The Sims 2

This article is about the computer game. For console releases, see The Sims 2 (console game).

The Sims 2
Developer(s)	EA Games (Maxis)
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts (PC) Aspyr (Mac)
Designer(s)	Patrick J. Barrett III, Matthew C. Brown, Cooper Buckingham, Kacper Centowski, Jenna Chalmers, Shannon Copur, Michael Cox, Seth Olshfski, Amy Dallas, Kevin Gibson, Daniel Hiatt, Kevin Hogan, Hunter Howe, Creighton Hurt, Trevor Jalowitz, Lyndsay McGaw, Ashley Monif, Solveig Pederson, Todd Reamon, Kana Ryan, Lauren Wheeler, Jeannie Yang, Stuart McArther
Series	The Sims
Engine	Custom
Platform(s)	Windows Mac OS X
Release	Windows Mac OS X June 13, 2005
Genre(s)	Life simulation game
Mode(s)	Single player

The Sims 2 is a strategic life simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims, which debuted on December 14, 2000. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the music for the game.

The Sims 2 essentially revolves around the same concept as its predecessor. Players are free to control their Sims (as they interact with their virtual surroundings) engaging in various mundane activities and forming relationships in a manner similar to real life. Like its predecessor, The Sims does not have a defined final goal; gameplay is open-ended. Sims 2, however, has life goals, wants and fears, the fulfillment of which can produce both positive or negative outcomes. All Sims age, and can live up to eighty-five Sim days depending on the degree of which their aspirations are fulfilled (although one item can extend a Sim's lifespan further).

The Sims 2 builds on its predecessor by allowing Sims, the simulated human characters, to age through six stages of life and incorporating a more powerful 3D graphics engine. It was first released on September 14, 2004 and became an instant success, having sold a then-record one million copies in its first ten days. In addition to its commercial success, The Sims 2 was well received by critics. As of July 26 2007, The Sims 2 has sold more than 13 million units worldwide and is the best-selling PC game of 2004. A sequel, The Sims 3, was announced by EA in November 2006.

Gameplay

Player Sims

Sims can experience a life generally reflective of reality through activities such as working, marriage, child rearing, pursuing interests, attending school, learning new skills, engaging in relationships, ending relationships, partying etc.

Sims may also experience more fantastical events such as seeing ghosts, being abducted by aliens which may result in a male pregnancy, or being visited by the Grim Reaper, which usually appears after the death of a Sim.

Life stages

Like humans, Sims operate based on certain drives: they have needs, develop dreams and goals, and exhibit personality. They can progress through six life stages: baby, toddler, child, teen, adult and elder (the expansion pack The Sims 2: University adds an additional life stage, Young Adult, for Sims who choose to attend college). Sims die naturally after a certain number of days in the elder life stage, determined by how high their Aspiration Score was when they first became Elders. The different life stages present different challenges, such as the reduced mobility of elders, children not being able to cook, and the constant care of infants.

Needs

Similarly to its predecessor, Sims are driven by their Needs. Sims have up to eight needs (or "motives") depending on their age, ranging from tangible needs such as "Bladder" (the need to urinate) and "Energy" (the need to sleep), to more ephemeral qualities such as "Social" contact and a pleasant "Environment". These needs are displayed graphically with meters that change from green (full) to red (low), and a Sim with an empty meter will either require or insist on an action which fulfills it (for instance, if the Hunger meter is low, a Sim will open the refrigerator and "stuff [his/her] face", or the user may direct them to cook an item of their choice). Some empty meters also cause actions. A Sim with an empty energy meter will pass out; a teen, adult, or elder Sim with an empty Hunger meter will die. These Needs are compiled into an overall "mood" meter, which is displayed by a diamond (called a "plumbbob") that hovers above the active Sim's head. The needs of babies (which are hunger, social, hygiene & energy) are not shown as with other Sims, but their portrait on the left hand side of the screen indicates their need levels as it does with other Sims (red (low), green (full)).

