I'm feeling a bit disheartened today because of the realization that I may have come into the Sims 2 Community quite a bit late, or so it seems.

I've been playing Sims 2 for almost a year now and, as far as I'm concerned (I can't imagine anyone disagreeing with this) it's a total blast! I have tremendous fun playing the game.

Unfortunately, as often happens when coming in on the "tail end" of something I see popularity for this version of The Sims fading away and the general Sims 2 community dwindling.

Sadly, I saw this same thing happen with The Sims after Sims Online and then Sims 2 came out.

Yes, I've been playing The Sims since the release of the original game back in 1999.

If there's any upside to all of this it's that I figure that all of the custom content that could be made for Sims 2 has been made and is redily available to anyone who wants to search for it.

The downside is that I hate seeing popularity for such a lovely version of Sims fading away in favor of 3, but that's just me.

I just started playing this past September, started with Life Stories.

My Downloads folder grew by half a gigabyte in the last 30 days. There are still many creators devoted to The Sims 2, generating houses and hair and clothes and nifty mods to make gameplay better. I think where you might be coming in a little late is if you are interested in learning to mod the game yourself. It seems to me that the support community has shrunk considerably.

If it helps at all, I think Sims 2 will linger a little longer than Sims 1 did because the graphics are still pretty good compared to other games on the market. Okay, they're not the absolute pinnacle by modern standards, but they're good enough to still look impressive if you have the right mods. Also, I know that I bought and played Sims 3 as soon as it came out... then I stopped quite soon after, as I could not bear the look of the new sims or all that foot-tapping. Maybe the S2 community will stay healthy until something new comes out that truly surpasses it?

(I secretly dream of the day when a new game comes out that knocks my socks off like S1 and S2. And in this dream, the code is perfect and there is no gruesome DRM... And no one has a nose like Benjamin Long or a shirt like Goopy...)

I'm quite new to the game too (began last November) and agree with you that activity in Sims 2 discussion boards has probably dwindled somewhat. It seems that - well not on this board so much but another board I post on occasionally - if you're "cool" you've moved on to the new shiny - ie, Sims 3. But I've never felt I need to be in the trendy set. lol.

Also one big bonus of coming to a game that is well established with lots of mods and CC is that you can reap everything at your leisure. I installed all the EPs pretty much at the same time after acquiring them fairly cheap on Ebay so I've felt a lot like a kid in a sweet shop.

I've tried out Sims 3 for a couple of sessions but it hasn't quite grabbed me yet. I'm still in love with my Sims 2 characters.

I only bought The Sims 2 and entered the Sims community about six months ago. This was somewhat intentional, because I had been meaning to buy The Sims 2 for a while and I knew the prices for it would drop as soon as Sims 3 was released - followed by it promptly disappearing from shelves, which thankfully only happened right after I bought my copy In this regard, I am a newcomer as well. I'm glad that I did buy The Sims 2, and I intend to stick with it until Sims 3 prices drop, at which point I'll attempt to get TS3 running satisfactorily; hopefully, by then, the game will be more stable and mods won't be ruined by every new patch.

Gosh, I've been playing sims 2 for....maybe 5 1/2 years? But I only recently started playing it again because of a lack of a computer that could handle it. Now that I have a new computer I'm able to play again! I was not impressed by the Sims 3, so I just didn't buy it. I still love the sims 2 gameplay far more. I do agree that some of the community has shifted to sims 3, but there are still people that play the sims 2.

I've been playing sims 2 since the week it came out. Played Sims 1 for four years before that. But I still feel like a newcomer because I feel brand new to the actual community. Sure I went to the bbs a few times, but not the amount I come here. I enjoy that I can discuss my sim experiences and read about others experiences without being looked at weird or having to explain mundane details of the sim world.

Funny I think of it as a plus to join in late. There is simply a huge amount of CC, hacks and mods that are available, really great resources exist if your willing to do the work and search them out. I've never been one to run and get in line for the new shiny anything. You always pay top dollar and invariably they release a better less expensive version of it anyway. I started with the Sims Complete Collection only about 3 years ago, talk about joining something late. I throughly enjoyed it for about 6 months and then a friend gave me TS2 and it was all over. I played for almost a year before I downloaded any CC or even looked at the community sites, even then the only reason I started looking around was because I had screwed up my hood.

I've still got so much to explore and try with TS2. I've only just built my first custom hood but I want to try out building one that is themed as well. I haven't even tried a challenge yet although I was reading the Xenophile one the other day and really want to try it. Heck I just installed OFB about a week ago so I've tons of stuff that's still fun and exciting.

Is the first wave of fandom over, yeah it is, but that just means there's more room for all the late comers.

