Wikipedia

The Sims 2: Open for Business

The Sims 2: Open for Businessis anexpansion packfor the 2004life simulationvideo gameThe Sims 2,developed byMaxisand published byElectronic Arts.It was released 2 March 2006 as the third expansion pack for the game.Open for Businessaddstycoonelements to the base game, allowing sims to run businesses from their homes or community lots. Multiple new advancement systems are added, such as talent badges, which track sims' progress in business skills; business ranks, which measure a business's success based on its company loyalty; and business perks, gifts or skills granted to a sim for running a successful business. The expansion pack also expands upon elements introduced by previous expansions, such as restaurants and romantic chemistry, and expands the base game's building options.

The Sims 2: Open for Business
Developer(s)Maxis
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
  • NA:March 2, 2006
  • EU:March 3, 2006
Mac OS X
September 4, 2006

The original design vision forOpen for Businesswas to expand the range of creative or productive options available in the base game, which evolved over time into a tycoon-style game.Open for Businesswas a commercial success, becoming the third highest-selling PC game of 2006. Critical opinion was generally positive, exploring the expansion's significant gameplay divergence from the more domestic life simulator goals ofThe Sims 2.Reviewers praised its intricacy and the greater control it gave players over non-playable sims, but were divided over its accessibility and how enjoyable the process of running a business was. Since its release,Open for Businesshas been used as apedagogicaltool for business students and teaching mathematics.

Background and development

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The Simsis a franchise oflife simulation gamesdeveloped byMaxisand published byElectronic Arts.It has sold over 200 million copies amongst all platforms and installments, making it one of thebest-selling video game franchises of all time.[1]The Sims 2,sequel tothe 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 multipleexpansion packs,which add further gameplay options. Rather than being relatively simpledownloadable content,expansion packs for the first three games in theSimsseries substantially expanded upon the base game's life simulation;Kieron Gillen,writing forEurogamerin 2005, stated the first game's expansions "could have been expanded [...] into games of their own" and argued their complexity was a component in whyThe Simshad few competitors in its genre.[1][4]Eight expansion packs were released forThe Sims 2between 2005 and 2008.[1][5]

The Sims 2: Open for Business,the game's second expansion pack, was first teased in its predecessorThe Sims 2: Nightlifein September 2005. It was officially announced in January 2006[6][7]and released 2 March 2006.[8]The original design vision forOpen for Businesswas to expand the range of creative or productive options available in the base game, inspired by the popularity of the in-game easel, which allowed sims to make and sell paintings. Over the course of development, it evolved into abusiness simulation game.In anEurogamerinterview with the game's senior producers Tim LeTourneau and Don Laabs, Laabs regaled a story of a developer running an in-game business selling "stolenXbox 360s".[9]

During the expansion pack's development, EA originally intended to includeproduct placementfor real-world companies. Julie Shumaker, the company's director of game advertising sales, stated toBloombergthat she concluded it would worsen the player experience by "breaking the Sims fantasy"; Reena Jana, reporting on her statement, juxtaposed this with EA's product placement deals withMcDonald'sandIntelforThe Sims Online,amassively multiplayer online gamelaunched in 2002.[10]

Gameplay

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The Sims 2: Open for BusinessrevampsThe Sims 2'semployment system, introducingself-employmentalongside the structured career tracks of the base game. Sims are able to run businesses out of their homes or on community lots they own; there is no limit to how many businesses a sim can run, nor are they limited to only one of running a business or working on a career track.[11]The expansion introduces a number of new objects oriented around said businesses, such as "crafting stations" for objects such as toys and flower arrangements. The salon chair drew particular attention from reviewers; it let players control the appearance of non-playable sims, allowing them to "dole out hideous makeovers to your neighbours for a sky-high fee".[12]Tom Bramwell atEurogamerspecifically mentioned "doll[ing] up some ordinary bloke in braids and face paint at the salon and he tips you extra".[9]

