In honor ofThe Simsfranchise’s twenty-fifth anniversary, EA and Maxis have rereleased bothThe SimsandThe Sims 2for PC. Making their grand entrance to storefronts on January 31, this nostalgic rerelease is a logical way to mark the occasion. But casual players ofThe Simswon’t be the only part of the community benefiting from the return of these older titles.
Playerswanting to check outThe SimsorThe Sims 2for themselves can buy either game individually or both in a bundle. Both games have been renamed as “Legacy Collections” with the bundle for the two titles being called “The Sims: 25th Birthday Bundle.” Unfortunately, both games have received criticism from players after purchase due to bugs, corrupted save files, and other various glitches. Nevertheless, rereleasingThe SimsandThe Sims 2on PC seems like an opportunity for the modding community.
The Sims Community Loves Mods and Custom Content
With more players purchasing bothThe SimsandThe Sims 2, it wouldn’t be unsurprising to see more players becoming interested in custom content (CC) and mods for both games.The Simsfranchise has a large modding community, with mods and custom content for many of the game’s installments releasing constantly. However, most of this content is forThe Sims 3andThe Sims 4.
At one point, custom content forThe Sims 2was as popular as it is forThe Sims 3and4. The game surprisingly has the highest number of uploadson the popular mod site “Mod The Sims”with almost seventy-eight thousand uploads. But in comparison to the vast amount of custom content and mods forThe Sims 3andThe Sims 4at large, this number is just a drop in the bucket, especially considering that most of this content was released whenThe Sims 2was fresh. One dedicatedThe Sims 2gamer compiled a masterlistof two hundred mods for the game, concrete proof that a thirst for more content forThe Sims 2exists.
In comparison,The Simsis practically starved for fresh custom contentand mods. While CC and mods do exist for the original version ofThe Sims, the modding community for the game is currently far smaller in comparison to its successors. Of the two main types of additional content forThe Simsfranchise,The Simshas more mods and builds than custom content.
The Sims and The Sims 2 Could See a Spike in New Mods and CC
Additionally, most of the custom content and mods available for bothThe SimsandThe Sims 2were created prior to the release ofThe Sims 4, making some of this content feel outdated. Since bothThe SimsandThe Sims 2have been rereleased by EA, it would not be unsurprising to see a spike in new mods and custom content for both games in the coming weeks. Not only would this be an increase in content overall, but younger Simmers who have yet to playThe SimsandThe Sims 2could download content more suited to their taste.
While sites dedicated toThe Simsmay seem like the best place to find new content, Tumblr is another mainstay for custom content and mods. Since thererelease of bothThe SimsandThe Sims 2, waves of new CC for the two games have been appearing on the blog site. Simmers have taken to posting links on X (formerly Twitter) of where to find CC and mods forThe SimsandThe Sims 2only days after both games were rereleased.
While reception forThe SimsandThe Sims 2’s rerelease may have been rocky, receiving these games yet again could revive the mod and CC communities behind both games. Interested players can buyThe Simsfor $19.99,The Sims 2for $29.99, orThe Sims: 25th Birthday Bundlefor $39.99 now.
