I don't "hate" a character, but among the most annoying for me is the entire Broke family.

I very, very rarely create a person using a real-life image. Simply ... I stink at it! And I've yet to create a self-sim. I tried once, but the final result didn't look a bit like me.

Sometimes, I'll do a character very loosely based on an anime or cartoon character ... only a more "human" version.

Most of the time, though, I just "wing" it. Often, I start by testing a new skin or eyeset, and just take it from there.

Good catch ... and enjoy!

I suppose there is some merit to Sims 3 coming out ... you can get a much better deal on Sims 2 stuff now.

I should first write that I do not own Sims 3. My plan is to consider buying it next year, when some of the nasty stuff has been ironed out. There is a very good chance I might pass on it even then. One problem is that my card is one of the cards that some people report is causing trouble with their game ... and my card came out last year, so it's not a case of obsolete hardware. (Some people with certain configurations involving specific ATi 4800-series cards reported graphics problems. Most likely, not every person with this type of card has this problem, and for all I know, it might not even specifically be the card's fault, but personally, I'm not taking the chance until someone can figure out why this is happening with even some of the cards.) Before I even think of getting this game at all, I need to make sure that EA worked out the problem. Supposedly, they're looking into it. I'm not holding my breath.

Personally, after reading hundreds of reviews of the game (yes, really!) here, on other Sims 2 sites, and on Amazon, I don't think the game is worth the risk of shelling out $50. Not even $40. EA made a lot of mistakes, and left a lot of bugs in it when it released the game. Thankfully, many creators and modders have eased the problems caused by these bugs. However, if you watch EBay carefully, you can get a much better buy on the game. Right now you can get the game for at least 30% off the MRP. I've even seen sealed new games go for $30 or $31 from reputable sellers on EBay. I keep telling people to wait it out for just a little longer if they're not sure. At this point, the price is dropping quite a bit.

And if you don't have the cash to buy a compatible video card or other upgrades if you find out that Sims 3 won't play nicely with your configuration, and you're not sure if you'd like the game, even having a $20 coaster is too much. Can you afford to buy new hardware for your computer at this point in your life if need be? (I think someone already pointed that out ... I don't take credit for that idea at all.)

Your best bet is probably what you're doing now ... read the positive and negative reviews on Amazon and sites like these, and take the pros and cons into consideration. Check and double-check to see if your computer has even a chance with this game. Many people are having problems getting the game to run. As Chaavik wrote, try testing the game out somewhere else, like a friend's machine, if you're not sure if the game is right for you. And don't simply waltz into a chain store, plunk down money, and buy the game at its original price, or even $5 lower. Watch for really good sales and specials. They're there.

As for whether you'd like the gameplay ... I think others have written about it pretty well. Look at both sides. This game has two very distinctive groups concerning it. Some utterly loathe the game. Some really like it.

Even though I confess to being hard on Sims 3, there are many positive reviews out there. It's just that there can be quite a difference of opinions re this newcomer! And IMO, EA Games held back on just what this game was capable of doing.

 I think it's just as others have written ... if you're expecting Sims 2 Amped, you won't be getting it. If you're the type who likes to place a lot of lots where you like them, have your Sims schmooze inside any store and commercial building you please, or you play a lot of families (I have dozens, and play almost all of them at one point or another), or if you don't like the idea of your Sims doing what they want without you around, you may not be fond of this game. If you like downloading distinctive custom terrains, you may not like the open neighborhood.

Oh, and you may have a big problem getting this game to play, even if you do meet the specs. But many people have had no problems.

This game is not without its charm ... actually, it has a lot of charming features .... but it does have a lot of limitations, too. Some people are not bothered by them, and some are. It's up to the individual player.

I'm still stickin' with my Sims 2 for a long while, though.

Actually, now that there are better skintones, hair, eyes out there, and more of a variety of sliders, I have to confess that the Sims look a lot better.

Yes. I actually wrote something nice about the Sims 3.

I think that for me, I'm used to changing templates around to my taste, using custom facial templates from creators such as Oepu, Nailati, Pooklet and many more. Using such a wide range of template replacements gives me gorgeous Sims ... or not-so-gorgeous, if I choose. Hopefully, someone will find a way to further fritz around with the facial templates themselves ... not just the sliders. I don't doubt that won't happen.

I had that happen with a bunch of Sims 2 stuff by this particular creator on TSR. (Can't remember the name .... sorry.) EVERY item from this creator crashed big-time. And these were Seasons items, and I had Seasons. They were obviously based off Maxis Seasons items. That was the last time I ever downloaded anything from anyone at TSR.

