Since the release of the very first quirky life simulator The Sims in 2000, it’s been my go-to game for a night by myself. Everything about the game on suggests a quiet time for one. There’s no two-player option, and if you aren’t in the driver’s seat it can feel like peering over someone’s shoulder into their virtual life.
Most Sims games have been limited to players with gaming PCs, but the new console releases finally level the playing field. Thanks to the newly released console versions of The Sims 4 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game finally feels less like a creepy dollhouse of your own design and more like an experience to enjoy with a friend on the couch, passing a controller back and forth.
As ever, there are dozens of ways to play this game, whether you’re a weirdo like me who finds inner peace looking at furniture options, or someone who wants to find creative ways to murder characters. Shoving a lot of sims into one house makes co-op even easier. While your sim is showering or heading off to work, hand the controller to a friend and let them instruct their sim to write a novel or flirt with their neighbor.
Sims will act on their own if you don’t give them any instructions, so you and your friends can always just sit back and eat popcorn while they live out the bizarre micro dramas of their digital lives. One of my neighbors loves to steal things when people aren’t looking; another refuses to sleep in her own bed and will infuriate others in doing so, leaving them to yell, pout, and sleep on the couch. Bad cooking leads to fires, which can lead to half of your house burning down and killing sims in morbid ways. It can be hilarious to watch, but even more fun when you can make jokes with someone else.
PlayStation 4 or Xbox One isn’t perfectly suited to how the game functions, however. The Sims is a menu-heavy game by necessity. Building and buying for a home requires customization down to the most minute details, from the color of window panes to whether you add a soap dispenser in the kitchen. Even when Sims roam freely, players need to be able to track their moods, their relationships, their needs, and so on.
One of my neighbors loves to steal things
On a computer, negotiating all this information is comfortable and easy with a few mouse clicks. But on a controller, where you’re bound by joysticks and buttons, it can be a tedious nuisance to get from one menu to the next. It took me several hours to learn how to properly play the game, and even now I still find myself hissing with frustration. The controller lacks the precision of a mouse, which means I’ve deleted an entire floor by accident, or back out of an item selection entirely with a rogue move.
But the ease of being able to physically pass a controller, instead of jockeying over a keyboard and mouse, makes the irritation forgivable. It’s not a first try for a console version of The Sims —developer Maxis took a clunky stab at it back in the PS2 era—but it is the first one to achieve more than a decent port that makes the game feel like more than just a solo experience. The only problem left for me is getting my friends to love wallpaper choices as much as I do.
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Good news for all those who play The Sims 4 to actually build beautiful houses and not just trap your Sims in the swimming pool without a ladder – the Gallery is now cross-platform and available on consoles!
The Gallery is a way for The Sims 4 players, or Simmers, to share their Households, Lots, and Rooms for everyone else to download and use in their own games. Now that it’s cross-platform, you can create a Sims family on PC and someone across the world can enjoy your Household on their Xbox One.
Perhaps the best news is that the Gallery doesn’t require you to have a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription to access it. As long as you have a working internet connection and an EA Account, you’re good to start creating and sharing.
If you’re playing on console, you’ll need to link your PlayStation Network and/or Xbox Live account to your EA Account. You can find instructions on how to do that below:
- Option One: Automatic
- Boot up The Sims 4 and you should see an invite to link your EA Account to your relevant console account.
- Option Two: Manual
- If you can’t find the invite or aren’t receiving the prompt, simply pop over to Game Options > Other. You should find the option to link your account(s) there.
Linking your account will unlock Grim’s Ghoulish Guitar for your Sims to shred on in-game.
You can also opt out of cross-platform sharing if you so wish. If you disable cross-platform play, you’ll only be able to see creations from other Simmers on the same platform as you – so if you’re on Xbox One, you’ll only be able to see creations from other Xbox One players.
You can also block the Gallery entirely if you don’t want to see anyone else’s creations or share your own. If you block Community Creations, the Gallery will be inaccessible to you, but you’ll still be able to access My Library, which is your own personal and private library for all your own creations in The Sims.
If you’re playing on console, you also won’t be able to access creations that have used CC (Custom Content). PC and Mac users can continue sharing CC creations as normal. Some creations may also be inaccessible if you don’t have the corresponding DLC.
Now you know all that, it’s time to get building. Simply make sure your version of The Sims 4 is up to date, link your EA Account, and get stuck in. You can also check out the latest console patch notes here. Happy gaming!
In related news, EA is looking for Playtesters to help with The Sims 4. If you’re into The Sims and want to help improve future games, follow the embedded link and sign yourself up.