Personality

Personality is a quantified way of measuring a Sim's behavioral characteristics. There are five personality traits, which players can allocate 'points' to control that Sim's personality; for example, a Sim can be active, lazy or somewhere in between the two extremes. These traits determine how fast a Sim learns skills, the rate at which specific needs decay, the types of interactions a Sim will autonomously engage in, the likelihood of accepting certain interactions and the likelihood of bringing home a friend from school or work. All Sims communicate in a language known as "Simlish", first introduced in the original The Sims game. Simlish is a mix of fractured Ukrainian and Tagalog that communicates a Sim's emotions or reactions using tones of voice.

Career

Children and teenagers may attend school from Monday to Friday. Homework completion and mood affect their grades (high grades generate cash or skills). Parents may enroll their children in private schools, after success in a minigame of inviting the headmaster for dinner.

An adult sim can find a job from either a newspaper or computer, and be promoted if they go to work in a good mood, and they have the required skill points and/or sufficient quantity of (non-family) friends. Each career contains ten jobs with increasing salary, each with its own uniform, hours and carpool.

The careers are Athletics, Business, Crime, Culinary, Law Enforcement, Medicine, Military, Politics, Science and Slacker. A sim reaching a critical career level receives a career reward, an exclusive household object, most of them useful for improvement of a skill that is critical to the career. When reaching old age, a sim may retire, and receive a daily pension. Teenagers and elders may also seek employment, however only three jobs are offered in each career track for the teen/elder age groups.

Aspiration

New to The Sims 2 is the "Aspiration" meter, roughly analogous to self-esteem or life satisfaction. As toddlers and children, Sims aspire only to "Grow Up", but upon becoming teens, the player must assign Sims one of five life aspirations: Family (befriending family members, marrying and raising a large family), Fortune (wealth and prestige), Knowledge (skill enhancement and life experience), Popularity (making friends and socializing) and Romance (frequent and varied romantic relationships and interactions); with the Nightlife expansion, a new aspiration was added: Pleasure (wanting to live an enjoyable life). Each Sim has wants and fears that correspond to his or her aspiration, stage of life and present circumstances. When a want is achieved, such as to "make a friend", aspiration points are allotted to the aspiration meter; conversely, when a fear is realized, such as the death of a spouse, aspiration points are decreased. There are six levels to the meter: the highest is platinum, then gold, two levels of green and two of red, with the meter depleting a small amount every few hours. Aspiration levels, along with "mood", determine complaisance: Sims with a platinum meter are fulfilled, docile and more willing to perform tasks they dislike, in addition to having their mood meter full ("Platinum Mood") regardless of their individual needs; Sims with red meters will often experience nervous breakdowns and require treatment from an automatically-summoned psychiatrist who is invisible to nearby sims. Aspiration levels also determine the length of time a Sim will live as an Elder before death. Finally, the Sim's lifetime total of Aspiration points are recorded by the game, and can be used to 'purchase' special objects that possess unique effects, such as providing free money or altering lifespan, but only if the aspiration meter is at "gold" or "platinum" level; if not, the chance of success decreases and negative side effects may occur.

In The Sims 2: FreeTime, a new lifetime aspiration meter was added. As you a you achieve very important lifetime event such as marriage or a birth of a child, you will gain a little lift in the meter and for every section you complete you get rewards, e.g choosing a secondary aspiration. Getting to the top of the meter will get you a chance to get a special gift, the genie lamp!

Relationships

Romantic relationships can happen in a number of ways. Constantly flirting with another sim, regardless of sex (sims are effectively bisexual) will make them have a crush on one another and eventually fall in love. This allows more intimate interactions such as making out or sex (called "WooHoo"). Sims can simply remain in a de facto relationship or they can get married (called "Joined Union" for same sex sim couples). The sim who did not initiate the marriage will move into the household of, and take the surname of, the Sim who did initiate marriage. With the addition of The Sims 2: Nightlife, sims can also date each other, as well as taking part in many romantic themed interactions. Sims also have chemistry towards each other, which is affected by what they find attractive in another sim, which can be personality, aspiration, or appearance (hair color, clothing, fitness, etc.).

Death

Sims can die in a variety of different ways. If a Sim reaches the end of the Elder life stage, he or she will die of old age. Sims can also meet premature ends by various means, such as electrocution, starvation, disease, fly swarms, fright, fire, drowning, being struck by lightning, hit by hail or death by satellite. Sims leave behind tombstones (if placed outside) or urns (if placed inside), which are typically possessed by their ghosts. As long as the memoriam is left on the lot, ghosts will haunt the household. Ghosts may wake up easily frightened Sims, and may also scare a Sim to death.