It's also happened to me with a bunch of furniture from another site. Once again, I don't remember the name. It wasn't a well-known one ... I do know that. It wasn't ModtheSims, Insim, Tarox, etc.

So while no, I don't think it's common, it does happen from time to time.  Good thing you could find the items quickly and get rid of them!

I agree with you to an extent. This game appears to perform considerably better, thanks to free site creators who busted their butts to make things happen. However, like you, I too am concerned that EA might interpret the response of many who bought the game early as "Hey, we can do anything we want ... someone will clean up the mess for nothing", and will do squat to raise the bar in future expansions. That is why I am still of the group that proposes waiting before getting Sims 3 ... at least a few months. (Besides, I'm also cheap, and the price of this game is getting lower and lower on EBay. Should I ever want to buy it, maybe I can get it used for $19.99 soon! ) If we want EA to listen to gamers who want EA to get off the stick (IMO) and improve this game on EA's end before releasing it, the way to hit EA is in the pocketbook. Period. EA won't listen any other way. Complaints won't work.

But really, people are going make up their own minds and make their own decisions. And to brutally honest, there are far more pressing matters that preoccupy my time right now. I find the matter more curious than stressful ... a diversion from my real-life concerns.

As for us being in the minority ... we aren't as small or insignificant as it appears. This game will sell... fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your outlook. The game does appeal to many people. But if you look at Amazon, the reviews are still very mixed, at best. And that constant price drop on EBay is really telling, I believe, as well as the most recent Amazon price drops. (If you play your cards right and wait for the right time, you can get the game for $10 or more off the original price for either version. But the drops are temporary.) Many people really like this game, many truly loathe it, and many are still waiting to get it for whatever reason.

One can also interpret the poll this way: EA might very well have lost about 35% of its loyal customer base for the time being. Can any company be supremely confident that losing 35% of its regular customers won't hurt it?

Could you direct me to the MTS link with the poll, please? I'm curious to see something. This Sims 3 reaction on both sides is really fascinating to study! One can almost do a "thesis" on it! Also, for any of you playing Sims 1, did Sims 2 get the same polarized reaction? I was rather late to the Sims 2 party (2006), so I didn't read the initial reactions to Sims 2.

Sims 3 is a new shiny toy, so I'm not surprised to see so many people jumping on the bandwagon. I'm not sure it will be a flash in the pan, either, at least not for a while. For some reason, the Amazon approval ratings have improved a little, though I'm guessing that the reason for that is due to the free site creators' efforts. I myself don't see the charm as yet, but since I like to play many families, build lots where I want to build them, use very different body and item meshes, use different terrains in different neighborhoods (the loading time never bothered me, to tell you the truth), etc., it's not hard to see why in my case. It's my preference. Maybe someday, I'll pick up a used copy of the game and check it out. (Heck, I've seen new ones going for under $30 now, though that isn't too common yet. The "average" price on EBay seems to hover around $30 to $36 for new, $28 to $32 for used ... interesting for a game that is only a month and a half old!) Right now, it's not a priority with me, and won't be for a long time.

I echo Rock Justice's thoughts. This sounds like it will make a GREAT console game. Maybe I'll wait for that. Or not.

Anyway, even now, there are sites with Sims 1 updates, after how long? Nine years? I would think there will still be many Sims 2 sites left for a while, just not nearly as many as we're used to. I agree with those here who see that a wiser site owner who wants to reach out to a wide group of players will feature both Sims 2 and Sims 3 offerings. In time, we might even need more sites to provide separate lists of sites that have Sims 1, Sims 2 AND Sims 3 creations. To tell ya the truth, I'm starting to get confused as to who is offering what now!

One reason for the change in attitude in Sims 2 material might very well be that after about five years, we've exhausted many avenues of creativity. How many bobs and long hairstyles can one site have? How many types of sofas? While there WILL be people to come up with new and different ideas, they might be a little slower in coming simply because they've been done already! And it hasn't helped that so many of the brightest and most innovative Sims 2 creators have retired from creating entirely or almost entirely ... Enayla, Louis, Nouk, Warlokk, etc. There will be new ones to fill their shoes ... there are already ... but you may not see as many of them.

As for me, I have such a wealth of Sims 2 stuff over the years from so many creators (even though I stopped at Seasons) that it's no sweat to me to add things more carefully now. It keeps my folder trimmer, though I suspect I will be adding some new Sims 2 stuff from time to time to keep things from being stale. I guess I'm just a dinosaur ... for now, anyway.