Edit: On the new creation side there are modders working to create an entire EP over at BAS. It's a Hospital where your Sims will go to give birth. Reading the threads from the testers and creators it sounds fun and very cool. I believe once it's finished they plan to host it on a family friendly site as well. Having other mods from them in my game I believe it will be top notch once complete.

Actually there are many good upsides.

The worst bugs in all EP's have been fixed, you don't have to worry about your hood being clogged by character files for example, because EA can't code.

Also you now have all the info needed to keep your hood safe and clean, so you don't make the same mistakes people did in the past like moving people among hoods and such.


Basically you can play safely without having to worry what's around the corner, becuase everybody else has already been around that corner and patched things up.

When it comes to the community windling, I wouldn't worry about it, at least not yet. I think there are much more interesting gameplay/strategy disscussions on this thread than the TS3 thread. Mostly becuase TS3 will always get the majority of the newbie players who get into the game, so our threads maturity level will always be in the (lollollollolXDXDXD!!!!111) level. Thankfully we also have more mature players on the TS3 thread otherwise I would have gone insane.

I would not say everything has been done when it comes to CC. A year a go when I still was playing TS2 I had tons of ideas that had not been made into mods, but due to my lack of SimPE knowlage, I couldn't make them. So if you just have the energy maybe you can start creating as well.

I got the Sims 2 right when it first came out, having played the Sims 1 with all the expansion packs. I had to stop shortly after Uni came out. (4, 5 years ago?) because I didn't have a computer that could run it once we got rid of the desktop. I agree, though, that hopefully the S2 community will be around for awhile. I've heard from many people that S3 just doesn't compare.

will always be a loyal fan of TS2. As I can only play TS3 on my grandmother's computer, and I've got TS2 readily installed on my laptop, it's always my first stop. It saddens me at how much people 'love' TS3, but then pine for TS2 aspects. :/ It also saddens me how much people hate Veronaville, but hat's another story.

I believe that Sims 2 will get new players just like any game in the future as well. After all, it's one of the top games in the world! I started playing TS2 just 1,5 years ago and I prefer it to Sims 3. Heck, even TS1 is nicer to play than TS3! This is my opinion. Like myself, I believe The Sims 2 will have it's loyal players for a long time. So don't worry about new shiny things coming to market, just enjoy the ride and the company of other TS2-players You're not late!

Point of fact there is still a fairly large community that is devoted to creating for the Sims 1. Not as large as the community for Sims 2 but Sims 1 Gamers are still going strong. Sims 2 is still going strong because in many ways Sims 3 cannot compare. Until the latest patch for Ambitions, using CC that was not in a Sims 3 Pack was more difficult and from what I have heard in many ways creating for Sims 3 is a little bit (not much) more complicated than Sims 2.

I run a finds site and I have actually seen about an equal drop off in Sims 2 and Sims 3 sites going inactive and/or closing entirely. Pretty much for every new site offering something unique like new meshes, NEW (not conversion) hair, or new makeup that opens for Sims 3, one or maybe even two goes inactive. Creators like Sims Art Gallery, Papercat, and Random Noir have produced literally nothing in months and I don't know whether this is because of being disillusioned with Sims 3, or real life stuff interfering but many creators like KittyKlan( most of the new stuff she has posted lately has been from her already finished months ago files) have literally said is it because of being sick of problems with the game. Most of the truly new sites ( other than existing creators moving from MTS or BPS to open their own sites like Leefish or Cherryblossom Sims) have been devoted to Sims and Lots,which really anyone can make albeit maybe not as well as some of the people with blogs.

I have only counted about 5 maybe 10 free Sims 2 sites that I have gone inactive or closed since TS3 and some of it was due to hosting issues (Rensim, E-Studio), others like Serenity Sims, Aussie Topenders, Eclectic Sims, and Avalon were pretty much inactive months before Sims 3 was even announced, and the same thing goes for paysites that are inactive or dead, Sims Connection, 4ESF, WallSims, and Wood for Sims were dead/inactive long before Sims 3. And I have seen at least 50 new Blogspot, Blogger, Wordpress, Dreamwidth and Livejournal communities/sites opened that are devoted to Sims 2 content.

Modding is still alive and well for Sims 2, maybe not so much on MTS though I have seen some great new mods from MogHughson and some of the new modders that no one had come up with before. I would not worry about it. Us Sims 2 people are here to stay because I highly doubt Sims 4 will be an improvement on the game if they continue the tone they set with Sims 3.

You're not the only new player around either. We got the Base Game + Seasons package in November, but really got into it this Spring. We've managed to buy all EPs and Sps for about the same price as Sims 3 base game was at the time.

