Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Let your Sims relive earlier eras with this decent add-on.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
The Sims 3: 70s, 80s, & 90s Stuff
What's It About?
As with the seven other expansion packs for The Sims 3, THE SIMS 3: 70s, 80s, & 90s STUFF is a collection of new content -- mostly clothing, hairstyles, and household items -- to add to the existing game. As the name of this $20 disc or download suggests, your Sims can sport a '70s afro and bell-bottoms, some '80s shoulder pads and huge earrings, or don a '90s grunge look straight out of a Nirvana concert. Items for the home range from disco balls to awesome arcade games to furniture with an industrial metal look. This add-on doesn't really add any new gameplay elements to The Sims 3, however.
Is It Any Good?
The Sims 3: 70s, 80s, & 90s Stuff does provide gamers with new clothing, hair and facial hair, furniture, and other household items to play with -- and it's a fun look back at the style and decor from these decades -- but there really isn't a lot to do with it. For example, it would've been cool if the '80s arcade games you put in your home were really playable, as mini-games. Or, how about adding new gameplay elements with this add-on, such as new missions, careers, or surprise guests from celebrities during these eras? It's not a bad buy for those who already own The Sims 3, but on the flipside, Electronic Arts could've done so much more with it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how this new expansion adds three decades worth of design and decor to your Sims. Is this only interesting to those who lived through these periods, or is it also cool for kids to also get a sense of fashion, music, and pop culture references during the '70s, '80s, and '90s?
What other simulation games have you played and liked? How do they compare to this game?
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Subjects : Hobbies : building , fashion , Language & Reading : following directions , Social Studies : history
- Skills : Self-Direction : achieving goals , time management , Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , decision-making , strategy , Responsibility & Ethics : following codes of conduct , respect for others , Emotional Development : identifying emotions , Creativity : producing new content
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Electronic Arts
- Release date : January 22, 2013
- Genre : Simulation
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Friendship , Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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