I think it's as others wrote before (I can't take credit for it) ... the Sims 3 appeals to people who like certain challenges and aspects of the game. For instance, unless some modders change the configuration ... and yes, I have faith that someone will figure out how one day ... if you want a Milla Sim, a "normal" Sim, an Athletic/Bodybuilder Sim, a C-cup or larger female Sim in one house, you are going to have an awful hard time doing it. If you don't mind not having that wide a range of detailed shapes in your game (and many don't, since in Sims 2, that took an awful lot of mB!), you'll probably think the variety out there is fine. Some may be perfectly happy to alter the shape using sliders.

If you love building strange or custom-built houses on a variety of lots, you might have a hard time with this game for the time being. I like the challenge of trying to build and landscape a house on an out-of-the way hilly lot or making a house on an "island", for instance, using the wonderful neighborhood camera mods out there to expand my choice of sites even further. If you like all different styles of furniture a la Tarox, the new game might be limiting at present.

If you tend to get bored playing the same group of Sims for days, this is probably not the game for you at the moment. I enjoy flitting between families and making them interact with each other. I have at least a dozen families in most of my neighborhoods at any given time. Right now, I have only up to Seasons. If I have a dozen families in Riverblossom, five dorms in Uni, a dozen families Downtown, and a dozen families in the Shopping District, that gives me 41 different families to play with. And yes, I visit almost each household at least once or twice. (There are a few households that are slated for the cowplant, though, I admit!) I can't imagine playing with just a few households.

But if you enjoy focusing on a smaller group and meeting certain challenges concerning its members, and focusing on just this group, this game might be just fine. And that IS just how some people like it, and to reference an old song, it's their "prerogative".

I do admit, though, that still, I've never seen a Sims game before with such polarized groups on a forum. Was Sims Online this polarized? I'm not sure.

I'm ... still ... waiting ...

I'm still not buying this game for several months, and until I see the following:

1. A used game in great condition goes for under $25 US. I got the Sims 2 on EBay for $29 in 2006, and that was new ... AND I knew I could play it. The $25 may not be as far-fetched as it sounds ... I recently saw a used Sims 3 game by a reputable seller sell for $30 with shipping and handling ... and the game is only a month old. A 40% discount? NOW we're getting "warmer". While game site reviews and even Amazon reviews are interesting, I find that the ongoing price range of used and new Sims 3 games on EBay even more fascinating, and much more revealing. OK, OK ... many reviewers and players seem to like it. That's nice. But just how many? And what is the price that less "committed" Sims fans think it's worth ... really?

The price range has gone down a few dollars since even a couple of weeks ago. You can often now get a new game from a reputable seller (at least more than 20 reviews!) for $32 to $37 with shipping if you're patient and bid wisely. The range was $35 to $40 back in late June.

2. On a related note, I want to be SURE the alleged graphics problem with certain ATI 4000-series cards (and I believe the GEForce 200-series cards, though I'm not sure) is fixed. I heard that certain players with these cards experienced distorted graphics, and since EA hasn't officially listed either card as a supported card (they were both rather new at the time EA was developing the game, I guess), even spending $19.99 for a coaster is too much.

3. I want to be able to get a separate hard drive for the game. My current one is loaded enough, and I don't want to uninstall Sims 2 to make room for a game that isn't really that similar to it in most aspects. While portable hard drives aren't too expensive, my budget, unfortunately, is limited.

4. I want to make sure that story progression bit is FINALLY fixed. Officially.

5. I want to get excited about Sims 3 like I did with Sims 2. I first became interested in Sims 2 after playing Sims 1 on the Game Cube. I couldn't wait for Sims 2 to come in the mail, and I played it for hours at a time for two months before I even realized that custom content existed! I won't be as excited the same way, of course. I was such a newbie then. But I want to find myself waiting impatiently for the mail, at least! So far, even after reading favorable reviews (even I admit that the game isn't all bad, and actually has some interesting features about it that might warrant buying the game used one day, perhaps), I'm not nearly as gung-ho about Sims 3 than I was with Sims 2.

So yes, I'm waiting. But I can wait some more. And more. Next year will be just fine, if I want the game by then.

