty much ditched it to go back to 2. I was not interested in 4, except superficially (yeah! Sims!) and the growing investment (which has never been all that cheap) seemed to be growing exponentially.  As of today (5 Sept 22), all 56 of The Sims 4’s DLC, including every expansion, game, stuff, and kit pack, is $984.44 USD. That is a HUGE investment.

Despite the High Cost of Living, It Remains Popular

Base Game (19.99)

The SIMS 4

Expansion Packs 39.99 each (*12 = $479.88)

Get to Work
Get Together
City Living
Cats & Dogs
Seasons
Get Famous
Island Living
Discover University
Eco Lifestyle
Snowy Escape
Cottage Living
High School Years

Game Packs  19.99 each (*12 = $239.88)
(Game packs are intended to be smaller than full expansion packs but larger than stuff packs.)

Outdoor Retreat
Spa Day
Dine Out
Vampires
Parenthood
Jungle Adventure
StrangerVille
Realm of Magic
Star Wars: Journey to Batuu
Dream Home Decorator
My Wedding Stories
Werewolves

Stuff Packs 9.99 each (*18 = $179.82)
(Stuff packs for The Sims 4 typically include 1-3 objects bringing new gameplay, in addition to clothes and existing objects.)

Luxury Party Stuff
Perfect Patio Stuff
Cool Kitchen Stuff
Spooky Stuff
Movie Hangout Stuff
Romantic Garden Stuff
Kids Room Stuff
Backyard Stuff
Vintage Glamour Stuff
Bowling Night Stuff
Fitness Stuff
Toddler Stuff
Laundry Day Stuff
My First Pet Stuff
Moschino Stuff
Tiny Living Stuff
Nifty Knitting Stuff
Paranormal Stuff

Kits 4.99 each (*13 = $64.87)
(A kit is a very small add-on pack which only adds a few new items, in addition to gameplay changes in some kits.)

Throwback Fit Kit
Country Kitchen Kit
Bust the Dust Kit
Courtyard Oasis Kit
Industrial Loft Kit
Fashion Street Kit
Incheon Arrivals Kit
Blooming Rooms Kit
Modern Menswear Kit
Carnaval Streetwear Kit
Decor to the Max Kit
Moonlight Chic Kit
Little Campers Kit

Game Total: $984.44

Keep Calm and Join the Dark Side

However, my best friend owns and plays it, and has been having a ton of fun. She recently convinced me to jump on the bandwagon and join her in the madness. I’m enjoying myself, and learning all of the little vagaries of a new SIMS game.

Wish me Luck.

I’m still a diehard SIMS 2 fan, and my husband and I both LOVED SIMS 1: Making Magic. What’s your favorite SIMS game or expansion?