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The Sims 1 + The Sims 2 Rereleases: Official Release Notes

Sims 1 and Sims 2 Rerelease FAQ System

System Requirements, List Of Improvements and More into one summarized FAQ.

The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 Rereleases have just hit the official stores, and we have an official Frequently Asked Questions thread. Detailing exactly what’s new and improved in the latest official rerelease of The Sims 1 and The Sims 2.

The Sims 2 Rerelease

Titled The Sims Legacy Edition (Sims 1) and The Sims 2 Legacy Edition (Sims 2), these rereleases finally get proper resolution support. Graphics stability and more behind the scenes upgrades to make your play sessions more stabile.

Here’s what’s new:

Sims 25th Birthday Legacy Bundle 2 Large

The Sims 1 Rerelease Questions

What comes with The Sims Legacy Edition?

The Sims: Legacy Collection includes The Sims, The Sims 4: Throwback Fit Kit, and the following The Sims packs:

  • The Sims: Livin’ Large
  • The Sims: House Party
  • The Sims: Hot Date
  • The Sims: Vacation
  • The Sims: Unleashed
  • The Sims: Superstar
  • The Sims: Makin’ Magic.

What’s different about the relaunched version of The Sims?

The Sims was re-released to celebrate 25 years of the franchise. This relaunched version of the first game in the franchise is updated to run on modern computers and operating systems.

The gameplay and graphics are the same, but there are some important updates:

  • it can now run on Windows 10 and Windows 11
  • it has an updated rendering engine
  • updates for more versatile pixel resolution scaling on large monitors.

How to scale pixels for The Sims 1

The Sims 1 will still run at its original resolution, but will now scale pixels to make better use of larger monitors while preserving the look and layout of the game.

  1. Press the Alt + Enter keys to cycle through available scale options.
  2. Continuing to press Alt + Enter will scale to the next optimal level before eventually starting back at the beginning.
  3. Stop once you find the scale that works best for your monitor.
    • At its largest possible smooth scaling size, the game window will black out the parts of the monitor that might be distracting.

Will old The Sims 1 save files work with this version?

Yes, any old save files you still have for The Sims 1 will work with the current version. The save paths for The Sims 1 have changed so you’ll need to copy your save files into the new location.

First, remove current saved files:

  1. Go to My Documents.
  2. Open the Electronic Arts folder.
  3. Click on The Sims folder (this is your save folder) and select Cut.
  4. Paste this folder to a different location and rename it so you know it’s your alternate save file.

To import your old save file:

  1. Rename your old save file folder The Sims.
  2. Go to My Documents.
  3. Open the Electronic Arts folder.
  4. Copy The Sims folder into the Electronic Arts folder.

Will Mods still work with The Sims 1?

Mods capability for The Sims 1 remains the same. Maxis hasn’t tested Mods, and doesn’t support Mods. It’ll be up to individual Mod creators to ensure Mods work with the new version of The Sims 1.

For more info on Mods and The Sims, check out our Policy on Mods.

The Sims 1 Rerelease System Requirements

Minimum PC requirements for The Sims 1 Rerelease (Legacy Edition)

  • Operating system: Windows 10
  • Processor (CPU): CPU: i3 3220, Ryzen 3 1200, AMD FX6300
  • Memory (RAM): 4GB
  • Hard drive (free space): 16GB available space
  • Graphics card (video):
    • GPU: NVIDIA: GTX 600 series or later or
    • AMD: Radeon HD 7000 series or later
    • Intel HD Graphics 620 series or later

The Sims 2 Rerelease (Legacy Edition)

Sims 25th Birthday Legacy Bundle 4 Large

What comes with The Sims 2: Legacy Edition?

The Sims 2: Legacy Collection includes The Sims 2 Base Game, The Sims 4: Grunge Revival Kit, and the following The Sims 2 packs:

  • The Sims 2: University
  • The Sims 2: Nightlife
  • The Sims 2: Open for Business
  • The Sims 2: Pets
  • The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
  • The Sims 2: Seasons
  • The Sims 2: FreeTime
  • The Sims 2: Apartment Life
  • The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack
  • The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Celebration! Stuff
  • The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff.

What’s different about the relaunched version of The Sims 2?

The Sims 2 was re-released to celebrate 25 years of The Sims. This version of The Sims 2 has the same gameplay, but has been updated to run on modern computers and operating systems:

  • it can now run on Windows 10 and Windows 11
  • it has an updated rendering engine
  • it has a more versatile pixel resolution scaling on large monitors
  • some legacy and community-reported bugs are fixed.

Will old The Sims 2 save files work with this version?

Yes, any old save files you still have for The Sims 2 will work with this current version. The save paths for The Sims 2 have changed so you’ll need to copy your save files into the new location.

First, remove current saved files:

  1. Go to My Documents.
  2. Open the Electronic Arts folder.
  3. Choose The Sims 2 folder (this is your save folder) and select Cut.
  4. Paste this folder to a different location and rename it so you know it’s your alternate save file.

