We agree that seeing Metallica live (or Lady Gaga) is not the same as attending their shows in Fortnite, but the price of the ticket is much more affordable and you have the option of enjoying the concert in your pajamas. However, decades before Epic Games broke the barrier between music and video games, there were The Sims. And the artists not only snuck into the game, but They sang their hits in their language.
It should be noted that you may have to play many, many hours of Maxis’ life simulator to be able to speak Simlish, the official language spoken in the game’s universe, but that doesn’t take away from how amazing it was in your life to see how the emerging star Katie Perry went on to have her own expansion of The Sims 3. Or that, as you will see, the group La Oreja de Van Gogh recorded hymns of the decade such as Dulce Locura for The Sims 2 Pets. Why not?
As you might expect, none of the artists had to take an advanced Simlish course to participate in the game. Technically, to The Sims 2 The closest thing was published online to an official dictionarybut for the fourth installment each voice actor has their own dictionaries. So it was Electronic Arts itself who was in charge of translating and adapting each of the lyrics of the hits of the time to the language of the game and, from there, we assume that they have the same meaning.
You’re not really somebody in the music industry until you show up in The Sims
The Sims has its own soundtrack, as well as radio stations, so the arrival of successful artists has always been a special attraction, both for players and fans, and especially for those who were both at the same time.
The process of recording the songs in the game’s studios is something curious to see, to say the least: the biggest fans of these artists involved will discover a completely different version to the one they are used to, while those who are not so fond of them will probably have a guaranteed time of fun watching them babble things that are, literally, incomprehensible.
In fact, the idea had been around for a while and even transcended the main series. You may not remember, but in 2004 EA pulled out of the hat the third game in the franchise that came as The Urbz: Sims in the City for PS2, GameCube and the first Xbox, as well as Nintendo’s handhelds.
For the occasion, and with the purpose of reinforcing the more cosmopolitan theme of the idea, the talent of the Black Eyed Peas who were then on the crest of the wave to compose and also reinterpret several musical themes in Simlish. Which was a masterstroke for a project that, to be fair, had little success.
In fact, both the saga of The Sims As its expansions have a legacy of very prominent artists who were willing to record and lend their image to a phenomenon that not only does not cease, but lasts to this day, which includes among many others:
- The topic Don’t Cha de The Pussycat Dolls
- The topic Don’t Wanna Go Home by Jason Derulo
- The topic Hands in the Air by Nelly stolen
- The topic Mama Do from Pixie Lott to
- The topic You’ve Ruined Me by LeAnn Rimes
- The topic This Too Shall Pass from OK Go to
- The topic On On On de My Chemical Romance
- The topic Shine Ya Light by Rita Ora
- The topic Teen in the City de Becky G
In addition to mixes and original tracks from artists such as Charli XCX and Junkie XL, among an extensive list of internationally renowned artists, as well as artists chosen to reach and connect with players from very specific countries.
The Sims also had music festivals
However, it must also be taken into account that other artists appeared by chance. The issue Suffer Well Depeche Mode appeared in The Sims 2: Open businesses purely instrumentally or When It All Falls Apart by The Veronicas.
The list of artists does not end with the previous classic releases, mind you, nor does it have restrictions on tastes. In The Sims 4 we have been able to see from the Pressure from Paramore to Sabotage by Bebe Rexha, which was performed at the Sims Sessions festival (in Simlish, of course) that took place within the game in the summer of 2021 alongside other artists.
Since the first delivery The Sims is a window through video games to all kinds of experiments and fantasies. Allowing us to be the worst neighbors in the neighborhood or to have a fantasy life or a life of delicious surrealism. Music has always been an element that has been present when it comes to bringing out these feelings on PC and consoles and, given what we’ve seen, we have to admit that throughout all these years we have had first-class artists. Or, at least, several of the most successful ones, which is no small thing.
A iGamesNews | “He’ll work for me until he dies”: A player shows off the sweatshop he created in The Sims with medieval cruelty
At iGamesNews | Will Wright lost his house in a devastating fire, but from the ashes a million-dollar idea emerged: creating The Sims
