How many sims should I start with?

@McTosh I was already on my way to elderly when I started playing the sims so I don't think "growing up" has anything to do with losing interest in the game. Interests can change over time for other reasons like something better coming along ;)

@McTosh I'm actually 32. 33 in two months. Been playing since Sims 2 in 2005.

I'm 40, or maybe 41... I'd have to do math to figure out which for sure. Don't care enough to bother though. I didn't fall in love with The Sims 3 until 2016, apparently. I'd tried the game a few years earlier via Gamefly's PC game catalogue, but hadn't been impressed at the time. In truth the only reason I bought the game was because there was a bundle of the base game, Late Night expansion, and High End Loft stuff pack on sale for only $9.99 instead of $20-$30 for each of them it normally was. This was before the Starter Edition that includes those two was added to the store.

At the time, I bought it because the deal was too good to pass up. Yeah, idiot me. I didn't like the game, yet bought it cause it was on sale for a deep discount. After paying for them, I decided that I may as well play for a few hours at least. That way the purchase could be justified instead of just wasted money. I expected to play for 2 to 3 hours then uninstall, never to touch The Sims 3 again. Instead I found myself getting sucked in for 16 hours without noticing. Before I knew it I had a hundred hours logged, and was eying the various expansions. As it turns out, the reason I got bored and hated the game originally is because I was trying to micromanage every aspect of my sim's life, every minute of every in-game day.

I get the most enjoyment out of The Sims when I only do enough to keep them alive (baring stupidity or accidents) and let them run their own lives.

"Mikezumi;c-17614841" wrote:
@McTosh I was already on my way to elderly when I started playing the sims so I don't think "growing up" has anything to do with losing interest in the game. Interests can change over time for other reasons like something better coming along ;)

but nothing better has come along so there goes that theory :P SIMS 3 IS THE GREATEST GAME EVER MADE EVER IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE THAT EXISTED BEFORE THIS UNIVERSE AND THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF ALL THE OTHER PARALELL UNIVERSES too - scientific fact. einstein agrees

i was 13 when i started playing sims 3, but was like 8 when i was playing sims1.

i never played sims 2 weridly, i went from sims 1 to sims 3

"McTosh;c-17615888" wrote:

"Mikezumi;c-17614841" wrote:
@McTosh I was already on my way to elderly when I started playing the sims so I don't think "growing up" has anything to do with losing interest in the game. Interests can change over time for other reasons like something better coming along ;)

but nothing better has come along so there goes that theory :P SIMS 3 IS THE GREATEST GAME EVER MADE EVER IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE THAT EXISTED BEFORE THIS UNIVERSE AND THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF ALL THE OTHER PARALELL UNIVERSES too - scientific fact. einstein agrees

i was 13 when i started playing sims 3, but was like 8 when i was playing sims1.

i never played sims 2 weridly, i went from sims 1 to sims 3

@McTosh "Interests" are not always other games. There are many things in life that can take one away from the Sims.

Not sure if The Sims 3 is the greatest game ever made.

(tries to ignore the 715 hours spent clocked playing TS3, which is well over 630 hours more then any other game in Steam, EA, or any console library)

The Sims 4 though, it's okay. But it just doesn't recapture the magic of The Sims 3. Maybe it's the fact that there's load screens if you want to leave the neighborhood, unlike how in TS3 your sim just hails a cab, gets on their bike, or mounts their broom/Wavecarver to go anywhere. Maybe it's the fact that sims in that game have shallow yet overblown emotions. They are never quietly sad, with grief affecting everything throughout the week. They are never contently happy. They never feel minor irritation that comes through regardless of what they're doing. They feel every emotion 100%, and change emotions at the drop of a hat. They are all bi-polar. And it's jarring. They go from extremely flirty to 'I must exercise every second because I am PUMPED' in the span of walking from one room to another or drinking a beverage. Someone dies in front of them, they go from deliriously happy to depressed in seconds only to turn around and paint a cheery landscape while lost in the creative process. Their grief gets completely forgotten just because they picked up a paintbrush. Then if someone blows a kiss at them, they completely forget they were ever feeling Inspired.

It's silly, it's humorous, but it... It's lacking the the nuance from TS3. In TS3 your sims can have complex emotions. Sure, they might be flirty or happy, or feeling creative. But if someone they know dies, this affects them. They'll lose them self in grief every so often. They might be having a good time, but if someone annoys them they'll eyeroll before going back to the party. If they get irritated or are tense, this shows even if they are enjoying them self.

For me it was life - I never got interested in the Sims until I had that pneumonia...and the convalescence period nearly drove me absolutely around the bend. My wife handed me her copy of the 2009 Sims 3 base game disc (which has disappeared...unfortunately - we bought the newer Origin-discs to replace the base games) and told me to go install it on the computer I had at the time and quit bothering her). That's what brought me to the Sims 3

Most of the time before that, was selling real estate, starting a photography business, raising our children and the general life things - those were my interests at the time. I was focused on creating a living and I didn't have much time for video games after high-school.

So as @Mikezumi said, a number of things can take your interest away from the Sims. I really haven't found anything that with the physical limitations I can do...asides from taking a walk...or something to that effect...but anyways...I look on the bright side. I'm here...I'm still breathing...and every day...there's always something new to learn - Blender, perhaps... CAW... it's all good.