To import your old save file:

  1. Rename your old save file folder The Sims 2.
  2. Go to My Documents.
  3. Open the Electronic Arts folder.
  4. Copy The Sims 2 folder into the Electronic Arts folder.

Will Mods still work with The Sims 2?

Mods capabilities for The Sims 2 remain the same. Maxis hasn’t tested Mods, and doesn’t support Mods. It’ll be up to individual Mod creators to ensure Mods work with the new version of The Sims 2.

For more info on Mods and The Sims, check out our Policy on Mods.

The Sims 2 Rerelease System Requirements

Minimum PC requirements for The Sims 2 Rerelease (Legacy Edition)

  • Operating system: Windows 10
  • Processor (CPU): i3 3220, Ryzen 3 1200, AMD FX6300
  • Memory (RAM): 4GB
  • Hard drive (free space): 16GB available space
  • Graphics card (video):
    • GPU: NVIDIA: GTX 600 series or later or
    • AMD: Radeon HD 7000 series or later
    • Intel HD Graphics 620 series or later

Source
Sims Rerelease Official Release notes

Official The Sims 1 Release Notes

We hope you’re in the mood to travel back to the year 2000 with us to celebrate the launch of The Sims! To celebrate with you, we’ve brought The Sims and all packs up to date to make it work more easily with Windows 10 and 11! Revisit your favorite packs or finally play that one you haven’t tried yet.

This release does a lot under the hood to make this 25 year-old game work on your new computer. We thought we’d also make it easier to see all those classic pixels on your monitor! To scale the game to make better use of the screen space available, try using the Alt + Enter key combination to cycle through the different scaling options. 

The bulk of the work was to make the first The Sims game compatible with Windows 10/11 from the moment you install it. There are things that you’ll immediately see:

  • Game now supports the aspect ratio your monitor is set to (not restricted to 4:3)
    • Different aspect ratios, such as 16:9, gives a wider view of the game
  • Crisper rendering and visual fidelity from changing how the game scales textures
  • Fixed several crashes
  • Improvements and fixes

When The Sims launches it will automatically use the aspect ratio of the main monitor. Unfortunately you can’t change the aspect ratio directly, but you can direct The Sims to launch on a second monitor with a different aspect ratio by using the -monitor:[num] command (“0” is the default monitor).

We hope you’ll enjoy returning to The Sims’ neighborhoods, Vacation Island, Downtown, Studio Town & Magic Town to spend time with all the classic Sims and Sims families as much as we did. Enjoy encountering Bella, Bonehilda, Chip, Miss Crumplebottom and the rest.

Dag dag!

The Sims 1 Release Note

Official The Sims 2 Release Notes 

Sul Sul Simmers!

Put down that grilled cheese sandwich and get ready for a trip down memory lane to 2004 with us! We’ve revived The Sims 2 and most of its packs (IKEA Home Stuff excluded) to work easily with Windows 10 and 11! Please note that modern licensing restrictions have required the removal of 1 pack and some of the original songs, but we have included as many as possible.

We thought we’d also make it easier to see all those classic pixels on your monitor! To scale the game to make better use of the screen space available, try using the Alt + Enter key combination to enter and leave full-screen mode. Enjoy that glorious widescreen The Sims 2 view!

There are a few more updates as well to look out for:

  • GraphicsRules.sgr now supports modern hardware configurations
  • Fixed a shadow bug that surrounded Sims with a big black square
  • Wide screen and higher game resolutions are now supported
  • UI scales better to higher resolutions
  • Texture memory corruption and “pink soup” are fixed
  • Dragging The Sims 2 window from one monitor to another works more smoothly
  • If your computer has a lot of RAM, The Sims 2 is able to use it
  • Fixed several crashes
  • Improvements and fixes

We hope you’ll enjoy returning to the Belladonna Cove, Desiderata Valley, Riverblossom Hills, Pleasant View, Strangetown, & Veronaville! Spend time with all the classic Sims and Sim families. The Goths, Greenmans, Smiths, Monty/Capps and more are ready to come back to your screen from 21 years ago.

Dag dag!

The Sims 2 Release Note
Source

What are your thoughts on The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 Improvements? Join the discussion below!

About the author

Jovan

Reticulating splines as a webmaster for Sims Community over the last 11 years. You can find me here writing articles and doing reports on your favorite life sim games, among other things!

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renanpisi
renanpisi
14 days ago

I can’t seem to get TS1 working! I was SO excited to finally play it again. I don’t know what I was expecting though, it’s EA.

Alder Lake!!
Alder Lake!!
14 days ago
Reply to  renanpisi

Look up Alder Lake TS1 patch fix, i think it’s by Lazy Duchess!! it’s an intel problem

caroline
caroline
14 days ago
Reply to  Alder Lake!!

thats for sims 3, ive got nividia not intel and mine wont launch either

djaidfsji
djaidfsji
14 days ago
Reply to  Alder Lake!!

the point of this game was to not use any patches. You might as well get the abandonware free from thsoudands of websites and many come with the patch already in.

kat
kat
14 days ago

The sims 1 doesnt seem to be starting. i have downloaded it but the game itself wont launch.

