Did Covid-19 Create A Comeback for The Sims?
By: Megan R. Clark
Tags: Tech, Technology, Games, Gaming

Did Covid-19 Create A Comeback for The Sims?

Remember that weird reality simulation game you played in your friends’ basement on a giant desktop computer in 2001? Yeah, it’s back.

Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash

Hi, my name is Megan and I’m addicted to The Sims 4. I started playing The Sims at the sprightly young age of eight. My childhood best friend and I would play The Sims 2 on her godmother’s fancy (in 2004 standards) PC in the family’s computer room. We had fun just creating characters, dressing them up, building them homes, and making them “woohoo” with each other — which we didn’t even know meant something more grown up.

It wasn’t until last year that I started playing the game once again, now on its fourth generation. I am an outlier in The Sims 4 community: I play the game on console rather than PC or Mac. However, I have an actual addiction to the game to the point where my family thinks I should take a few week break.

If you aren’t familiar with the greatest game on the planet, The Sims is a “sandbox” series which means there is no real goal to the game. You just build houses, create characters, and live a virtual life as someone else. There are four installments of the main base game but there are several spin-off games and mobile versions, and expansion packs for purchase to increase the capabilities of the worlds (i.e. packs include furniture, decor, clothing options, game play features, etc).

Now I got back into The Sims franchise way before the threat of corona-virus set in but I’ve noticed a lot more of my friends and old classmates are purchasing and playing the simulation game since my state’s stay-at-home order was put in place. So I asked myself “why?”

It appears to be quite simple: People want to stay connected and regain a sense of normalcy. According to Verizon, U.S. video game usage…has gone up 75 percent since the quarantine first went into effect. Specifically, people are playing games that don’t require verbal communication or competition — if no one is around how can you brag? And as we all know bragging is half the fun of Super Smash Bros.

So a game like The Sims is a great solution. Especially because Maxis and EA games have been running sales and discounts during quarantine. For a few weeks, the base game was on sale for just $5, and packs were on sale up to 50% off.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

The Sims provides players with the chance to live a regular life in a time of such uncertainty. “Gaming,” Jane McGonigal of Institute of the Future said, “is an incredible act of self-care right now.”

But I wanted more insight. So I decided to set up an unscientific survey among my Facebook friend group. I asked ten random Facebook friends (those who responded to my vague Facebook status request for participants) the following questions:

Would you say you are playing more games since our state’s stay-at-home lock down? Not just in frequency, but in time spent playing. How would you say playing video games has helped you during this time of uncertainty? What kinds of games do you play regularly? Do you prefer games with a clear goal, or games without a main purpose such as The Sims?

The general consensus is that games without a clear goal are preferable during this time due to the player being able to create their own idyllic universe. A few participants did argue that The Sims can have a goal, such as focusing on aspirations or career goals for your Sim, or following the Sulani or Strangerville story lines. While that is a great point, the base game of The Sims doesn’t have any clear goal. Improve skills if you want, spend all your time building extravagant mansions if you want, look up and play different challenges if you want: The game is what you make of it.

A couple of participants said that they generally prefer to play a game with a goal because it gives them something specific to focus on. Arguably for the same reasoning as those who prefer games without a goal: It’s a distraction in either case.

Additionally, each of my friends — regardless of what kind of games they normally play — are playing more games in longer stretches. I had one friend mention they have not been playing as much, but that is due to computer troubles. Otherwise, they said they would certainly be playing more.

I was surprised by the variety in answers to my second question. Some of my friends said The Sims gives them more control when they don’t have that much control in “real life,” but not everyone. A few of my friends said it’s stress relief for them in general, but some said they are simply trying to pass the time while not working, or not working as regularly as they normally would be.

When I asked how gaming has helped his quarantine, my friend Brutus said “ It keeps me distracted from the world and how it’s just kind of falling apart.” This was what I assumed everyone felt, but I was pleasantly surprised by my results.

Photo by Sarah Kilian on Unsplash

Codey was the only friend that reached out to me that had never played The Sims prior to our state’s lockdown. He said “[It] has helped me just escape into another world. It’s allowed me to distract myself and not worry about real life.”

On another, more consumerist, end of the spectrum, The Sims 4 creators announced three new packs being released this year. This news drop certainly increased interest for Sims players but as well as people bored in their houses looking for stuff to do. New content means something new to do.

So the question is: Would The Sims have seen such a resurgence in their audience had the world not basically ended? I’m not sure. The Sims has a pretty large following to begin with, so they certainly would have been fine. I will say that ever since the pandemic really began shutting things down, the Sim Gurus (those who build and design the games) have been updating their blog much more frequently. Before the insanity of corona-virus the news was updated once or twice a month. There have been eight blog updates since March 2020, as of the day I am writing this.

Whatever way you slice it, The Sims is back in the spotlight.