The Sims is a franchise of life simulation games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It has sold over 200 million copies amongst all platforms and installments, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time.[1] The Sims 2, sequel to the original, was released on 14 September 2004. It expanded upon the original game's features, introducing elements such as an aspiration system based around short-term and long-term goals, expanded character and neighbourhood customization, and the ability for sims to raise families, age, and progress through generations.[2][3]
All main entries in the series have had multiple expansion packs, which add further gameplay options. Rather than being relatively simple downloadable content, expansion packs for the first three games in the Sims series substantially expanded upon the base game's life simulation; Kieron Gillen, writing for Eurogamer in 2005, stated the first game's expansions "could have been expanded [...] into games of their own" and argued their complexity was a component in why The Sims had few competitors in its genre.[1][4] Eight expansion packs were released for The Sims 2 between 2005 and 2008.[1][5]
The Sims 2: Pets, the fourth expansion pack for the game, was announced in late July 2006. Unlike previous entries, stand-alone console versions were announced alongside the PC expansion pack; stand-alone versions of Pets were made for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS.[6][7] It was released on 17 October 2006.[8] A macOS port of the PC expansion pack was released three weeks later by Aspyr Media.[9] Console ports were released for the Wii in June 2007[10][11] and the N-Gage mobile gaming service on 18 June 2008.[12]
Pets was inspired by The Sims: Unleashed, a similar expansion for the first game. Unleashed was the highest-selling PC game of 2002, and substantial player demand existed for a Sims 2 equivalent.[13][14] Will Wright, the head of the Sims series prior to that point, stepped back to focus on his next project Spore; Rod Humble became senior producer. Humble stated in an interview with GameSpot that the choice to release stand-alone console versions, a first for Sims 2 expansions, was based on the expansion's "strong theme". Console versions of The Sims had previously had disappointing sales numbers compared to the PC entries, but were "back-catalog sellers" that maintained sales over time rather than falling precipitously from a peak. Handheld entries, according to Humble, tended to outsell traditional consoles. Humble ascribed this to "the private-versus-public experiences that are fun about the Sims", differentiating between more solitary narrative gameplay and more publicizable elements, such as the game's architectural design capabilities. He stated that the architectural elements of the game would be a focus for the Pets console releases.[13]
