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A Lookback at The Sims Console Games: Part Three

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In the last article we took a look back at The Sims 2 and The Sims 2 castaway but in this article it is all about The Sims 2 Pets! With Cats & Dogs being all the talk at the moment it seems fair that The Sims 2 Pets and The Sims 2 Apartment Pets get their own article.

The Sims 2 Pets

Nintendo GameCube, Nintedo Wii and PlayStation 2 & Sony PSP

The Sims 2 Pets was released on consoles in October 2006 meaning the intial releas of the game is just over eleven years old. The Sony PSP installment of the game was released shortly after in December 2006 and the the Nintendo Wii version being releases in June 2007.

The console version was designed to be almost identical to the PC expansion. However unlike previous console installments the Player isn’t forced to complete goals. The player just creates a Sim and controls them and then of course then aquire a Pet. Of course the console version came with a handful of differences. Here’s just a few of them below:

  • New Paramedic & Therapist NPC added to the game.
  • All sims are adults meaning that there are no Toddler, Child or Teen Sims. Elder Sims can be created by changing the Sims hair colour. Sims will also not die but will pass out when the hunger bar hits zero.
  • Sims abducted by aliens will not get pregnant.
  • Pranking other Sims on the phone will not get you in trouble.

Game Boy Advance & Nintendo DS

The Sims 2 Pets on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS was released in late 2006. This also saw the last game from The Sims franchise to be released on Game Boy Advance (the same with the Nintendo Game Cube version of the game).

Both versions of the game are set in Bakersville. As a Vet you are tasked with helping look after Pets in the town. Once the Pet Paitent is well again the owner will return. Depending on how well you cared for the paitent depends on how much the owner pays you. If you do well you will earn good money and recieve an increased reputation. Of course you can also own your Pet as well.

Random Trivia: If you have ever played The Sims 2 Pets on Game Boy Advance then you may recognise some of the Pet’s Furniture from The Sims Unleashed!

Also why not check out 25 minutes of game play from SheGamerReloaded (now SheGamerxo) as she takes you through the start of the Game Boy A

The Sims 2 Apartment Pets – DS

Released nearly two years after The Sims 2 Pets was released, The Sims 2 Apartment Pets combined the PC expansions Apartment Life and Pets to give us the final installment for The Sims 2 on consoles.

The aim of the game was to progress through the games storyline and look after your Uncle’s Pet Spa as well as your Sim’s own pet. Apartment Pets was also one of the only console games to contain a more developed Create-A-Sim feature despite it’s limited content. This also made the feature stand out compared to other console versions of the game.

Sadly The Sims 2 Apartment Pets didn’t gain great reviews but after tracking down a copy on eBay I feel that it is still a great addition to the franchise despite it’s flaws.

That’s it for the third installment of the A Lookback at The Sims Console Games series. There is just one more part to come and then we will be getting ready for the release of The Sims 4 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4!

Don’t forget you can check out the previous parts to this mini series. Click here for part one and for part two of the series click here.

Best Buy Offer: Get an exclusive Pet Tag with The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs

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According to a Reddit user ValeriePancakes BestBuy is currently having an offer where you can get an exclusive Pet Tag in a shape of the Cats & Dogs icon with a purchase of The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack!

The supplies are limited so if you haven’t already pre-ordered Cats & Dogs and have a Best Buy nearby this is the perfect opportunity!

Best Buy Offer: Get an exclusive Pet Tag with The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs

The Sims 4 Mod: Place Certain Objects anywhere in the World

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The ability to place certain objects anywhere in The Sims 4 was a fantasy – until now.

Modder K9DB managed to make certain objects in The Sims 4 placeable anywhere in the world without depending if you’re on your lot or not.

Here are all the objects K9DB managed to make placeable so far:

  • Monkey bars
  • Both kids jungle gyms
  • Voidcritter battle station
  • Observatory (telescope)
  • All the picnic tables
  • Basketball hoop
  • Wishing well
  • Gravestones
  • Romantic Garden Fountain

You can get this mod by downloading the .zip content and extracting it to Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Mods folder. Make sure you have Mods / CC enabled in your game options!