After death, a Sim is no longer controllable and will be removed from the control interface. Death is carried out in The Sims 2 by the NPC Grim Reaper. Sims can be saved from any premature death if a friend begs the Grim Reaper for mercy.

With the The Sims 2: University, dead Sims can be resurrected via the Grim Reaper's phone, which is a career reward unlocked in the Paranormal career path. Players select the Sim to resurrect and then pay a price ranging from $0-$10,000. The higher the amount paid, the better quality the resurrection will be. Paying between $0-$1,000 will result in no resurrection, paying $1,000-$5,000 will result in the Sim being resurrected as a zombie. $5,000-$10,000 will result in a near perfect or perfect resurrection.

With the The Sims 2: FreeTime, the genie can resurrect as one of the wish options (It will automatically be a perfect resurrection).

Other characters

There are several types of non-playable Sims:

• Townie: Sims are those which are roughly equivalent to playable Sims; since the addition of The Sims 2: Nightlife they can have jobs and other characteristics of a playable Sim, except they do not live on an actual lot. They visit the Community and Residential lots and can be interacted with just like any other Sim. With few exceptions, any Townie may become a playable Sim if he or she accepts an invitation to move in, to be joined, or to be married. They can also become playable with The Sims 2: University expansion pack by sending the teen Townies to the university. When they move in they may also add to the household funds and often a random assortment of objects in their inventory which can be placed on the lot.

• Special townies: There are also special townies like Big Diva, Slob, Grand Vampire, Cheerleader & Evil Mascot.

• Service Sims: are Sims that can be hired to perform services for a fee (such as cleaning, gardening, repairing etc). Most NPCs may become a playable Sim through marriage or moving in.

• Special Sims: Other non-playable characters include (but are not limited to) the Grim Reaper, therapist and social bunny.

• Creatures are Sims based on a mythical creature. Ghosts and extra-terrestrials are the only creatures in the original game. While an extra-terrestrial can be controlled, a ghost cannot. Each expansion pack adds a new class of creature. Zombies, vampires, robots, werewolves, plant sims, and Bigfoot are all playable by building a robot, turning into a zombie, plant sims, vampire, or werewolf, or asking Bigfoot to join the family. The Genie is also one but is more of a complex object and can't be controlled.

Habitation

Sims inhabit neighborhoods, which are not self-contained (i.e. Sims from one neighborhood can interact with Sims from the same neighborhood and any of its sub-hoods; the phone to call another Sim; neighbors walk by the house; or via e-mail). There are two main kinds of lots - residential and community lots. From the latter, Sims can purchase groceries, clothing and magazines as well as interact with Townies.

Minigames

The game contains some minigames - time-bound social challenges which provide a reward if successful. Sims can throw parties to gain aspiration points, or invite the headmaster to enroll their children into private school. Some expansion packs have new minigames (like rushing a Greek house in University, or dating in Nightlife). Also in Nightlife, each date in and of itself is a challenge to keep both Sims as happy as possible, while accumulating aspiration points.

Premade neighborhoods

In The Sims 2, three neighborhoods created by Maxis; Pleasantview, Strangetown and Veronaville, were included. The new neighborhood Riverblossom Hills was included with the Seasons expansion, Desiderata Valley comes with FreeTime, and Bluewater Village is included with the Open for Business expansion. Some expansion packs add a new complementary or self-contained neighborhood. Each neighborhood contains lots. Sims live and build their homes on residential lots and may visit community lots, which house recreational hangouts, such as pools and malls.

Pleasantview is a neighborhood with many of the characters from The Sims as well as some new additions, Strangetown is a neighborhood similar to the area around Area 51. Veronaville is a neighborhood heavily influenced by the works of Shakespeare, particularly A Midsummer Night's Dream (with a family's surname being Summerdream) and Romeo and Juliet — with Verona being the town in which the play is set, and the title characters having their surnames changed from Capulet and Montague to Capp and Monty (this neighborhood also includes characters from The Tempest, King Lear, and Much Ado About Nothing.)

