The Sims 2 (Windows)

This page details pre-release information and/or media for The Sims 2 (Windows).

After the massive and rather overwhelming success with what seemed to be the most irrelevant idea for a simulator, a sequel was surely in development.

The number one target for what would be The Sims 2 focused on bringing the franchise itself to "a new generation", both metaphorically and figuratively. Gathering feedback from their player base was one of the steps, but they also had to jump to 3D graphics, start anew from the content they had already put in the previous-numbered instalment, and most important of all, code an extensive Life Stage system that would end up being the biggest focus on the game.

Inevitably, this led to tons of crunch time for the developmental team, which also resulted in a delay, with members leaving during and after development of the base game and overall less-than-stellar treatment from workers even after said game met well-above EA's standards.

But the most intruging thing to come out of this is how the game looked and changed, much like development of the previous entry. Due to the sheer amount of cut content in the files, prerelease content of this game has many enigmas laying around certain places, leaving traces towards said scrapped features. To top it all off, much of the game's actual content had been kept under wraps between it's initial revelation at E3 2003 until mid-2004, with various prerelease content surprisingly being lost to time.

The end result turned out to replicate that of the previous game's success, if not better, to the point of it arguably becoming one of the best entries of the series. Even long after the game's discontinuation, it has a dedicated community and following to this day just like the other mainline Sims games.

DifferencesFurniture, features, some repurposed, some not.

Base Game#

Open For Business#

Later Prerelease#

To do:
Should this be moved to a 2006 page? Or should we keep covering pages dedicated to expansion-specific stuff?

In April 2006¹⁹, sometime after the release of Open For Business and Family Fun Stuff, a survey was held on the official website asking players what they would want to see in later expansion packs.²⁰ A large chunk of those ideas would not make it into the final, but in later Sims-related content.

The page mentions Sims as "castaways on another island", where they need to "build a new home in the rainforest to farm, fish and build" stuff to survive. The idea would be released as a spin-off called The Sims 2: Castaway for consoles and handhelds, and The Sims Castaway Stories for Windows. Oddly, farming isn't a feature in the latter, despite having dozens of leftovers from Seasons for it.
An expansion pack focused solely on functionable hospitals was mentioned, separated into four different careers referred to as "medicine, physical therapy, surgeon, or psychiatry" in order to cure illnesses from Sims. A hospital job was planned for the base game, but was scrapped due to scripting issues. The idea would be revisited in The Sims 4: Get To Work expansion.
An expansion pack that would be released as Pets later in October 2006 is mentioned in the survey, but it also refers to training pets, suggesting that it was going to play a slightly bigger role rather than teaching them tricks and giving them careers. Coincidentally, The Sims Pet Stories, which would be released in October 2007 does feature a pet training system in the form of an obstacle course.
What would be the Seasons expansion is mentioned in the survey, but it also mentions the feature of a "sand volleyball" activity. An unused volleyball graphic can be found in the base game, suggesting the feature was going to come to fruition.
A time travel-themed expansion pack is explained where Sims are travelled back in time to a fantasy neighborhood "where they can live like royalty or enjoy the simple things in life", where they have access to building castles, having enormous feasts and working on small farms. The whole idea would most likely be the basis of The Sims Medieval'' minus the time travel. Interestingly, the castle-building aspect would be released As the Castle Kit and Medieval Furniture inThe Sims 2 Store''.
A mystery-solving expansion pack, involving socializing with specific Sims all over the neighborhood to figure out the mystery. It was most likely revisited in The Sims 3 Ambitions in the Detective Career.
A similar Seasons-themed expansion pack is mentioned where Sims could put on parties specific to certain seasons, with the mention of a party planner. It's possible that it was loosely worked into The Sims 2: Happy Hoilday Stuff as the New Year Party, while Seasonal-themed parties would be fully realized in The Sims 3: Seasons.
The last option mentions enjoying the best years' of the Sims' youth, with features involving "birthdays, playground antics, slumber parties, building tree-houses and forts, sports practice, and prom nights". The idea sounds a lot like what would eventually be The Sims 3: Generations except for the fort-building feature, while the mention of a sports practice could also loosely tie into the FreeTime expansion with the soccer goalposts. There's also an unused model of a Slumber Party Memory in the base game, suggesting that the feature was going to return in an expansion pack before getting scrapped again. It would be bought up by Lyndsay Katai²¹