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The Sims 4 Mod: Place Certain Objects anywhere in the World

Preparing for The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs is one of the most anticipated Expansion Packs in The Sims Franchise so we totally understand you if you “get lost” after installing the pack on November 10th. Here are some tips and advices for you to do before getting your hands on Cats & Dogs:

Create A Household Concept

Creating a household is probably the first step that any simmer takes after installing the pack that they’ve been waiting for so long. We know – you can’t currently create a cat or a dog in The Sims 4 but you can think of an interesting concept for your Sim household.

A recently married couple who want to start a family with not just a bunch of children but new pets as well or an elder Sim who’s kids have moved on with their lives and who wants a loyal companion are just some of the household ideas!

Build them a House

Even though you cannot get your hands on new items from The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack just yet you can start working on a house with areas that you can fill in after you install the pack.

Think of a Challenge

Have some awesome ideas for The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs that you’d like to share with other Simmers as well? We have a perfect section on Sims Community Social where you can do just that. Our Challenges forum is full of challenges created by others. There’s even a cool new Pet Pedegree Challenge made just for Cats & Dogs!


Preparing for The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs doesn’t just revolve around what you can do in the game. There are a few things that you should focus around your save game files as well as hardware and your system specifications:

Clear your Cache

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs brings a lot of new life to your game and therefore it’s important to treat your save game files with extra care and attention. Feel free to delete files shown in this post as they automatically rebuild throughout your Sims 4 gameplay. It’s proven that clearing your cache files regularly can help improve your game performance.

Prepare your Mods

As with every Pack release The Sims 4 gets a new game update. Considering this update is really, really huge you may want to remove your mods and check for compatibility on pages of your mod source to make sure it’s safe for using.

The Sims 4 will automatically disable your mods after the update but it’s best if you check every mod functionality.

Back Up your Save Game

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs is a huge pack and it’s not guaranteed that it will work perfectly for everyone. Before installing the upcoming game update or the expansion pack itself it’s best if you back up your save game in case things go wrong.

Make sure you meet the NEW requirements

Cats & Dogs brings new system requirements that you’ll need to meet in order to play the game.

PC Minimum Requirements

MINIMUM OS: 64 Bit Required. Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10

CPU: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core 4000+ or equivalent (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 or equivalent)

RAM: At least 4 GB RAM

DISC DRIVE: DVD ROM drive required for installation only

HARD DRIVE: At least 3 GB of free space (14 GB if installing with The Sims 4) with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games

VIDEO: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better

DIRECTX: DirectX 9.0c compatible

SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c Compatible

INPUT: Keyboard and Mouse

ONLINE REQUIREMENTS: Internet connection required for product activation.

Mac Minimum Requirements

MINIMUM OS: Mac OS® X 10.7.5 (Lion)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz Processor or better

RAM: At least 4 GB RAM

HARD DRIVE: At least 3 GB of free space (14 GB if installing with The Sims 4) with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 320M, 9600M, 9400M, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro or better. Video RAM of 256MB or better.

INPUT: Keyboard and Mouse

ONLINE REQUIREMENTS: Internet connection required for product activation.

The Sims 4: Teen Style CC Pack is now available!

Custom Content Creators Synth and Luumia have come together to create the Teen Style Stuff pack! It features the ‘Athlete’, a Jock inspired set, ‘It Girl’ a popular girl inspired set and ‘Punk Kid’ which is more goth and scene styles. Whats great is all the styles are Maxis Match which means the CC Creators have tried to keep to the Sims 4 Style as much as possible so the stuff doesn’t stand out in your game.

Here are the notes from the pack:

The Sims 4: Teen Style CC Pack is now available!

Featuring 14 pieces of CC for your adolescent pixels!

Everything you need to know about what is included in this pack is in the above pictures.

Notes:

  • There are two versions of the DIY Crop and the Longline Sweater: One has an undershirt, and one does not. Go crazy with accessory tees of your choosing!
  • *The Bandanas Are Lit Hair is NOT hat compatible. However, you are able to pick what texture you want on the bandana with a bandana selector located in the Hats section.
  • All the assets included in this pack are disabled for random. Some of them are unisex, and some are only for one gender.

