Rumors of a Sims 1 and 2 re-release emerged earlier this week, when the official Sims social media presence released a series of cryptic images to celebrate its 25th anniversary. EA later confirmed the rumors with an announcement on its official website, revealing The Sims: Legacy Collection - a port of The Sims 1 for modern PCs - for release on January 31, 2025.
But The Sims has come a long way in the intervening 25 years, and that applies to more than just better graphics and new content packs. No, The Sims 1 re-release will be almost unrecognizable to newer players in one crucial way, and it's an issue that's difficult to get around.
Sims 1 Is Notoriously Difficult Compared To Later Games
What Makes The Sims 1 So Hard
For a plethora of reasons, The Sims 1 is widely and rightfully considered the hardest game in the franchise. For one thing, Sims’ needs decrease incredibly quickly compared to later entries, and it takes a lot to get them back up. This can lead to innocent moments of comedy, sure, but it can also make it much harder to achieve things the player actually wants their Sims to accomplish. In certain circumstances, it can even lead to Sim death.
Rumored Sims 1 Remaster Should Learn One Simple Lesson From Sims 3
Any future rerelease of The Sims 1 needs to factor in the lore from the other titles. Many townies have established relations and histories.
And speaking of death, The Sims 1 won't hesitate to kill off the player's favorite characters in a heartbeat. Fires are much more frequent than in The Sims 4, and if the player doesn't respond quickly (or even know how to put them out in the first place), they're basically a death sentence.
A lot of mechanics in The Sims 1 are overly demanding to the point that they're unrealistic, and the game does a poor job of explaining exactly how they work. For example, when a Sim picks a career in The Sims 4, they have a set schedule, clearly stated on-screen. In The Sims 1, Sims are expected to work every day - they can skip one day at a time, any time they wish, but if they miss more than that in a row, they'll get canned.
Theoretically, a Sim can work every other day without getting fired, but money may become a problem quickly.
Plus, Sims are especially finicky about going to work if their moods aren’t perfect - and how tough it is to meet all their needs - which makes firings even more likely. And with how expensive everything is in The Sims 1, characters need a good job just to avoid going under.
That's incredibly time-consuming, and makes it practically impossible to hold down a job, keep the house together, and make friends with just one Sim. To make matters worse, the mechanics of friend-making are inconsistent and arcane, with other Sims changing their preferences on a whim. The list could go on, but suffice it to say that The Sims 1 difficulty is kind of a nightmare for newer players.
Sims 1 Difficulty Could Be A Problem For Newcomers
Later Entries Were Much Easier
Here's the thing: even though they have a lot more content now, The Sims games have gotten much simpler over the years. Even The Sims 2 represented a massive downward jump in of difficulty, doing away with most of the gripes listed above. Things only got easier with successive entries.
In The Sims 4, it's easier than ever before to keep a Sims's needs met, and they decrease so gradually that, once again, it's unrealistic. A starter home with all the fixings is far cheaper, and maintaining a simple, yet fulfilled, life won't drain a Sim's bank . Jobs have clear schedules with set days off, and pretty realistic schedules that leave Sims plenty of time to make friends or take up hobbies. And careers are no longer tied to moods, so Sims will clock in even if they're not feeling their best.
Sims 4's Next Expansion Pack Reportedly Leaked, & It's Good News For Entrepreneurial Simmers
The Sims 4’s next expansion pack has allegedly been leaked, and it might include some great new features in store for business-minded players.
Newer players have gotten used to all these changes, and may not be expecting a Dark Souls-level challenge (Dark Sims, if you will) when it comes to keeping their Sims alive. Many will be completely blindsided by a Sims 1 re-release, likely losing their characters to some unexpected disaster, only to discover the most jarring Sims 1 omission: there’s no autosave.
There's A Downside To Downgrading Sims 1's Difficulty
The Sims 1 Isn't The Same With Lower Difficulty
Of course, EA could always put out a sort of nerfed version of The Sims 1, cranking down its difficulty to appease newer players who've gotten too used to the quality-of-life changes brought by The Sims 2 through 4. But that doesn't seem to be the plan, and besides, if it were any less difficult, it wouldn't be a true re-release of The Sims 1; it'd be more like a reskinned Sims 2.
A truly accurate Sims 1 re-release has to be every bit as difficult as the original, but it can be a little more flexible. For example, a couple of difficulty sliders in the menu would go a long way toward getting new players used to The Sims 1; turn up the days off, and down the fire frequency, and the game's a lot more approachable. But of course, even that kind of convenience may be eschewed in the name of faithfulness.
The Sims 4: 20 Best Websites To Find Custom Content
These platforms, including Tumblr and YouTube, are the best places to find the latest and greatest custom content for The Sims 4.
For those new players interested in The Sims 1, though, don't be deterred by its difficulty. There are always cheats, and knowing the Sims community, there'll be a whole suite of mods to downgrade the difficulty within 24 hours of release. But even if not, The Sims: Legacy Collection is still worth playing - just to save early and often.
Source: EA
The Sims (2000)
- Released
- February 4, 2000
- ESRB
- T
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Franchise
- The Sims
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