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The Sims Stories will only be re-released on Mac, not Windows

WinMacSims3WinMacSims3 Posts: 1,610 Member
edited December 2015 in The Sims 2
It looks like that The Sims Stories has been re-released. The Bad news: they're only on OS X. Sorry Windows users :( That's right, The Sims Stories is only coming to OS X whereas Windows users are locked out of the re-release. This doesn't help that EA no longer sells The Sims 2 or The Sims Stories on Origin. Here's the link to The Sims 2 Stories article on GameAgent.

Also the Mac releases are called The Sims 2 Stories as opposed to The Sims Stories.

Couple years ago, EA removed The Sims Life Stories, The Sims Pet Stories, and The Sims Castaway Stories from Origin making it impossible to purchase it unless you are willing to get a copy from Amazon (if you don't mind getting it used). This isn't an issue for Life or Pet Stories where they are cheap used but Castaway Stories costs §33 used from Amazon. Similar to the The Sims 2, Windows users can't get a new copy of The Sims Stories but Mac users can but the issue is that most Windows users don't own a Mac making it impossible for any Windows user interested in The Sims Stories to download it.

Yes, it is possible to get The Sims 2 UC by contacting EA or buying used copies from Amazon which is the only way for Windows users to get The Sims 2. However, I don't think it's possible to legally get a download version by contacting EA so I think the only way for Windows users to get the game is purchasing a DVD copy which is especially a problem with Castaway Stories since used copies of that game are expensive (over §30+).

The problem with used copies is they sometimes won't include the manual/code to install the game. The code is required to install it, otherwise the game is useless.

So if you want to purchase The Sims Stories, either you need a Mac (which I assume most PC readers probably don't) or purchase the old DVD copies off of Amazon. This is make people sad if they want to have a second chance to download The Sims Stories without having to deal with DVDs and if they don't own a download version of The Sims Stories on Origin.

I wonder how Windows users are impacted by this news that Sims Stories won't be re-released on Windows.
Origin ID: GothicSimmer, YouTube: GothicSimmer
Post edited by WinMacSims3 on

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    SPARKY1922SPARKY1922 Posts: 5,965 Member
    Hi @WinMacSims3

    As I am sitting here waiting on my Download of UC I was reading your post and did not have a clue nor had I ever heard of The sims stories so I went on a little search and found new DVD copies The Sims Life Stories, The Sims: Castaway Stories and The Sims: Pet Stories all for PC at Amazon and wondered if these would these alongside the Sims 2 ultimate collection download on Windows if anyone wanted them? although they are a little expensive..

    Just wondering what extra game-play these extras provide to Sims 2?

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    WinMacSims3WinMacSims3 Posts: 1,610 Member
    edited December 2015
    SPARKY1922 wrote: »
    Hi @WinMacSims3

    As I am sitting here waiting on my Download of UC I was reading your post and did not have a clue nor had I ever heard of The sims stories so I went on a little search and found new DVD copies The Sims Life Stories, The Sims: Castaway Stories and The Sims: Pet Stories all for PC at Amazon and wondered if these would these alongside the Sims 2 ultimate collection download on Windows if anyone wanted them? although they are a little expensive..

    Just wondering what extra game-play these extras provide to Sims 2?

    The Sims Stories is a series of 3 standalone The Sims games that are modified Sims 2 games. They have purposes like introducing people to The Sims and those who wanted to play on laptops. The Stories games have a Story mode (hence the name Stories) as well as Free Play mode. Life and Pet Stories have 12 Chapters with two Stories each while Castaway Stories has a single story with 24 chapters. Each Chapter has a reward item that is unique to The Sims Stories games. Once the Stories are beaten, they play like Free Play.

    Here are differences between The Sims Stories and The Sims Stories.
    • The default installation folder is Electronic Arts instead of EA Games.
    • The games run in Windowed Mode by default as opposed to Full Screen.
    • None of the Stories games have Fears, only wants.
    • They have items and features not available in The Sims 2 such as Story Rewards, Pet Stories' Dog Show and training, and Castaway's gameplay.
    • The Sims Life Stories limits 4 Sims instead of 8.
    • Families seems to start with more Simoleons double of that of The Sims 2 where TS2 families start with §20,000.
    • Build Mode is not available during the Story Mode although Buy Mode is accessible.
    • The Sims Castaway Stories uses Resources instead of Simoleons.