All three looks are available separately as individual packages and merged package files. There is also an All-In-One package in the root folder.

Please enjoy our labour of love! 😘😘😘😘

Credit to @standardheld for the Bangin’ Bangs Hair base textures.

If this pack sounds like something your Teen Sims would love click the download button below!

You can install this custom content pack by extracting the content of it to Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Mods folder. Make sure you have Mods / CC enabled in your game options.

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Countdown to the release of The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs (With different Time Zones)

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There’s been a lot of confusion about the full release of The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack and so we wanted to make it a bit more clearer by making this countdown post that includes different time zones.

In case you don’t know, this pack will release worldwide on the same day but with a staggered release across different time zones. Down below you can find countdowns for multiple time zones.

Central European Time (Midnight, November 10)

British Time (11PM, November 9)

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Pacific Daylight Time (9PM, November 9)

Eastern Daylight Time (Midnight, November 10)

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Australian Eastern Daylight Time (12AM, November 10)

RELEASED!

REMINDER: The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs comes out next week!

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We’re less than 7 days away from the release of The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack! We know it feels crazy saying that after so many speculations, hints and leaks that happened before the official announcement of this pack.

Unlike with previous expansion packs, The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack will be released worldwide on the same day. If you’ve already pre-ordered The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs you can check when exactly will it be released in your time zone.

REMINDER: The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs comes out next week!

SimGuruDrake confirmed that the pack will have a “staggered” release depending on the time zone you’re in. For example – the pack will come out at midnight on November 10th in Central European Time. However, it’ll be available at 9PM in Pacific Time. This means that people who belong in the Central European time zone will get to play the pack 5 hours early as 9PM PT = 5AM CET.

We get it, all these time zones are really, really confusing. That’s why we’re currently working on a countdown post that includes different time zones.

Are you excited for the release of The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs? Let us know in the comments and make sure you stay tuned on all the latest updates!

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs: Iron Seagull interviews SimGuruRomeo

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Iron Seagull got a chance to interview SimGuruRomeo, one of the producers on The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack. He asked a lot of questions about the pack, including why there are no dog houses included. It’s a 20-minute long interview with plenty of info so make sure to check it out!

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs: Live & Build Mode Livestream YouTube Replay

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For those who have issues or just prefer watching content over YouTube we’ve added The Sims Team’s official The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Live & Build Mode Livestream from Twitch onto our YouTube Channel.

The original livestream with the chat can be found here!

The Sims 4 Console DLC Bundle Price has been confirmed!

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In case you missed the announcement – The Sims 4 for Consoles will have a special DLC Bundle which includes City Living Expansion Pack, Vampires Game Pack and Vintage Glamour Stuff Pack. However, all this time we had no certain information about what’s the price of this Console Bundle.

SimGuruDuke finally confirmed the price of this pack on Twitter, saying that the pack will be available for $49.99 / €49.99. This is quite a deal considering that City Living is 40$, Vampires is 20$ and Vintage Glamour is $10 when purchased seperately ($70 total).

The Sims 4 Console DLC Bundle Price has been confirmed!

Twitch Tidbit: Shift Click to Place Multiple Objects

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After watching today’s Livestream hosted by the SimGurus (which you can rewatch here) you may have noticed that the Guru’s were using the Shift Place trick to place multiple objects. Now some Simmers may already know this trick but if you don’t then this is a very useful and easy trick to know!

So, if you want to place multiples of the same object all you need to do is simply just select the object like you would normally. Hold shift and place the object. It really is as easy as that. The trick works on normal Buy Mode Objects as well as windows, doors, stairs, plants and more. Think about how much easier this trick will make landscaping your builds!

Twitch Tidbit: Shift Click to Place Multiple Objects

Let us know if you already knew about this handy trick and how you use it in your game or if this is news to you how excited are you to use this super easy trick!

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs: Live / Build / World Livestream Facts

The Sims Team has just completed their final livestream for The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack, showing off new content and features in Live Mode, Build Mode and Brindleton Bay. Check out all the important facts below!