Having found this place has been a blssing...and a curse. Out Downloads soon got to over 6 GB and that really was too much...But how can one resist all the wonderful contributions by all these lovely, talented people?

I find that there is much life in the community ands I read here a lot. I don't write much because I feel too new to have much worthwhile to contribute. Anyway, there are other new players around and if EA didn't think it'd be so, they'd not have reissued the Cds/DVDs.

At this point, I see us sticking to TS 2 for at least a couple of years, while we wait for TS3 to start fullfilling the promise it clearly holds.

I could still be considered a "newbie" myself, since I was only able to start playing a little under two years ago (luckily I am a fast learner and have caught onto things quickly, so, even though I still can't create, I can at least try and offer advice and answer questions from time to time), but I don't really find myself bothered by it. I also agree with those who've mentioned the maturity level aspect as well. It seems as though since the "likeOMGlol!!111!!" crowd has moved on to the new shiny, you have more people who honestly love, enjoy, and care about the game staying in the community, and allowing more honest discussion. I also get the feeling that the mods for the Sims 2 areas are a little less stressed because you have less of people doing things like starting new threads for things already existing/threads in the wrong places/etc., NOT because they didn't know any better, or honestly thought it would make an interesting topic of discussion, but because they didn't care/couldn't be bothered to check the site themselves, because they HAVE to get back to taking 50+ pictures of their "cute" new sim dressed all in bubble-gum pink with the borked game-crashing Peggy hair, or just want to show off said sim, without seeing if there is already a thread for that, because THEIRS is obviously SO much more important than every one else's. (Sorry if this seems really rant-like or something, it's just that people that are extremely self-absorbed and do things like that are one of my major pet peeves right now, both online and in real life)

I am still quite new to Sims--playing only a couple of years. While I do own and play TS3, I also play TS2 and enjoy reading the posts, downloading content, etc. about and for the game. I play TS3 on my iMac and TS2 on an older iMac and my Macbook (neither seem to be able to handle TS3 to my liking). In fact, I still check periodically to see if there is any word on FT, AL, and M&G for Mac. (I do think, though, that I have just about given up hope. ) I hope and believe that there are many simmers who still enjoy playing TS2 and many creators who still enjoy creating. (Thanks!) Let's hope that continues! :D

TS2 will live on as long as there is at least a few people interested in it, and seeing as it's proved compatible with newer OS computers and with a worldwide audience (some who don't know about the sims 3 to date) TS2 will probably be around in some sort of closet-geek form 10-20 years from now. I've just got about 20 people into the game in recent months so we can be assured that the message will be spread. Also, I help out from time to time answering threads in the help forum just so people don't give up when official helpers don't get their questions or don't reply. I think of it as a pay-it-forward for all the help I need in the end.

I've been playing The Sims 2 for a few years now. I can't actually remember how long. 3-4? Around that. I started with the Sims 1 game and all the expansions. It was that or The Sims 2 base game. They were both £20. I can't resist a bargain.

Anyway, all of my friends had The Sims 2. After a while, I decided to upgrade and I loved it. When I got my new laptop last year, I couldn't find my TS2 base game and reinstalled the original and all of its expansions. It really didn't compare. My sims kept using the outhouse when they were RIGHT NEXT TO THE LOVELY COMFORTABLE INDOOR TOILET and ended up dying after about half a week of life. A sim week.

After the game got mucked up, I borrowed one of my friend's games and reinstalled The Sims 2. It was so much better.

I haven't gone back to TS1.

Anyway, what I'm saying is...I'm not sure. Something about waiting a while before I buy TS3. My desire for a bargain and lack of faith in my laptop specs is holding me back. My friend's been having a lot of problems with it and so has the rest of the Internet, apparently. I still love TS2 and it hasn't become redundant yet. I've only recently started making movies with it and it seems I'm doing new things all the time. I hadn't even completed university until a week or two ago! Do you know how long I've had the uni expansion pack? AGES!

I'd like to complete my TS2 collection before I even think about TS3. No point on abandoning something if it still keeps me entertained.

I never played the sims 1 I played the sims 1 a few times at my cousin's house when I was little (I was five? when it came out), but I'm in love with the sims 2 and don't intend on getting TS3 anytime soon. I only got into online content a week or two ago, and I won't be leaving for a long time. It is disheartening, though, to know that I'm just coming into the community as so many others are leaving. I've also gotten into meshing and designing lately, but it seems like there isn't much custom content I can make that hasn't already been thought of.

And I'll admit... I've only had the sims 2 for about two, maybe three weeks. I've logged almost one hundred hours on it, however, and I am a very fast learner.

Don't worry I didn't even start playing Sims till about 5 months before Sims 3 came out. I am still playing Sims 2 I never played the first one and it may be awhile before I start Sims 3.