Open for Businessintroduces talent badges, a new system of advancement that tracks sims' skills in "business-critical tasks". There are seven talent badges: Cosmetology, Flower Arranging, Cashiering, Restocking, Robotics, Sales, and Toy Making. Talent badges are ranked as "bronze", "silver", and "gold", marking increasing aptitude in the relevant area.[13]Sims with higher talent badges are more productive and competent at these jobs than sims with lower or none; for instance, a sim with no Toy Making talent badge can only make "pet bricks", while a more competent sim can make homemade kites or water sprinklers.[14]Playable sims can build talent badges, while non-playable sims are randomly assigned them to make them more desirable as employees.[12][13]Different talent badges have different thresholds for advancement, and there is no in-game indication of how close a sim is to reaching a new badge level.[15]

Success inOpen for Businessis measured by customer loyalty. Customers are more interested in patronizing businesses with cheaper products, those with higher-quality display cases, or those with more charismatic owners.[16]Businesses in the expansion pack are tracked by Business Ranks, which measure how successful a business is based on its customer loyalty. Higher-ranked businesses draw in more customers and can be sold for higher values.[17]Sims who run high-ranked businesses receive abilities or bonuses called Business Perks; these include direct cash transfers, bonuses to relationship with sims they meet, and discounts on wholesale items.[18]

Open for Businessincluded a number of miscellaneous additions alongside its core theme. It included a number of features fromThe Sims 2: UniversityandThe Sims 2: Nightlife,making them accessible even to players who had not installed either expansion pack; carried-over features includedNightlife'srestaurants and chemistry system andUniversity'sinfluence system.[19]It also significantly revamped building options, such as by adding the ability to build conical roofs, and added more objects targeted at toddlers and children.[9]

Following the introduction of occult life states (non-human sims) in earlierThe Sims 2expansion packs,[20]Open for Businessintroduces Servos, playable robot sims. Servos can be made by sims with gold talent badges in Robotics; when activated, they become fully playable sims that function like normal sims in most respects, including being able to have jobs,woohoo,and raise adopted children. Servos do not age or die of natural causes, and when activated they have full skill points in Mechanical, Cooking, and Cleaning. If left to their own devices, they autonomously roam the lot and act as housekeepers, such as by cleaning, repairing broken objects, and caring for children. Sims cannot be turned into Servos, but Servos can be turned into vampires or zombies.[21]

Soundtrack

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Background music forThe Sims 2: Open for Businesswas composed bySilas Hite.[22]The expansion added anew wave-themed in-game radio station;[23]itsdiegetic musicwas contributed byDepeche Mode,Howard Jones,Kajagoogoo,andEpoxies,who made Simlish covers of their previous songs.[24]In an interview withSims Network,Jones said his son, then aged eleven, was an "absolute fanatic" of the series.[25]Ryan Davis atGameSpotpraised the new station as "catchy", though queried whether it incorporated an undertone of "marketing synergy" and called it "nothing short of surreal" to hearDave Gahansinging in Simlish.[23]

Reception and legacy

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In theory, when you hire a Sim, they lose any other job they may have had, so I thought it would be a clever ruse to hire my love interests, which would make them available for a liaison during the greater part of the day, avoiding the "I can't come over, I have to work" problem when your schedules don't match up. However this glitch still manages to pop up, although those Simsareavailable when you open your store. Thankfully, they haven't yet releasedThe Sims: Sexual Harassment Lawsuit,so that's the only problem.

—Bill Stiteler,Applelinks[26]

The Sims 2: Open for Businessreceived a positive reception on release; its aggregateMetascoreis 78, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[27]Reviewers noted itstycoon-style gameplay,[28][29]its higher complexity than the base game,[15][28][30]and how it built on previous expansion packs.[12][15]Since its release,Open for Businesshas seen use as an educational tool for business and mathematics students.[31][32][33]

Contemporary reception

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Upon release,Open for Businesswas well received. Bill Stiteler atApplelinkssaid it "fills a crucial hole in theSimsUniverse "by turning work into a true gameplay element rather than a break in gameplay,[26]while a reviewer atComputer and Video Gameswho had been disappointed by prior entries declared "even though it feels so very wrong to say this,Open For Businessis a Sims expansion worth buying ".[29]Nonetheless, reception was not universally positive; Cathy Lu's review forMacLifecomplained that the expansion was "work, not play" and rated it as "weak",[30]and Dan Adams atIGN,in a mixed review, decried its "micromanagement" and the obscurity of its progression system.[15]