Alder Lake!!
Alder Lake!!
14 days ago
Reply to  kat

Look up Alder Lake TS1 patch fix, i think it’s by Lazy Duchess!! just told the other person too,

Carrie Pigott
Carrie Pigott
14 days ago
Reply to  Alder Lake!!

How does this work?

Shadow
Shadow
14 days ago
Reply to  Alder Lake!!

You should learn difference between Sims 1 and Sims 3. That Alder Lake patch from LazyDuchess is for Sims 3 and this issue has been fixed in the latest update of TS3 on EA app.

Hazel
Hazel
14 days ago

Does sims 2 also support ultra wide screen?

Sasa
Sasa
14 days ago

Why isnt IKEA included in the Sims 2?

Maksym
Maksym
14 days ago
Reply to  Sasa

Licensing issues probably

Krisp
Krisp
14 days ago
Reply to  Maksym

*Licensing laziness

Julieta Arjona
Julieta Arjona
14 days ago

Can’t fix the DirectX 9.0c issue. I have tried different things. I’m really sad 🙁

Acidlure
Acidlure
14 days ago
Reply to  Julieta Arjona

You might have to install directx9 drivers from Microsoft site

Della
Della
14 days ago

Sims 1 seems to work on my PC and the resolution looks fine too.

simmer
simmer
14 days ago
Reply to  Della

what are your specs?

Amber
Amber
14 days ago

Is the Sims 2 ultimate collection gonna be ultimately removed for people who own it ?

Shelia
Shelia
14 days ago
Reply to  Amber

I already owned it also, they shouldn’t remove it we owned it already

Amber
Amber
14 days ago
Reply to  Shelia

I hope, but I heard 32 bit games were gonna be removed from Ea app, which means it may be unaccessible at a certain point… I really hope they’re gonna find a workaround, it’s really upsetting to suddenly lose access after years of playing 🙁

Shadow
Shadow
14 days ago
Reply to  Amber

Surprise surprise. The re-release is 32bit

Amber
Amber
14 days ago
Reply to  Shadow

damn really ?

simmer
simmer
14 days ago
Reply to  Amber

TS3 is 32-bit too, so…

Peno
Peno
14 days ago
Reply to  Shelia

Sadly, they can. You don’t own your games nowadays, you just got a license that may or may not be infinite. But EA isn’t Ubisoft, so, hopefully, they will keep it in our libraries.

Dav
Dav
14 days ago

They really disabled shadows instead of fixing them? Sims look disconnected from the environment without them

Walrus1
Walrus1
14 days ago
Reply to  Dav

Yep.

Mariana Távora
Mariana Távora
14 days ago

Mine runs but the scaling pixel thing doesn’t work…

I did the reboot the game recommends and it played well

Makeup_Gamer13
Makeup_Gamer13
14 days ago

Sad to see IKEA Home Stuff is missing from The Sims 2 collection.

yawnkun
yawnkun
14 days ago

If you’re thinking of purchasing the 25th birthday bundle on Steam but you have all your The Sims 4 DLCs on EA app, STOP!

The bundle includes 2 free kits for the Sims 4. If you have all your DLCs for The Sims 4 on EA App you can’t transfer the free kits to the Sims 4. When I realized this I filed for a refund and they allowed it. I bought it again via the EA App instead so I can use the free kits included.

noxvortex
noxvortex
14 days ago

the sims 1 crashed my entire laptop after being choppy for a good few minutes, and the sims 2 crashed to desktop after exiting create-a-sim with a ready sim i wanted to move into a house. will these issues be fixed in the future or are they compatibility issues? i’m sad because i really wanted to try playing these old sims games and they didn’t work as they were supposed to, so i refunded them 🙁

Danielle
Danielle
14 days ago

hiya
just brought sims 2 bundle but it doesn’t work on Mac.
so annoying

Walrus1
Walrus1
14 days ago
Reply to  Danielle

Umm its windows 10/11 only.

Darkening Demise
Darkening Demise
14 days ago

No IKEA Stuff Pack will be a problem for any lots/cc/mods/sims and stuff that use them. Oh well I wasn’t expecting it to be here. its a miracle we even got H&M Stuff.

Hanna
Hanna
14 days ago

Sims 2 keeps crashing, in my logs it says “Failed to initialize sound” and “Failed to GetSoundDefinition for sound” any idea what it means?

Max
Max
14 days ago

My Sims in Sims 2 have crunchy robotic voices. Sometimes they don’t even move their mouths when they talk. Anyone else?

soki
soki
14 days ago

hii, does this mean it’s not available for mac? 🙁

amptter
amptter
14 days ago

for TS2, is anyone else getting a pop up after trying launch the game on EA that says “This game hasn’t released yet. Wait until the official release date (Jan 31, 2025, 11:00 AM) to play the sims 2). posting this comment at 5:30 PM 1/31/2025

Katelyn
Katelyn
14 days ago

Will it stay for a few days or will it be gone the next day?

Monica
Monica
13 days ago

Anyone else having the sims 2 crash none stop?! I’m so excited to play I have been talking about it for months. Finally get to play, and it will not stop crashing when she comes home from work.