The Sims (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

This page details pre-release information and/or media for The Sims (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox).

To do:
Prerelease backlog...

https://web.archive.org/web/20021019211000/http://thesims.ea.com/us/index.html?frame_src_content=news/e3links_2002.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20020623180412/http://www.ea.com/eagames/main/ps2/sims/screenshots.jsp
Lost screens on June 7, 2002 and August 28 2002 https://web.archive.org/web/20020902001809/http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?channel_id=70&object_id=17231&adtag=network%3Dign%26site%3Dps2viewer%26pagetype%3Darticle&page_title=The+Sims+
https://web.archive.org/web/20041206162757/http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/017/017231/imgs_7.html
Oct. 29 simzone prerelease
SimCity 4 fansite kit with a trailer.

A console adaptation of The Sims took a while, due to other projects like SimsVille and The Urbz suffering through developmental issues around the time. But it was still considered so they contacted Edge of Reality to make a semi-straightforward port of the game.

The game was a hit, selling four million copies, where it was successful enough to warrant a follow-up.

Development Timeline#

2001/2002

circa. Dec./Jan. - Development for a console versions of The Sims begins¹ after The Urbz was temporarily shelved. To make up for the lack of staff members, EA contacted Edge of Reality to make a port for the game.

2002

May 16 - The Sims for the PlayStation 2 is announced, with a release date set for the last quarter of 2002.²
May 21 - The first screenshots of The Sims for consoles were released.
Jun 7 - A demo of the game is shown off at E3 2002.
Aug. 28 - A new set of screenshots were released.
Sep. 26 - The game is delayed to January 2003, due to polish and fine-tuning. ³
Dec. 22 - The Sims for consoles have gone gold.⁴ ⁵

2003

Jan. 16 - The game is released in North America, on PlayStation 2 systems.
Mar. 25 - The game is released in North America, on Xbox and GameCube systems.
Apr. 3 - The game is released in Europe.
May 19 - The game is released in South Korea.
May 29 - The game is released in Japan.

Early Development#

To do:
Cover this... https://web.archive.org/web/20030831015559/http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/strategy/thesimsbustinout/preview_6074212.html

Due to the massive success of The Sims back in 2000, Electronic Arts and Maxis wanted to bring the game to consoles except they originally settled on a spin-off called The Urbz. Developmental issues caused the project to be delayed internally, thus leaving the project dormant for some time.

Around the end of 2001⁶, Electronic Arts wanted to bring The Sims to consoles⁷, so they made a contract with developer Edge of Reality to port The Sims to consoles, whereas their developmental group focused on The Sims expansions, The Urbz and The Sims 2 (Windows).

To make the game more than just a port, it was decided to add levels and unlockable objects to the game. ⁸ The unlockable objects were Will Wright's request.

2002#

May#

To do:
Lost May 23 images from EA's site...

The Sims for the consoles were revealed. At that time, the game was only developed for the PlayStation 2 before it was ported to other systems (which explains the release dates between the Xbox/GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions).

The first screenshots are shown below;

To do:
Find the actual source date of them...

The HUD was arranged differently.
- It seems that x3 speed had to be enabled by alternating between R1 and L1 rather than being activated when all of the Sims on the lot go to sleep, or are out of world. This was likely changed so it could be easier to access on other systems.
- The HUD shows L2 and R2 on the sides of the selected Sim's portrait.
The day/night shaders were not yet implemented, bearing resemblance to the unshaded equivalent in the pause menu in the final.
A lot of furniture had earlier designs;
- The Werkbunnst All Purpose Chair was yellow instead of red.
- The Imperial Dining Chair had a different design, with a more generic stripe design. Strangely, that design is in the final game as part of the Interaction Queue graphic.
- The Numica Dining Table was brown instead of cyan.
- The counters had different designs, though it's unknown if it was the Count Blanc Bathroom Counter or Numica Counter.
- The "Blind Date", by I. Roney Wall Decoration was much larger, resembling the mainline counterpart's design more, scale-wise.
- The bedside lamp is not an earlier design of the Elite Reflections Chrome Lamp, but rather highlighted with the selection.
The wallpaper in the first two screenshots are not available in the final, same goes for the flooring in the second screenshot. Strangely, the flooring also appears in The Sims Life Stories.
The bottom left HUD had a higher margin compared to the final.

June#

E3 2002#

The first public details of a Sims installment for the PlayStation 2 dates back to EA's E3 2002 video games lineup sometime around May. At that time, the game was only developed for the PlayStation 2 before it was ported to other systems (which explains the release dates between the Xbox/GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions).

Videos#

Video 1	Video 2
Watch on YouTube	Sims2Ps2BetaE32002.mp4

At E3 2002, seventeen seconds of the game was shown.

Like the PC game, Sims originally spun around to change clothes, as opposed to a shower curtain covering them up. The shower curtain was likely added to account for the time it takes to generate a new Sim texture.
The wallpaper and flooring are not available in the final game. Unexpectedly, the flooring at the beginning of the footage appears in The Sims Life Stories.
The house lacks shadow mapping, and appears the same as when the player enters the pause menu. Additionally, the Sims do not cast shadows.
The queue icon uses the yellow ? placeholder graphic.
The 3D cursor is notably different. It has a graphic of the interaction button on the bottom, and is shaped more like a crosshair.

Screenshots#

To do:
Find the actual source date of them...

The images posted are all screengrabs from the E3 2002 trailer, but this screenshot was also posted. This is an early version of Money From Mom from Get A Life mode.

The wallpaper, flooring and sofa are different.
It seemed that the Get Money Interaction reused the animation from the Give Gift Interaction.
Mom originally had blond hair as opposed to gray in the final.

August#

Screenshots#

New images were released on August 28, 2002. It is much further than in development, but still has some interesting differences.

The HUD now matches that of the final.
The day/night shaders are implemented for the first time.
The lamp models were different, resembling how it is depicted in it's mainline counterpart.
The Werkbunnst All Purpose Chair is now red like the final.
The cheap dining table was different, being purple than blue.
Strangely, the road is covered in the scrapped carpet flooring.
The Cheap Eazzzzze Double Sleeper bed had a completely different bedsheet design, depicted as an orange and purple swirl. It would oddly be reused for the flooring design of King Tower in the handheld versions of The Urbz: Sims in The City.
In the image of the Sim on the toilet, the mosaic blur was not yet implemented, instead with a black box likely saying "CENSORED" on it.

However, this image is possibly the most interesting one; in Play The Sims mode, it shows a completely different neighborhood layout!