Adams' review focused onOpen for Business'sdifferent gameplay style to prior entries in the series, calling it "one of the more interesting versions" of the concept of business simulation games.[15]Computer and Video Gamesdeclared that the expansion "transform[s] the core ethos of theSimsuniverse from a life simulator to a business tycoon game ", expressing surprise its" highly polished and impressively detailed "additions were even compatible with the game.[29]Dave Kosack atGameSpyconsideredOpen for Businessso deep as to be "almost like a whole new game", drawing attention to the unusual intricacy of its playstyle compared to prior entries.[34]

The greater control thatOpen for Businesspermits over non-playable sims drew attention from several reviewers. BothComputer and Video Gamesand Iain McCafferty atPro-Gdrew attention to the unusual work uniforms players could demand of employees; the latter said "the ninja and ape costumes are particularly fabulous", while the former proposed a housewares retail business called "Bath Knights" where employees must dress in knight costumes.[12][29]Similarly, the ability to makeover existing sims in a cosmetology or salon business drew attention as exploitable. McCafferty referenced the potential to "dole out hideous makeovers to your neighbours for a sky-high fee", including a specific example of giving an elderly sim in a Shakespeare-themed neighborhood "dreadlocks, [a] goatee beard and green sunglasses".[12]

Multiple reviewers felt the process of starting a business was insufficiently clear. In particular, several found the expansion failed to clarify that a business's opening hours are determined by manually flipping an open sign to closed and vice versa, delaying their ability to get their business off the ground.[12][28][30]Once a business is established, reviewers disagreed on how straightforward they were to run. Tom Bramwell atEurogamerfelt running a business was simple once the player had worked out the initial barriers,[28]andComputer and Video Gamesconcurred that "the depth and intricacies of the many commands [...] are neither intimidating nor confusing";[29]on the contrary, Lu feltOpen for Businesswas an unexpectedly difficult entry in the series[30]and Stiteler, while receiving the expansion positively, found the difficulty of establishing a business a detriment.[26]

Open for Business'ssynergy with prior expansion packs was commented upon by reviewers. Adams, Bramwell, and Kosack all felt the combination ofOpen for BusinesswithThe Sims 2: UniversityandThe Sims 2: Nightlifewas superior to the expansion alone; Kosack felt they each built on one another "almost exponentially", while Adams praised the particular synergy ofNightlifeandOpen for Business.[15][28][34]McCafferty complimented various features inNightlifethat had been ported toOpen for Business,such as inventories, turn-ons, and turn-offs.[12][note 1]

Open for Businesswas commercially successful, becoming the third-highest-selling PC game of 2006 behindWorld of Warcraftand theSims 2base game.[37]It was awarded a Gold ELSPA Sales Award, indicating at least 200,000 units sold in the United Kingdom.[38][39]

Later reception

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Since its release,Open for Businesshas remained the subject of critical attention. In 2022, Jord Tury atGaming.netranked it as the second best expansion in the series' history, praising it for increasing the range of career options inThe Sims 2"other than being a criminal or a, dare I say, journalist".[40]Open for Businesshas been used as an educational tool, both for teaching business students aboutorganizational design[31]and in teaching mathematics.[32][33]

In a 2008 interview withRock Paper Shotgun,Rod Humble,then the lead designer on theSimsseries, discussedOpen for Business'sreception. He expressed surprise that reviewers had, from his point of view, failed to notice the expansion's depth and the degree to which it changed base gameplay. Humble argued that reviewers neglected expansion packs by perceiving them primarily through the lens of objects and other basic add-ons, and failed to engage with the degree to which they represented radical gameplay changes.[41]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^McCafferty mistakenly states these features were introduced inOpen for Business,though they were first included inNightlife.[12][35][36]

References

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