Plot

File:Sims 2 Bday.jpg

A Sim birthday party

Although gameplay is open-ended, The Sims 2 has characters with histories, and the game is designed to accommodate story-based gameplay should the player wish to do so through expanded photo album features or a packaged blog, such as a neighborhood photo album. The three pre-loaded neighborhoods each have a storyline told through the existing photo albums and the Sims' personal biographies.

The Sims 2 is based loosely on the original plot lines of The Sims, by containing information about families existent in the first game. Several pre-loaded families in The Sims 2 have subtle clues, hinting that this game exists 25 years after The Sims.

Utilizing the complex ancestry system, The Sims 2 incorporates details that link families in this game to the first. The Broke family has a series of Newbies, a family from the first game, in their family tree. The Goth family is a canon element in The Sims games. In this game, their daughter, Cassandra, from the first game has grown into a woman, and is about to be married, further emphasizing the passage of time. The Goths in The Sims 2 also provide a basis for story-driven play, as a plot involving their vanished matriarch Bella and an impending marriage is hinted at throughout the game. Other returning families from earlier games include the Pleasants and the Burbs. One of the new families was also married to Michael Bachelor, who is deceased in The Sims 2 and has been identified as Bella Goth's brother. Alexander Goth, the young son of Mortimer and Bella Goth, was born before the game began. Similarly, Bella Goth has disappeared when the game begins and it is implied that she had been abducted by aliens. Although a 'clone' of her can be found in Strangetown, she is without life memories of the Goth family, leading to speculation that this may not be the actual Bella Goth. Some players have claimed that Bella can be observed in the 'hot air balloon' scenery with an alien man.

History

Development

EA Games announced on May 5, 2003 that the Maxis studio had begun development on The Sims 2. The game was first shown at E³ in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2004. Will Wright admits that while most of the content of The Sims 2 are original ideas, inspiration for its own expansions and constituents spawned from the successes of the first game. The community interest in the antecedent The Sims: Unleashed expansion, for example, ensured the creation of The Sims 2: Pets expansion, and The Sims: Hot Date expansion ensured the creation of The Sims 2: Nightlife expansion.

After development concluded, designers from Maxis regarded The Sims 2 as very capricious during creation. Bugs would appear apparently spontaneously, and Sims would be "tweaked", or have anomalies not present in a previous run.

Controversy

The Sims 2 highly malleable content and open-ended customization have led to controversy on the subject of paysites and sexual modifications. Custom content is distributed through independent websites, some of which charge for downloading materials. Some modifications, purportedly revealing sexual anatomy of the Sims, sparked legal controversy.

On July 22, 2005, Florida attorney Jack Thompson alleged that Electronic Arts and The Sims 2 promoted nudity through the use of a mod or a cheat code. The claim was made that pubic hair, labia and other genital details were visible once the "blur" (the pixelation that occurs when a sim is using the toilet or is naked in the game) was removed. Electronic Arts issued a statement saying that when the censor was removed, Sims lack such anatomical definition, similar to Barbie and Ken dolls. Electronic Arts executive Jeff Brown said in an interview with GameSpot:

This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie.

Reception

The Sims 2 had a successful E³ showing in 2004. In all, it garnered four awards based on that exhibit alone, and two more upon further review. The Game Critics awarded the game Best Simulation Game at E³ 2004. GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN also awarded The Sims 2 their Best of Show at E³ 2004 designation. The game also received the Editor's Choice Award from IGN and GameSpy upon final review of the finished product. From 71 online reviews, the average score was 90 out of 100. Seven of those sources awarded the game a 100 out of 100 score.

In addition to its awards, The Sims creator, Will Wright was recognized by being nominated at the Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards for Visionary and Game Developer. The game was also nominated for two international awards, Best PC Game, 2005 from BAFTA, and the International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Puzzle/Strategy Game, 2005.

Comparison to The Sims

File:Sims2 oct2005 house 2storyexecutive-732781.jpg

The graphics engine of The Sims 2 has seen significant improvement over its predecessor.