    Until 2012, it was possible to get a download version of The Sims Stories games from the EA Store/Origin but EA has since removed them meaning players can't get the game digitally anymore. The Sims 2 remained available until July 2013 when The Sims 2 was pulled off of Origin on that date. As of July 2013, The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories can only be obtained as a disc copy. I think as with The Sims and The Sims 2, you can't activate The Sims Stories games to get a free download version as Origin won't accept the code although contacting EA might allow getting The Sims 2 UC.

    Users who own The Sims Stories games prior to their removal in 2012 can still download and play them much like you can with other removed products. DVDs versions of the games exist on Amazon but they demand a high price, used copies of Life and Pet Stories are very cheap but Castaway Stories is very expensive to buy used or new. However, used games can have cons like not including the serial code to install the game.

    The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories are the only Sims games on Windows to not be available digitally whereas they are available on Mac as The Sims 2: Super Collection and The Sims 2 Stories respectively. I don't think it's fair that Windows users can't buy them but Mac users can.

    While The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories will play on later systems, they have graphical glitches on newer video cards and doesn't by default support higher resolutions over 1600x1200 which also includes the 1080p (1920x1080) resolution.
    Post edited by WinMacSims3 on
    Origin ID: GothicSimmer, YouTube: GothicSimmer
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    SPARKY1922SPARKY1922 Posts: 5,965 Member

    @WinMacSims3

    Thanks for that info and explanation it makes me realize there is always something more to learn about with Sims games.

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    WinMacSims3WinMacSims3 Posts: 1,610 Member
    I don't really think it's fair that Mac users can get the game but Windows users can't. There may be Simmers who don't want (or can't afford) a Mac or probably dislike Apple computers. Windows/PC is a popular platform for The Sims so it wouldn't make sense why PC users aren't allowed to get the games. Sure, there's The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 but there are problems: The Sims 3 has a lot of glitches (unless corrected with mods) while some people are disappointed with The Sims 4. The Sims 2 was a good Sims game and it caused controversy when EA removed the game from Origin in July 2013.

    Unfortunately, the only way to get The Sims Stories on Windows is through ebay and Amazon but they will be DVD versions. However, I don't think The Sims Stories games allow activation so PC users are mostly stuck with disc copies.

    I really wonder why EA stopped selling The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories. It's not fair EA isn't selling them for Windows while Aspyr has The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories games on Mac, a computer most Windows users probably don't own.

    I don't think EA will put The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories on Origin so PC users will be stuck with TS3 and TS4. I know there's TS2 UC but you have to contact EA and as @SPARKY1922 pointed out, you'll need a new copy with unused code (most used copies probably have used codes).
    Origin ID: GothicSimmer, YouTube: GothicSimmer
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    lisamwittlisamwitt Posts: 5,096 Member
    edited December 2015
    This surprises me. Sims 2 was never completely released for Mac. If you want all of them or UC you have to play on a Windows partition like I do. So it surprises me that an older game would be Mac only. I wonder what the reasoning behind that is.
    On the plus side, I've never played any of those except Castaway on a console, so now I'm curious.

    Edit: Where did you get this info? I went to Origin.com and there is nothing on the site about Sims Stories at all. On Amazon I found the PC versions Sparky mentioned.
    Gallery ID: LadyGray01
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    WinMacSims3WinMacSims3 Posts: 1,610 Member
    lisamwitt wrote: »
    This surprises me. Sims 2 was never completely released for Mac. If you want all of them or UC you have to play on a Windows partition like I do. So it surprises me that an older game would be Mac only. I wonder what the reasoning behind that is.
    On the plus side, I've never played any of those except Castaway on a console, so now I'm curious.

    Edit: Where did you get this info? I went to Origin.com and there is nothing on the site about Sims Stories at all. On Amazon I found the PC versions Sparky mentioned.