  • Cavalier Cove is a residental neighborhood.
    • It’s inspired by Gilmore Girls.
    • It focuses more on dogs and gives you more space to walk your dogs around.
  • Shift + C unlocks more manipulation points on roofs.
  • Turning off aging for Sims will turn off aging for Pets as well.
  • There’s a whistle icon on the bottom which will call your Cat / Dog over to your Sim.
  • Toddlers won’t crawl through the doggy doors but they will be able to walk through them.
  • Butlers from The Sims 4 Vintage Glamour Stuff can take care of pets.
  • Filling the pet food bowl, cleaning the litter box and other pet responsibility actions towards pets will level up your Character Values from The Sims 4 Parenthood Game Pack (must have the pack).
  • Cats can climb on counters and eat from there.
  • Dogs can swim in pools but cats cannot.
  • Pets can be sprayed by skunks after running away.
  • Pets will be taken away by social services if you don’t feed them and you won’t be able to get them back.
  • You can’t have all-Pet households – you must have at least one Sim in your household.
  • Pets can chase seagulls.
  • You can lock cat doors.
  • Kittens and puppies won’t be able to go upstairs.
  • You can click on the door and lock it to cats or dogs specifically or lock to all pets.
  • You can sell a pet, put a pet up for adoption, adopt a cat (200 simoleons), dog (200 simoleons) and a child (1,000 simoleons)
    • You can adopt up to 3 pets at once.
    • You can play with pets and interact with them before deciding to adopt them for a 200 simoleon fee.
  • There’s a cat dazzler (aka the duster) that you can use to play with cats.
  • There are cat and dog calendars.
  • There are 6 presets of the roomba cleaner.
    • You can set the roomba cleaner to clean your house automatically.
  • Cats and Dogs can eat from Sim plates and eat Sim food. Sims can yell at them for doing so.
  • Sims can WooHoo and Try For Baby at the top of the lighthouse.
  • There are ghost pets walking around the pet graveyard. You can also find them walking on the railing and sleeping on graves.
  • There are no pet houses. However, you can build your own dog / cat house using the dog and cat doors.
  • There are new lot traits such as Cat Friendly and Dog Friendly.
  • There are no puppy and kitten strays.
  • You need a bathtub to bathe your pets.
  • Pets will run away if you’re mean to them, if they suffer traumatic experiences or if you just don’t feed them regularly.
  • There are bridges in Brindleton Bay that go both over and under.
  • Pets can get pregnant when they run away.
  • You can instruct your pets to WooHoo.
  • There’s a new Feather Collection. Once you collect all of them you get a special object.
  • There are automatic pet feeders.
  • There are plenty of cat beds.
  • Pressing ” [ ” while having an object selected will make it smaller.
  • Lot Traits: Breeding Ground, Cat Friendly, Cat Hangout, Dog Friendly, Dog Hangout, Training Ground.
  • There are new club gathering rules which revolve around being friendly towards cats and being friendly towards dogs.
  • There’s a mouse hole from The Sims 4 City Living that they’ve re-introduced in The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs. Cats will stare at it and wait for mice to come out.
  • There are plenty of crates that cats can climb and jump onto.
  • There are two new topiaries in a shape of a cat and a dog.
  • You can train cats to make them stop from jumping onto things.

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs: Live Mode / Build Mode / World Livestream (REPLAY)

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UPDATE: The livestream is now over. You can watch the official Twitch Replay down below (we’re currently uploading the YouTube replay on our channel).

The Sims Team is doing their last livestream for The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack where they’ll be showing off new items and features in Live Mode, Build Mode and the World.

The livestream begins at 7PM CET / 6PM BT / 11AM PT. We’ll update this post with the official livestream replay once its over. We’ll also have a YouTube livestream replay available for those who prefer it.

The Sims Mobile Worldwide Launch Delayed for Spring 2018

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Guess we’ll have to late a bit more for The Sims Mobile to launch worldwide for iOS and Android devices.

Andrew Wilson, EA’s CEO has confirmed in EA’s Q2 FY18 report that The Sims Mobile is expected to launch this spring.