Graphics

Graphically, The Sims 2 is more detailed than The Sims and allows players to view its world in full 3D. Unlike earlier Sim games, such as SimCity 2000, which used dimetric projection and fixed resolutions, the camera in The Sims 2 allows the player to play the game from many angles. Sims themselves are much more intricately detailed than they were in The Sims. In The Sims, Sims are 3D meshes, but The Sims 2 introduces far more detail in mesh quality, texture quality, and animation capability. A Sim's facial features are customizable and unique, and Sims can smile, frown, and blink. The player can adjust, for example, a Sim's nose to be very large or very small in The Sims 2's Create-a-Sim. Texturing is still achieved through use of raster images, though it appears more lifelike.

Gameplay

File:Sims 2 3D.png

A shot of Pleasantview, one of the default neighborhoods

Sims have new experiences unavailable in The Sims, such as aging and eventual death. Sims can become pregnant and produce babies that take on genetic characteristics of their parents, such as eye color, hair color, facial structure, and personality traits. Genetics play a major role in the game, and as such, dominant and recessive genes play a larger role than they did in the original game. Additionally, babies in The Sims 2 progress through life stages to become adults, while babies in The Sims only become children before ceasing to continue aging. The aspiration system (described above) is also new to The Sims 2.

Other additions to gameplay include career rewards, a week cycle, the cleaning skill, a variety of meals, special exercise clothing, body shape affected by diet and exercise, and houses built on foundations.

Game customization

File:Sims2Bodyshop.jpg

The Sims 2 Bodyshop allows more customization of facial features than the Create-A-Sim feature within the game itself.

The Sims 2 is an extremely malleable game. Modders alter the game in ways as simple as creating new floor texture of the rocks or as complicated as writing entire patches for the game code to customize its behavior. Such modifications are all loosely referred to as "custom content." Specifically, custom content can be divided into four categories: exporting (creating Sims and lots in-game or using the game's included Body Shop and exporting them to a file), recoloring (creating a new texture for an object), meshing (creating an object or modifying its shape) and hacking (writing code that manipulates game and object behaviors).

The modding community for The Sims 2 is self-supporting, with more advanced modders writing tools and tutorials to help in creating custom content and modifying the game environment. The "Sims 2 Body Shop" is a program shipped with The Sims 2 that allows users to create custom clothing and body recolors, such as eyes, hair and skin tone. These custom created parts can be imported directly into the game, or can be uploaded onto the official The Sims 2 Exchange for other users to download and implement into their own games. Two elements that propagate customization are the official Sims 2 Exchange and the extensive network of fansites that distribute custom content. More than 250,000 Sims and lots have been uploaded to the Sims 2 Exchange on the Official Site.

Game editions and add-on releases

Many Sims games have been ported to Mac OS X by Aspyr. The Sims 2 has also been released for a number of video game consoles.

Core game

Name	Windows Release date (USA)	Aspyr Media, Inc. Mac OS X port Release	Features
The Sims 2	September 14, 2004	June 13, 2005	First release of the core game
The Sims 2: Special DVD Edition	September 17, 2004	N/A	Core game, Bonus DVD content
The Sims 2: Holiday Edition (2005)	November 17, 2005	N/A	Core game, content from The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack
The Sims 2: Holiday Edition (2006)	November, 2006	N/A	Core game, content from The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
The Sims 2: Deluxe	May 8, 2007	N/A	Core game, The Sims 2: Nightlife, Bonus DVD
The Sims 2: Double Deluxe	April 15, 2008	N/A	The Sims 2: Deluxe, The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff.

Expansion packs

The Sims 2 expansion packs provide additional game features and items. Generally, expansion packs add several gameplay elements, a new type of "expansion neighborhood", a new mythical creature (e.g. zombies in University and vampires in Nightlife), and over 100 new objects. Seven expansion packs have been released so far.

