Product Description

Requires The Sims: 2, The Sims 2: Special DVD Edition to play

Now your Sims can create their own businesses. They can design their own clothing boutique, beauty salon, florist, high-end electronics shop, bustling restaurant chain, or virtually any other type of business. Hire your staff as the business grows and put talented Sims to work making toys, running the register, crafting floral bouquets, giving sales pitches, or manufacturing robots. But watch out for slacker employees and be prepared to fire them on the spot. From clever tinkerer to master craftsman, develop your Sim`s talents to best suit your business needs. Will they build a thriving business empire or become eccentric entrepreneurs designing the next big thing?

• Create Thriving Businesses: Open up shops selling just about anything from clothing, electronics, and toys to flowers, baked goods, robots and more. Customize any business to your choosing by tailoring the store theme, layout and prices. Hire employees with high sales skills and employ independent managers to run things while your Sim is away. Watch as your business grows from a mom and pop shop into a booming empire.
• Be The Boss: Train employees, promote the best, and fire the rest. Cater to different customers including browsers and loyal shoppers. Dress your Sims in outrageous mascot outfits that resemble Knights, Ninjas, Gorillas, and more. Promote your best employees, but beware of slacker workers and be prepared to lay them off without hesitation!
• Learn The Tricks Of The Trade: Customer is king. Develop your Sims` sales skills and determine if your employees should use a hard sell or drop the price to close the deal. Win the Best-of-the-Best Award to establish your Sim`s business rep. Will your Sim`s business make more money selling low quality products at basement rates or luxurious good

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #406 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2006-03-03
• Rating: To Be Announced
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platform: Windows XP

Amazon.co.uk Review
In a nutshell:
Help your Sims start their own business. From toy shops to restaurants, the world is your oyster - buy a plot of land and then fashion an empire to make Alan Sugar belch.

The lowdown:
The idea of a Sims business tycoon game may seem odd, but this is a surprisingly fun and accessible expansion. Although you can stay at home and create items to sell, most businesses are run from a new shopping centre area, which you can also visit separately. To run a shop you buy objects as normal, and then display and price them individually, or in bulk for your store. Running a restaurant or other service is more a case of creating the right mood with furniture and staff. You can hire and fire employees as you want, but it’s worth being as hands-on as you can because you gain a wide range of new skills from the work you do.

Most satisfying moment:
Starting with a lemonade stand and building up your business empire until you can afford to buy any plot of land in town.

Since you ask:
As well as all the business tycoon elements the game also features 125 new items, including display cases, workbenches, cash registers and more.

The bottom line:
Another surprisingly generous and innovative expansion pack.
Harrison Dent

Manufacturer's Description
With The Sims 2 Open for Business, commercial creativity is in your hands create any kind of business, from trendy clothing boutique to a blooming floral shop, a bustling restaurant or even become a mogul with an original business of your own design - the Sims' world is open for business.

Make Your Dream Business a Virtual Reality
Ever had a great idea for a business? Build it and see how it works! The world is your entrepreneurial oyster with this all-new The Sims 2 expansion pack allowing you to experience the victories and challenges associated with creating, owning and running your own business. From the layout and merchandise, to the employees and materials, you choose what your Sim needs to create a profitable and fun company.

Who's the Boss? Your Sims Are!
In The Sims 2 Open for Business, your Sims will learn what it takes to build a clientele and keep loyal customers happy while improving employee morale and managing a lucrative business. Players can even help their Sims to create and craft new items to sell and meet customer demands. As each customer is different, you'll be able to apply sales techniques to woo even the most discriminating shopper. Dress your employees in wacky outfits to entertain cranky customers or drop the price for an unsure browser. From training, promoting, hiring and firing, you're ultimately the boss who calls all the shots!

Learn the Tricks of the Trade
Do the things your Sims love to do while getting virtually paid for it! Keep your employees knowledgeable and the workplace happy, because before you know it you'll have the most entertaining, booming business in the neighborhood! Flaunt your team's assets while vying for the "Best of the Best" award, an honor guaranteed to improve their business reputation and yours!

Customer Reviews

The Best Sims 2 Expansion Pack!!!
As it says in the title, personally after buying all the Sims 2 expansion packs, Open For Business offers the most fun. Not only can you run and manage businesses, you can also buy and sell your own, as well as make your own business at home! It offers more to do than any other expansion pack including an entire pre-made shopping village which you can add-on to a town of your choice.
Also with the expansion pack are hundreds of fabulous new items which you will want to use straight away. My personal favourite being the lift which is extremely handy and great to use.
The only down-side of this game is that when you do get a business running, 100% of your time and effort has to be put towards running it. Open For Business is not an expansion pack for people who just want fun, it is in fact quite hard to cope with everything at once (more so because I own all the xpansion packs!).
Otherwise this is a fantastic expansion pack, and for what you are paying, you will sure get your money's worth.

Not my personal favourite
This EP is a little harder than the other EPs in the Sims 2 collection (to date).

It gives your Sim the option to buy a community lot, and start a business, or alternatively, to start a business at home (for example, putting a shop into the basement). Your Sim can then hire, fire, promote, set a uniform, and instruct their employees to work. Be warned - a disgruntled employee will not do as they are told!

Its not the easiest part of the game to play, and you might find that by concentrating on getting your Sim's business up the ladder ends in their other needs (and wants) not being met. As your Sim, and their employees become better at tasks such as stock taking, tidying up, sales, or acting as cashier, they win badges (bronze, silver and gold) for their abilities. Your customer loyalty will also result in your Sims business gaining rewards (in an area of your choice). And, if you get bored of being the boss, you can always sell up and go back to working for The Man. Your Sim can also check up on their business progress if they employ a manager, and use the phone to call and find out how business is going.

This isn't the easiest EP to master, it's a lot more challenging than the other EPs, and may end up taking up more time to build the business to becoming a success - which may result in your Sims other needs (and friends and family!) being neglected.

A great choice for anyone wanting a new challenge, but a bit too time consuming if you just want something to enhance your current game play.

Best yet!
I loved this expansion pack. It was the most creative yet, and there were different options for it; you could either set up a business at home, or buy a downtown plot and start there. Personally i prefered the home business as then your sims can rest while their employees work, and it is just a lot easier. It is also nice feeling in control of a business, and feeling the rewards when your business gradually gains stars. There are new items such as tills and shelves which also add to the experience. Your sims can sell anything they want, and they are also able to craft their own toys and flower displays, so there is a personal feel to it. If you like the sims 2 - buy it!