When I was a kid and The Sims was first released it was a pretty big deal. Okay, maybe it wasn't that huge of an event to most of my friends, but to one friend in particular, my only real PC gamer friend, it was huge! This friend of mines spent countless hours building houses, creating families, dictating their lives, fulfilling wishes, and crushing dreams. This friend would spend even more time telling me about her exploits in The Sims. It was almost like listening to someone talk about their favorite daytime Soap Opera.
This type of behavior persisted all the way up until the end of high school when for reasons still unknown to me, she gave up PC gaming and The Sims. This was also not long before the release of The Sims 3, which is where I come in.
After listening to my friend go on and on about the wonderful world of The Sims, I decided that I too wanted to give that odd little life simulator a try. Eventually I convinced my parents to buy me the console version of The Sims. And a few years later I was also able to persuade them into buying me the console version of The Sims 2. And while I did think these games were fun, no Sim game entertained me more than The Urbz: Sims in the City Gameboy Advance version that I had gotten for Christmas one year (I eventually got the Gamecube version as well).
I spent quite a bit of time playing these games, though I must admit, I'm not sure why I put so much energy into playing the console version of The Sims 2. I was pretty disappointed with that game in comparison to the others. After you completed your lifetime wish there really wasn't much left to do. I mean at least in The Sims console version you could have kids. But I digress I wasted a lot of energy on those games.
Still, buying multiple games and sinking time into The Sims instead of playing arguably better, deeper, more complex games, simply wasn't good enough. Why? Because my friend told me that I hadn't had the full experience, that the console version was nothing in comparison to the PC version. She explained to me that if I wanted a better experience I must upgrade to PC immediately. And initially I didn't listen. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't listen until my final year of high school (which believe it or not wasn't that long ago).
That year I decided to finally give The Sims 2 PC version a try, and by George was my friend right! The PC version of The Sims 2 was far superior in comparison to the console version. I had way more options available to me. I could have children and actually create meaningful families. I could even buy expansion packs, and oh how I bought those expansion packs!
But then, not long after I finally made the upgrade to PC, I noticed that The Sims 3 was about to release. I thought about buying it for my friend as a Christmas present seeing as she had been such a hardcore Sims fan. But then I remembered, her hobbies had evolved and no longer include that addictive life simulator whose popularity is fueled by our inherent need to achieve godlike control over everything. So instead I decided to buy it for myself. I resolved to sell my The Sims 2 game and all of the expansions that I had acquired and decided that it was time to make the leap to The Sims 3.
If I wasn't addicted before then, I certainly was after making that final upgrade. After I purchased The Sims 3 it was practically all I could think about. It was all I could talk about! I would randomly start conversations with my family members just so I could tell them about what was going on in my little Sim town. I'd dream about playing the Sims and what I was going to do to their families while I was asleep. When I was supposed to be completing my homework I would sneak and play The Sims 3. I would even use my extra money to buy new expansion packs and DLC from The Sims website.
Looking back on it, I have no idea how many hundreds of dollars and hours I've sunken into that game. And for a good while, I really couldn't stop playing. At this point, I'm just glad that I was able to stop without any form of outside intervention. Even now I've missed a ton of expansion packs, and I still have unused SimPoints sitting in my account; and of that I am proud.
At this point, I'm convinced that EA knows that they've got virtual heroin on their hands. I'm convinced that The Sims is designed to have some type of addictive quality to it. And I'm convinced that as long as people feel as if they have no control on life - or just want more control - there will always be a market for The Sims (and Sim City, and Animal Crossing, and Tomadachi Life).
So, I won't be buying The Sims 4. I've read a few articles on the game and I've even seen a character creation demo or two. But for the most part I've been avoiding all The Sims 4 related news. I no longer want any part of EA's money making scheme. And yes, I know companies are made to make money but if I'm going to complain about everyone else dishing out ridiculous amounts of DLC and expansions then I've definitely got to complain about EA and The Sims. But it's not just the money grab that I no longer want to support. I just can't bring myself to go out and buy a game that I know is so addicting. And while I'm pretty sure (like 99.9% sure) that I wouldn't get addicted to The Sims 4, I just don't see the point in even risking it, let alone blowing all that money to get all of the expansions.
The Sims 3 is going to be it for me. I'm going to eventually buy those expansions that I missed (most likely during those Origin sales). And I'm going to keep it in my "Games" folder on my laptop for those nights when I'm really just bored out of my mind. But will my relationship with The Sims ever be the same again? I don't think so.
So, thanks for reading guys! And I must admit, this blog was half inspired by Game Informers post on video game addiction and the other half based on the constant stream of The Sims 4 ads that I've been seeing appearing on my Facebook news feed. So anyway, I pose the question, are any of you guys planning on buying The Sims 4? Have any of you ever gotten addicted to or became obsessed with a Sims game? And have any of you ever been addicted to any other games? Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments section. And as always, happy gaming!