Relationships in The Sims 2

Adult Behavior

As with The Sims, Maxis is planning for a "teen" rating for The Sims 2. That means that you won't see much more explicit action than you found in the original game.

It also means that teen-aged sims can't "play." That would get them a "mature" rating, which would cut deeply into sales of the new game.

Maxis is adamant about the rumor that they might release an M-rated expansion pack: it's pure fiction. There is no need for it and they are not working on it.

As in the original game, sims can still "play" in hot tubs and dressing booths and love beds. The action is no more explicit than before, but animations in the new 3D environment and lighting effects make these activities even more amusing than before.

Your sims in the new game will have a few moments where they are more bold than the originals. Below is a scene from the official trailer. We know it's fuzzy and apologize for that, but perhaps this is a blessing; it means we don't have to tuck the picture away in the the adult section of this site.

In the sequence, Our Hero keeps striking out with the ladies until finally he finds his Significant Other. When he makes his affectionate move toward her, her response is emphatic and dramatic -- she rips off her blouse and throws herself into his arms!

This sets the stage for their relationship to come. Later in the same video they are married and have children. Sure enough, as soon as they have a moment alone with the kids out of the house, she keeps their relationship alive and lively with another topless leap over the back of the couch!

Let's hope that Maxis can keep these activities in the game and still earn their "Teen" rating. They are too precious, and too hilarious, to give up!

From This Point, It's Up to the Fan Artists

Adult behavior is so popular in the Sims fan community that we expect that fan artists will start working on enhancements to the game designed for a more mature audience as soon as they can.

We don't yet know how limited the creativity of fan artists will be in the new environment of The Sims 2, but considering how much they have accomplished within the limitations of The Sims, we can reasonably predict that it won't be long before we can have our characters in the new game doing things we wouldn't even think of doing in real life!

It should be obvious why Electronic Arts doesn't see any need for a M-rated expansion pack for the game. They have us fans! This is good -- the off-the-shelf game earns its "Teen" rating, the game sells more copies, we have fun adding our own creative expression to the subject at hand, those who want more adult behavior can choose what they want from among the fan artists' offerings, and everybody is happy.

If fan artists come up with some really great stuff, game sales might even increase because people will have to buy the game to check out the fan stuff. More sales means that Electronic Arts will put more of their effort into supporting and enhancing the game, and everybody is even happier! It can't get much better than that!

To speculate more on this subject, we will have to direct you to the essays in the adult section of The Sims 2 at SimsHost.

Note: You must be an adult SimsHost subscriber to view our adult section. When you get there, you will see why.

Relationships in The Sims 2