    I've been a long time Sims user since 2009 and have been checking EA Store/Origin from time to time.

    The Sims 2 Super Collection has all Expansions except FreeTime and Apartment Life as well as lacking most Stuff Packs as they have never been released for OS X. And yes, using Boot Camp and owning The Sims 2 PC games or the UC is the only way for Mac users to enjoy the packs that are PC only.

    @lisamwitt the reason you can't find The Sims 2 or The Sims Stories because they have been removed from Origin. Since late-2012, all 3 of The Sims Stories has been completely removed from Origin and as of July 2013, all The Sims 2 games have been removed as well. You can still download them if The Sims 2 or The Sims Stories are in your Origin library but you are not allowed to obtain new copies of those games through Origin. Furthermore, Origin doesn't accept codes of The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories so it's not possible to use those code to get a free download version as with The Sims 3. However, contacting EA could get you The Sims 2 UC.

    I know it's a problem because The Sims 3 has performance issues and bugs, and there are Simmers disappointed with The Sims 4 and The Sims FreePlay. The only way to get The Sims 2 or The Sims Stories games on PC is though the CD/DVD copies on Amazon which are cheap if you buy it used (if you don't mind).
    Origin ID: GothicSimmer, YouTube: GothicSimmer
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    Seera1024Seera1024 Posts: 3,629 Member
    lisamwitt wrote: »
    This surprises me. Sims 2 was never completely released for Mac. If you want all of them or UC you have to play on a Windows partition like I do. So it surprises me that an older game would be Mac only. I wonder what the reasoning behind that is.
    On the plus side, I've never played any of those except Castaway on a console, so now I'm curious.

    Edit: Where did you get this info? I went to Origin.com and there is nothing on the site about Sims Stories at all. On Amazon I found the PC versions Sparky mentioned.

    EA used a third party company to release Sims 2 games on Mac (both the main game and the Stories spin offs). So the Mac versions be released again is not out of the question as the third party company likely still has permission to sell the game as according to the contract.
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    lisamwittlisamwitt Posts: 5,096 Member
    lisamwitt wrote: »
    This surprises me. Sims 2 was never completely released for Mac. If you want all of them or UC you have to play on a Windows partition like I do. So it surprises me that an older game would be Mac only. I wonder what the reasoning behind that is.
    On the plus side, I've never played any of those except Castaway on a console, so now I'm curious.

    Edit: Where did you get this info? I went to Origin.com and there is nothing on the site about Sims Stories at all. On Amazon I found the PC versions Sparky mentioned.

    I've been a long time Sims user since 2009 and have been checking EA Store/Origin from time to time.

    The Sims 2 Super Collection has all Expansions except FreeTime and Apartment Life as well as lacking most Stuff Packs as they have never been released for OS X. And yes, using Boot Camp and owning The Sims 2 PC games or the UC is the only way for Mac users to enjoy the packs that are PC only.

    @lisamwitt the reason you can't find The Sims 2 or The Sims Stories because they have been removed from Origin. Since late-2012, all 3 of The Sims Stories has been completely removed from Origin and as of July 2013, all The Sims 2 games have been removed as well. You can still download them if The Sims 2 or The Sims Stories are in your Origin library but you are not allowed to obtain new copies of those games through Origin. Furthermore, Origin doesn't accept codes of The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories so it's not possible to use those code to get a free download version as with The Sims 3. However, contacting EA could get you The Sims 2 UC.

    I know it's a problem because The Sims 3 has performance issues and bugs, and there are Simmers disappointed with The Sims 4 and The Sims FreePlay. The only way to get The Sims 2 or The Sims Stories games on PC is though the CD/DVD copies on Amazon which are cheap if you buy it used (if you don't mind).

    Oh, I'm not new to all this. I've had Sims 2 since 2005 and got UC added automatically because I had all of my games registered. I even had a PC until a couple years ago. I was confused because I didn't see the link you posted to your source, somehow I missed it.
    Aspyr must have bought the rights to re-release their version of Stories when EA dropped them. That would explain the lack of a PC version.
    On a related note- I hate Bootcamp. It's a system hog. I prefer parallels.
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