Name	Windows Release date		Mac OS X Release	Major Additions	New/Sub-Neighborhoods	New NPCs	Creature	New Careers
	North America	Europe
University	March 1, 2005	March 2, 2005	December 12, 2005	Young Adult life stage (only accessible in college), lifetime wants, pranks, Influence, secret societies	La Fiesta Tech, Sim State University, Académie Le Tour	Barista, Bartender, Cafeteria Worker, Cheerleader, Coach, Evil Mascot, Mascot, Professors, Streaker	Zombies	Natural Scientist, Paranormal, Show Business, Artist
Nightlife	September 13, 2005	September 13, 2005	March 27, 2006	Dating/outing, Pleasure Aspiration, Grilled Cheese Aspiration, chemistry, drivable vehicles	Downtown	Gypsy Matchmaker, Waiter, Chef, Bartender, DJ, Mrs. Crumplebottom	Vampires	None
Open for Business	March 2, 2006	March 2, 2006	September 4, 2006	Businesses, business perks, talent badges, elevators, robots	Bluewater Village	Reporters, Barbers	Robots	None
Pets	October 17, 2006	October 20, 2006	November 6, 2006	Dogs, Cats, Birds, Womrats, pet store lots, in-game encyclopedia of tips and tricks normally presented throughout gameplay	None	Animal Control Officers, Obedience Trainer, Wolves, Skunk	Werewolves	Pet careers: Security, Showbiz and Service
Seasons	March 1, 2007	March 2, 2007	June 11, 2007	Weather system, Outerwear, Seasons, fishing, gardening	Riverblossom Hills	Garden Club Members, Penguins, Mrs. Crumplebottom	Plantsims	Adventurer, Education, Gamer, Journalism, Law, Music
Bon Voyage	September 4, 2007	September 7, 2007	December 17, 2007	Hotels and vacations in tropical, Oriental and woodland (camping) settings, regional typical hames, traditions & items as well as functional beaches digging for treasure	Twikki Island, Three Lakes, Takemizu Village	Fire Dancers, Hotel Maids, Bellboys, Wise Old Man, Pirate, Unsavory charlatan, Tour Guides, Witch Doctor and Ninjas	Bigfoot	None
FreeTime	February 26, 2008	February 22, 2008	TBA	Hobbies, sports, ballet, activities, restoring cars, pottery, additional careers, crafting club,	Desiderata Valley	Hobby Members, Mr. Humble, Hobby Leaders, Food Judge	Genie	Oceanography, Intelligence, Entertainment, Dance, Architecture

Stuff packs

Main article: The Sims 2 Stuff packs

Stuff packs are add-ons to the base game that add only new objects. There are currently seven released. Stuff packs were originally called booster packs, as seen in the release of The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack. Current releases are called "Stuff Packs" and include certain gameplay elements introduced in previous expansion packs (as opposed to Holiday Party Pack, which only added a package file containing object data). Stuff packs typically add around 60 new items.

Name	Windows release date (USA)	Mac OS X Release	Major components
Holiday Party Pack	November 17, 2005	N/A	Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year themed stuff, plus new NPCs (Santa Claus, Father Time, New Year Baby)
Family Fun Stuff	April 13, 2006	April 30, 2007	Fairy tale, nautical themed stuff
Glamour Life Stuff	August 31, 2006	June 2007	Luxury, couture, glamour themed stuff
Happy Holiday Stuff	November 7, 2006	September 2007	Asian, and European holiday themed stuff, plus Holiday Party Pack
Celebration! Stuff	April 3, 2007	TBA	Celebration, fiesta themed stuff
H&M Fashion Stuff	June 5, 2007	TBA	Fashion collections from H&M
Teen Style Stuff	November 5, 2007	TBA	Goth, Trasher, and Socialite themed stuff
Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff	April 15, 2008	TBA	Kitchen & bathroom stuff

Film

The Sims (working title) is a film currently in preproduction. The film will be live action.

On May 25 2007, it was announced that The Sims film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox. Not much is known yet about the upcoming film. It will be written by Brian Lynch, the writer of Angel: After The Fall Comics and writing/directing the 1999 film Big Helium Dog. The film will be produced by John Davis, responsible for films such as Norbit and Eragon.

See also

• Simulated reality
• The Strangerhood
• The Sims 2 (console game)

External links

Official site

• Official The Sims 2 Main website
• Official The Sims 2 US website
• Official The Sims 2 UK website

Producer journals

• The Sims 2: Nightlife Producer Journal by Tim LeTourneau
• Update on The Sims 2: Nightlife Producer Journal by Tim LeTourneau
• The Sims 2: Open For Business Producer Journal by Tim LeTourneau
• The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff Developer Journal by Lyndsay Pearson

Resources

• The Sims 2 website directory at the Open Directory Project
• The Sims 2 series at MobyGames
• Template:StrategyWiki