Going back to the original post.

I would have to agree with ICad. We are not as strong as we used to be. We've had another popular Sims series come around since then, and now, we have Sims 4, Sims 2 is going on its 11th year. I wouldn't expect that an 11-year-old game is going to be the big star it once was under those circumstances.

However, many creators have opted to use Tumblr and LiveJournal. I don't believe either existed in 2004. They host their creations, on Mediafire, Box,com, Dropbox, Copy.com and OneDrive, among other storage sites. Some upload in forums. Back in the earliest days, there were a few main Sims 2 sites in town, and people pretty much flocked there. Now, because of disagreements or in search of another place to showcase creations, people splintered off the main groups. Some of these people lost interest in the game, which is certainly not uncommon, and moved on, and when they did, the sites withered and often died. Some sites haven't been updated, but they're still there. And some are very much alive.

If you look on the number of views on this forum, Sims 2 is still a presence. The view number constantly exceeds Sims 4, which is strange, considering that Sims 4 is the new shiny. It does not exceed Sims 3, and I wouldn't expect it to. But it's doing pretty darn well for a game EA wrote off some time ago!

CORRECTION: LIveJournal did exist back in 2004. My bad.

Thanks Charity for disagreeing with Scott's post. I really wanted people to disagree with him. You're right about the boys. Young Othello doesn't know what he's missing and is happy enough for the moment, but his older brother Ross is on good terms with Ginger and Gavin Newson, who live just along the road. He knows how much they'd love to go to school and even try to go for the odd day now and then, when the pressures of looking after their younger (step-)siblings and earning a living allow them. And he sees how Ginger and Gavin make sure Gabriella and Gallagher get on the school bus, even though they can't go themselves. Yes, Ross would like to go to school. Or even get 'proper' home schooling.

gummilutt, that's why the rules for living on New Desconia are so strict. Most Sims would hate it too. It really is only for Sims who like that sort of thing. In real life I'm a (youngish) elder who's never had a proper date, or a first kiss, so I envy them their freedom just a little.

I live in the Netherlands too and those rules certainly are horrible to keep married couples apart, but there is some logic behind it. We have a social system that gives money to those unable to (find) work. Our government doesn't want to bring people in that are possibly going to raise the government's expenses, which is why I think they set the rule about the Dutch spouse earning a certain amount. Then the Dutch spouse would cover the immigrant's living expenses and not the government, but there are indeed quite a lot of flaws in the system.

GREAT... now I'm getting disagreed with.. I hope I don't break the record, that would be embarrassing..

My husband and his siblings are all immigrants. In my husband's case, my folks were willing to sponsor him. This meant, basically, that they had over a certain amount of income (based on number of dependents) and if he'd taken any welfare the government would've gone after them to repay it. He became a US citizen when he was eligible. His brothers and sister have not chosen to become US citizens. The one is now divorced from his wife and has primary custody of their kids (which is a very good thing), and they're all still in the US. I understand it's only people who come in illegally who get deported if they're married to an American. There are people who make fake marriages--just on paper--in order to immigrate legally which is why there is the requirement to have been married for a certain number of years to be a permanent permanent resident rather than a probationary permanent resident.

US immigration laws are complicated and it's nearly impossible to reach a person at Immigration. There's a reason why I refer to the IRS (income tax) customer service as nice and helpful, and it's all Immigration's fault. (I refer to the government entity simply as Immigration because it's changed initials several times during my dealings with them.)

For the non-Americans, when you hear American press and politicians fussing about immigrants they usually mean illegal immigrants. Not always, but frequently enough it's a quirk worth being aware of.

@Andrew, I kind of sympathize with Scott. In the sims world, a young sim with a few badges and skills is more employable and will do better at university than a fresh-out-of-high-school graduate with an A+ and no other qualifications. Especially if you've got the scholarships for badges mod. Sims 2 unmodded school is downright useless. One of the first things I sought out mods for was school. Homeschool, skill points for homework, run my own schools, all of those, right from the beginning. My young sims deserve better than to get on the bus in a good mood in the morning, waste three-quarters of their day, and come home feeling miserable with absolutely pointless homework that makes them more miserable to do.

He has chronic pain due to multiple accidents at work. Lots of nerve damage.

Much what the others have posted in this thread...Sims 2 is still alive and will be as long as we can still run it on our computers. It is the best of all of them because it gives us what WE want which is something EA refuses to understand. Sims 2 is a game that
becomes individualized and specific to each person who plays it. Also, it has opened up a unique universe of people from all over the world sharing their thoughts, experiences, and creations through the various forums and downloads. If I see a picture of a house I want to create, I download the specific cc I need and I duplicate that house so my sims can live in it. Creating, I find, is straight forward. So Sims 2 is still here.