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The Sims 2

2004 video game

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ182771
Source-derived summary

The Sims 2 is a 2004 social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in The Sims series, and is the sequel to The Sims. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on September 14, 2004, and a port for MacOS by Aspyr was released on June 17, 2005. Eight expansion packs and nine "stuff packs" were subsequently released between 2005 and 2008. In addition, versions of The Sims 2 were released on various video game consoles, including the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and GameCube, and mobile platforms, including the Nokia Ovi Store. Unlike the original, the handheld and console versions are more storyline-based. The three handheld versions of the game are completely different among themselves, unlike the home console versions of the game, which are virtually identical to each other. A sequel, The Sims 3, was released in June 2009.

Like its predecessor, The Sims 2 allows the player to create and dress characters called "Sims", design neighborhoods, and build and furnish houses. Players manage their Sims from birth to death, forming relationships in a manner similar to real life.

Editorial summary

“The Sims 2” enters the record as 2004 video game. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sims, video and game can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2004, 2005, 2008, 2009—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2004-09-16. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Sims, video and game.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“The Sims 2” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Sims, video and game provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q182771. 1 of 8 selected statements include explicit references; 7 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Sims 2”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Sims 2 primary sources, The Sims 2 archive and Sims research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Sims 2”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from The Sims 2” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.