So The Sims is going really well. It is still in soft launch, and we’re receiving valuable feedback on the game and incorporating adjustments both in terms of kind of a core engagement profile in the game as well as how the game monetizes over time. The Sims is a very valuable brand for us, a very valuable IP. And it’s a genre in which we are essentially unchallenged on any platform for that matter. And so we want to make sure that we get it right with our community, and we’re seeing very strong uptick in the kind of metrics that we need. And we expect to launch it in the spring.

 

The only information about The Sims Mobile’s release date was when Lyndsay Pearson, The Sims Franchise’s VP said back in August that the game is expected to release “later this year”.

The game is currently soft-launched in Brazil and Spain.

The Sims Mobile Worldwide Launch Delayed for Spring 2018

EA talks about The Sims 4, Console and Mobile (Q2 FY18 Reports)

EA has shared some new statistics, analytics and expectations for The Sims 4 PC, The Sims 4 for Consoles and The Sims Mobile. Here’s what they said during their earnings release:

  • In The Sims 4, monthly average players are up more than 40% year-over-year, and anticipation is high for the console game launching in Q3. As these communities and many others in our top franchises  continue to thrive, our subscription services like EA Access and Origin Access are bringing more players from across our network to join in.
  • Performance over guidance was primarily driven by our mobile live services, The Sims 4 and by Ultimate Team.
  • Live services net bookings were up 22% year on year, to $310 million. The increase was driven by strong growth in FIFA and Madden Ultimate Team, and in Battlefield 1, FIFA Online 3 in Asia, and The Sims 4. In addition, our EA Access and Origin Access services continue to see rapid growth.
  • Our global communities for The Sims and other franchises thrive on the connections, interactions and creations shared between players. And for players seeking new communities and the next great experience, our subscription services will continue to expand and remove friction in a crowded, digital world.

Blake J. Jorgensen – Electronic Arts Inc. – Executive VP & CFO

Yes, clearly, The Sims is the exciting addition to the mobile business and — for us, and we’ll see that sometime in the coming spring.

Andrew Wilson – Electronic Arts Inc. – CEO & Director

So The Sims is going really well. It is still in soft launch, and we’re receiving valuable feedback on the game and incorporating adjustments both in terms of kind of a core engagement profile in the game as well as how the game monetizes over time. The Sims is a very valuable brand for us, a very valuable IP. And it’s a genre in which we are essentially unchallenged on any platform for that matter. And so we want to make sure that we get it right with our community, and we’re seeing very strong uptick in the kind of metrics that we need. And we expect to launch it in the spring. And the good news for us, given the strength of The Sims brand, we still have The Sims free play, which is doing really well for us on mobile.

Blake J. Jorgensen – Electronic Arts Inc. – Executive VP & CFO

As you can see or hear from the prepared text, we’ve mentioned The Sims a couple of times, The Sims 4 as a major driver in the growth in the quarter. We’re — continue to be very pleased with how The Sims 4 and all the extra content has performed. And we’re very excited about The Sims 4 console version that will be out later this quarter. And I think that bodes well for the overall Sims franchise, both in console, PC — for all console, PC and mobile.

Blake J. Jorgensen – Electronic Arts Inc. – Executive VP & CFO

I think most people know that Battlefront — excuse me, Battlefield 1 last year was a mass success for us, and we had a huge Q3 because of that. We also had Titanfall, which, while it didn’t meet our original expectations, still sold very well. And so with Star Wars Battlefront II and Need for Speed, you just can’t — and Sims 4 console, you just can’t comp against the strength of Battlefield 1 last year. We’re looking — it’s obviously a big quarter for us. Guiding net bookings to $2 billion is huge. And the fact that it’s only down 3% year-on-year, with the strength of Battlefield 1 last year, I think is a huge positive. And live services obviously continued to grow. We’re seeing strength across the board there, but we still have some unknowns. We don’t yet know how the Battlefront II live service will monetize. We’ll find that out over the next quarter. We’ll be able to give people a better sense of that in Q4 — Q3 when we talk, but that’s part of the unknown. And The Sims 4 on console, while people are very excited about it, we’ll just need to see how the well that sells. So those are probably the unknowns in the mix versus last year as well as the scale difference