Looking at the Amazon breakdowns, it might be more like:  

About 46% have a lot of trouble with the game/can't stand it/find something severely lacking (one to two-star)
About 39% really, really like the game/like it very much (four- to five-star)

The rest are three-stars, but this group seems to be growing more than the other two. I'd like to think that's because, perhaps, certain free site creators have significantly contributed to the game's being much more playable for many people, though the game still has its glitches and quirks, and many others still have a lot of trouble with it. In six months or a year, overall impressions of the game might be very different, thanks to these creators. Of course, EA won''t recognize their achievements, but I am floored at how far these creators have come in a short time.

I've read this time after time. I believe that Pescado even wrote something like this. And perhaps that's the problem in a nutshell. It really does seem to me that Sims 3 is NOT the "logical successor" to Sims 2. They're separate entities, only they have a lot of the same furniture, hairstyles, etc. If someone gets this game expecting "Sims 2 Enhanced", they seem to be a lot more disappointed than those who want or expect a different game.

And I've read posts like Lira's about the more detached nature of the Sims (and gameplay in general) in the game as well. This one comes up time after time, too.

Whether all this is a good or bad thing is up to the user, I guess. But I do confess to thoroughly enjoy controlling my goofy Sims 2 pixel people. I don't like anyone else controlling them. I wonder what real-life psychiatrists and psychologists might say about this! Between that and my video card and computer configuration limits  (I found out that my new card, while the requirements imply that it ought to work, is actually one of the "trouble cards", so unless EA releases a patch, I might have to wait even longer than a year to consider this game ... oh, well ...), I'm afraid I will have to experience the Sims 3 vicariously for quite a while, no matter what. But that's not a problem for me, Reading about the Sims 3 is extremely fascinating. It's almost like reading about certain celebrities. Some of us try not to look at the unfolding scenario, but we can't resist for long!

By the way, I feel bad for those burned from this experience. I've been there with other games, such as the The Sims 2 for DS. (Shudders. I thought that game was dreadful, and for some reason, my copy was wonky. I got rid of that game ASAP, but at quite a loss.) I am still hoping that EA might do something to make the Sims 3 experience better, and if they do, they might be able to turn this around, but it really does look like EA learned about customer satisfaction from the Colonel Tom Parker School of Customer Service. (He was Elvis' manager, for those who might not recognize the name.)



Note: It looks like the game is $44.99 on Amazon now. What the ... what are they playing at here? Or what game is EA playing at here (no pun intended)? In the meantime, many of the standard-edition games are going for $37 and under on EBay* (the average price went up slightly since the Amazon price increase today), with free shipping.  (Opened, allegedly never-played or played once games usually go for a few dollars less. I saw one allegedly opened, but never played or registered game go for $29.)


*It's very strange ... a lot of the bids are from buyers with feedbacks of 20 or under. Many have 5 and under. Back when I bid for the Sims 2 games, I always had some VERY stiff competition from people with higher feedbacks; most with 50 or more. And the games and expansions had come out several months earlier. It's just strange, that's all. Hey, I can't fault any EBay newbies who really want the game going this route!

In-game, about 1 GB. It hasn't been easy trying to keep it that way. Not at all.

I do have a "side" folder outside of the game with items that I occasionally use, such as seasonal items. That's about 300mB.

All I know is that I've NEVER seen any Sims game that has such polarized reviews on Amazon. Not Sims 2 (80% of the Amazon reviews on the original base game were four- and five-star!), and definitely not Sims 1. (Not nearly as good a sampling, but the base game alone also had 80% four- and five-star reviews, and the complete collection had about 81%.) Even Apartment Life, which was not exactly the most popular Sims 2 expansion out there, had a little more than 63% four- and five-star reviews. Sims 3 isn't even close to THAT. (The Collector's Edition, which overall has better reviews than the standard edition ... why, I don't know ... is only around 43%. The standard game is around 38%.)

It's almost like there are two entirely different versions of Sims 3 out there ... the "good" version and the "bad" version!

P. S. Good news, though, for those who are hoping the game price goes lower ... you're getting a better and better chance of grabbing this game off of EBay for still another discount. (Just as an aside ... I got all of my Sims 2 games on either EBay or super-sales. All new.) A sealed standard edition just went for $35, which is just about $5 off of Amazon's already-discounted $39.99 price. I saw another new one go for $33, but that isn't too common yet. And a new sealed Collector's Edition just went for $53. (In all fairness, though, the bids for the latter are usually a little higher. However, this auction does show that with a little bit of patience, you can get a good deal on the CE.) All include any shipping charges. And the game isn't even a month old! Now I really AM curious to see what this game goes for six months from now!