The Sims Bustin' Out

The Sims Bustin' Out is a video game that was released in 2004/2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, & N-Gage. It is the second title in The Sims console series and the first The Sims title not released on Windows PC. It featured the same 3D environment and engine the past game did, however adds several features from The Sims expansion packs: The Sims: Hot Date, The Sims: Superstar, and The Sims: Livin' Large. As the title suggests, the sims can get out of the house to visit other locations such as Shiny Things Lab or Casa Caliente. There are two modes. Bust Out Mode, which has mission-based gameplay and Freeplay Mode, which is open-ended gameplay very much like the original The Sims PC game. The PS2 version once featured the option to play online. However, it was shut down on August 1, 2008 (the same day The Sims Online shut down).

Gameplay
In the console version, Malcolm Landgraab is going around his neighborhood, stealing items in return for unpaid rent. The player's objective is to complete each career track, unlock and buy back everyone's many possessions, and become rich enough to evict Malcolm from his mansion and move their own Sim in.

The Game Boy Advance and N-Gage version puts the player's Sim in a place called "SimValley" for summer holiday. Like the console version, GBA/N-Gage version gameplay is objective-based - every time the player completes a series of tasks, the game is allowed to progress. In this game, there are no furnishing objects to unlock. Instead, the player must complete all tasks to unlock new houses.

Deviating from the "point-and-click" selection process heretofore used in every Sims title, this version allows the user to control their Sim directly, using the GBA's directional pad.

In both versions, there are various locations that Sims may visit throughout the course of the game. As Sims advance through the game, new areas become accessible. In the GBA version, new mini-games may be unlocked in certain areas. In the N-Gage version, new mini-games (jobs for the Sims) are unlocked progressively when certain tasks are done. Also, Sims can collect three cartridges from various locations and play classic games such as Snakes on the Sims' mobile phones that would not be available again until The Sims 3.

Release
The Japanese version of the game was shortened to simply The Sims (ザ・シムズ) as the PC and Console versions of The Sims was called SimPeople.

Online play
Exclusive to the PlayStation 2 version featured a free online play called "Online Weekend" which was very similar to The Sims Online. This mode allowed players to participate in both freeplay and storymode with each other and chat using the USB keyboard on the PS2. The server for the game shut down on August 1, 2008, the same day The Sims Online was shut down, rendering the game impossible to play online.

Reception
The Sims Bustin' Out received positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 2 version 83.44% and 81/100, the GameCube version 80.76% and 81/100,  the Xbox version 79.42% and 81/100,  the N-Gage version 78.59% and the Game Boy Advance version 77.87%.

The PlayStation 2 version of Bustin' Out received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.