After the expansion-related ideas came the addition of specific objects that players would like to see in future expansions. Users had the option to pick five out of the following items;

Idea	Implemented in Sims 2?	Introduced in	Additional Notes
Furniture workbench (create your own furnishings)	No	N/A	A similar feature would be introduced in Apartment Life where Witches can craft exclusive furniture from the brew and in The Sims Pet Stories with an ice crafting bench. Crafting benches would be fully implemented in The Sims 3: Ambitions.
Pool toys	No	N/A	A float lounger is included in The Sims 3: Seasons expansion pack.
Camping	Yes	Bon Voyage
Water parks, zoos, amusement parks	No	N/A	A similar feature in The Sims 3, would be introduced as a Public Pool Community Lot while the amusement park would appear in The Sims 3 Store neighborhood Roaring Heights.
Apartments	Yes	Apartment Life
Slot Machines, Roulette, Craps tables	No	N/A	Slot Machines were originally considered for Nightlife before being scrapped, whereas a similar money-operated game machine would be introduced in Seasons as a Reward Item for the Gamer Career Track. The idea would be fully re-realized in The Sims 3 Store neighborhood Lucky Palms.
Casinos	No	N/A	See above.
Pets	Yes	Pets
Weather and Seasons	Yes	Seasons	Rain and snow weather was planned for the base game, as seen and mentioned in prerelease media.
Concert lighting and stages	No	N/A	The idea would be fully realized in The Sims 3: Showtime.
Snowball fight	Yes	Seasons
Gardening, growing food	Yes	Seasons
Sports and other active events	Yes	FreeTime	That expansion introduced an Athletic Hobby system, as well as implementing a soccer goalpost and a ballet bar.
Skating, snowboarding, skiing	No	N/A	Snowboarding would return in The Sims 3: Seasons, while skiing would be introduced in The Sims 4: Snowy Escape.
Cooking materials, food items	Yes	Seasons	Though the idea was partially implemented in Seasons, it would be further utilized in The Sims 3 base game.
Prom parties	No	N/A	Prom parties would appear in The Sims 3: Generations.
Health and sickness – doctors and nurses making house calls	No	N/A	As already mentioned, a Hospital feature would appear in The Sims 4: Get To Work. The mention of Health and Sickness is rather vague due to illnesses already being in the base game. Different diseases would be introduced in subsequent expansion packs in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4.
Fishing	Yes	Seasons
Frisbee	No	N/A	The frisbee would be introduced in The Sims 3: Pets, as an item that can be used with dogs.
Going shopping	Yes	Open For Business	it is unknown what the idea meant by going shopping as Open For Business, a shopping-based expansion was released a month earlier at that time.
Yearly calendar – mark, plan special events	No	N/A	On a similar note, The Sims was originally going to have a calendar system, but was scrapped.
Natural Disasters	No	N/A	A volcanic eruption would be used as a plot point in The Sims: Castaway Stories, but a meteorite-based death would appear in The Sims 3: Ambitions.
Celebrities	No	N/A	During development of the base game, they preferred to not revisit the theme due to the trouble of having to extensively code NPC celebrities in order to meet restrictions. But the presence of the option suggests that it was planned once again. The Sims 2: Pets, which would be released later in 2006 had Hilary Duff as a downloadable and playable Sim from the official website, and as a playable character in the console counterparts. That said, the celebrity-based expansion would not be re-introduced until The Sims 3: Late Night.
Create your own holiday	No	N/A
Movie Theatre	No	N/A	A theater would appear in The Sims 3 as a rabbit hole, but buyable theater-related items would appear in Le Cinema Plumbob in The Sims 3 Store.
Croquet	No	N/A	A decorative croquet item would appear in The Sims Social as the Flamingo Croquet.
Hotels	Yes	Bon Voyage