20 years of the sims <3

@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! 🥇

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

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!

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!

@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 , I can see that!  The Simpsons were everywhere throughout the prior decade to The Sims being launched and the names are similar!   But the question is: "Did you ever make a Simpson's family in the Sims?!?" 🤔😄

Will Wright, who created the Sims did say it was like a dollhouse!  I never had a dollhouse growing up, unless you count the Barbie Dreamhouse that my neighbors gave me (and while I loved the elevator, I hated Barbies, so it had limited use for me!  But my friend had a beautiful, traditional dollhouse! But The Sims is better, like you said!  You can have multiple houses and  "dolls" all different from one another! And now the "dolls" change over time! 🥳

I understand how your experience made you fearful of Vampires and not like them in the game.  Phobias can run deep.  I have a phobia of bees and wasps due to being attacked by wasps as a toddler... logically I know not to panic, but my body won't obey my mind in these instances.  I think that is why I'm creeped out by sunflowers because the centers of them remind me of wasp nests. 😖

Sims 3 Pets for console and the ghost zapper!  I forgot about that.😂  I do remember the Sims 3 for PC & Mac had an EP that had ghost busters in it that had a ghost vacuum or zapper in it.  I do remember the fancy pet beds and dog castle! 🥰

A sensible gamer is still a gamer! 😃

I love your description of other classic video game characters!🤣   And I'm happy you can play Sims 4 again after not being able to for a while! 🥳

@MissNOFX , partly, yes!  I definitely have to use lotion on my feet and hands, but my feet are usually cold so I have to wear socks a lot of the time.  But it isn't just my feet I can't stand rubbing on the carpet... I can't even stand the sound of other people doing it!😅  Ice being scraped of a windshield does not bother me  , but I hate the feel of pencils, and always preferred pens, even to do math or crossword puzzles! 🤭 Mechanical pencils were not an option because the lead would break so easily.  Erasable pens were my best bet!  But I have Sensory Processing Disorder which is often found in people with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, but I think you can have SPD on its own -- however I'm not sure. 🤷‍♀️

Yes, I find the supernatural Sims fun to play because they have different abilities and disabilities in the game so it is almost like playing a different version of the game, or even like playing the same game from a different point of view! 🥳 I think it adds variety to the game, but I certainly understand how many people don't like it!  
I'm not as fond of realistic gameplay.  I do laundry in real life, I don't need it in the game! 😅 Then again, if it is an emotional/family bond kind of thing that is present in real life (such as pets), then I crave that kind of realism!  Or if it is a realistic thing that actually produces something or gives our Sims a skill, like Handiness, or Knitting, then I'm all for that in the game!  But just laundry for laundry's sake is not my favorite. 😂