Hey Simmers, check out the latest blog from Assistant Producer Lauren McLemore. Read on to find on about The Sims 3 University...

Love it, hate it, want one, avoid one, but everyone’s got one — a social life that is. While making the grade is important, The Sims 3 University Life experience is about more than just what you learn in the classroom! It’s about the life your Sim leads outside it. Your Sim can pursue any social life they dream of – from the most popular Sim on campus or the nerdy bookworm that lives in the library. No matter if your Sim is a little socially awkward or completely irresistible they can have a fun and memorable university experience!



Introduced in The Sims 3 University Life are three new social groups: the Jocks, Rebels and Nerds. Your Sim can gain influence with as many of these groups they desire – they are not limited to befriending just one! As your Sim progresses up the social ladder within each group, they will unlock rewards that will make all the effort on their part worth it.

But what are the social groups like? Let me tell you…

Jocks are the Sims who play to win, whether it’s a popularity contest or a match on the Plink Plonk Tennis Table. It’s no wonder that Jocks tend to hang out at B’s Bowlarama where they can work on getting strikes and not striking out with the cute Sim eying their sweet bowling moves. Probably not a surprise either that Jocks throw some of the best parties on campus.

Rebels enjoy going above and beyond the expected and then taking it one step further. Rebels are the Sims who will tag a wall on campus and then add herbs to the bonfire at a local party. You can find Rebels hanging out at The Grotto; a cool place where a Sim can enjoy a game of pool, work on their artistic skills, or savor an organic brew from the Barista Bar.

And last, but definitely not least, are the Nerds. Nerds love to play video games, perform research, win trivia challenges, and aren’t afraid to berate other Sims for their ignorance. Keith’s Komics is the ideal hangout for a Nerd as it has all the lots of hobbies for Nerds to enjoy including, computers, arcade machines and comics, of course!



Keeping up with all the social influence your Sim gains is simple! With a few clicks on their new smart phone they’ll be completely in the know. Just hit ‘Check Social Groups’ to see their current status. But that isn’t the only cool thing the smart phone can do. Maybe your Sim is feeling bold and flirty, then sending a secret admirer text might just catch that special someone’s attention. Alternately, if another Sim has treated you poorly and you want to give them a piece of your mind then go ahead and send them an insulting text. Also if you Sim is looking to cut loose and be single, they can send a break up text to their romantic interest. Additionally, if your Sim is more visual then they might appreciate the new ways to take photos. Now your Sim can take self-portrait snapshots with another Sim, and can even sneak in a romantic kissy photo. These are just a few examples of what your new smart phone can do!

Even outside of the social groups there are a huge variety of social activities and interactions your Sim can partake in. For example, what would university be without parties!? To spice things up, we’ve added two new party types in the mix: Juice Keggers and Bonfires. Parties are a great time to meet new Sims, and if there is a Sim you want to get a little closer to, then go ahead and give them a Heat of the Moment Kiss. There are plenty of other new kiss interactions as well, such as Juiced Kiss and Cinnamon Kiss. These only scratch the surface of the new romantic options that are available in The Sims 3 University Life.



If your Sim isn’t into partying, then there are still plenty of other activities to do. From playing a collegiate sport to posing nude for figure class to becoming a medical test subject and holding a protest, your Sims will find an all-new world to explore! There are also great new social things to do that will contribute to building skills as well. With the new sketchbook object you can ask another Sim to pose for you (even pose nude)! Plus, there is much, much more! But we’ll leave the rest up to you to explore for yourself!

In The Sims 3 University Life, each Sim can build a unique social life that suits their needs. Just don’t get blinded by the awesomeness of your Sim’s social life and forget to send them to class. It’s true that a dream job can be landed based purely on social activities but receiving good grades has its equal advantages!

Lauren McLemore, The Sims 3 University Life Assistant Producer

The Sims 3 University is more than just having your Sims making the grade - it's also about your Sims' lives outside of the classroom. Check out SimGuruLauren's blog where she talks about social groups, social interactions, and more!

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The 1980’s…big hair, loud clothes, neon arcades…everything was over the top! This was the decade of my birth (Quick! Guess my age! No...wait…don’t…) and it’s an era I remember vividly.



Music was a very important part of the 80’s. The cassette tape, big boom box stereos, rock music…I remember lying on the floor of my bedroom listening to the radio and waiting patiently for my favorite song to come on so I could record it to a mix tape. Fortunately for my Sims, they have robust control over the radio and the ability to skip from song to song while listening to the brand new “Boomin’ Box” which is – you guessed it! – a massive boom box stereo! 


The Sims 3 70's, 80's, & 90's Stuff Pack captures the rock’n’roll spirit of the 80’s with an awesome new guitar, and five new facial make-up options including a lightning bolt over the eye and a new three-shade eye shadow. My favorite outfit for men from the 80’s is a top and bottom set we call the “Glam Rock Lace Up” duo. It’s a leather shirt (with lightning bolts on the sides!) with laces up the front, and matching pants with laces down the side


There are some really great clothing assets for women in this decade! Some of the most iconic looks are most appropriate for the gym, but we also have a prom dress, an 80’s grunge t-shirt, and a hot pink long sleeved shirt paired with a mini-skirt a really big belt.



Video games were popular and the 1980’s were the heyday for the arcade and we celebrate with the new “Blips Vs. Pixel” arcade machine. There is also a new “Neonis Foosball Table,” but I think that’s getting into the realm of the 1990’s…

Stay tuned as I’ll be posting a dev blog all about the 90s and the grunge-tastic ways for your Sims to relive that era!

Hi Everyone, check out the first blog on the new expansion pack, The Sims 3 University Life!

SimGuruKarsky here! The Sims Studio is thrilled to announce today that The Sims 3 University Life is in development and will launch on March 5^th of this year. I want to take this time to tell you a little bit about some of the cool new features that will be available in this expansion. Please note that this is the first blog of many. In the coming weeks, we’ll be deep diving on many of the features highlighted below, as well as revealing some all new ones. For now, here’s an overview of what’s to come in The Sims 3 University Life.

Now, I don’t know about you,but university was a pretty awesome time in my life—if you haven’t gone yet, I bet it will be for you too! I certainly gained a great deal of knowledge from studying about things related to my major, but I also learned that there is a lot more to the university experience than just textbooks and classrooms. When we started brainstorming the game play for The Sims 3 University Life, we wanted to make sure that we got all of that into the game. Not just the academics, which are of course important, but the socializing, the partying, and the day-to-day experiences of being away from home. All of this even played into picking the name. We included “Life” in the name to evoke the bigger picture of the quintessential university years, from dating and partying, to group study sessions and class activities.

Making the Grade

When you think university,one of the top things in your mind is academics. I mean, it’s the “real” reason you go to university, right? So we wanted to make sure we made this part of the game as robust as it is in real life. That meant we wanted a richer experience than just “doing time” to earn a passing grade. So, we created different objects Sims can use and activities they can do to improve their grades. For example,Science and Medical students have a skeleton they can work on, Communications majors can broadcast their own radio show, and other majors all have their own unique objects that impact Sims’ success. And, of course, university wouldn’t be complete without study groups and lectures, so we’ve got those in the game too!

It’s Who You Know

In The Sims 3 University Life there are different social groups on campus: the nerds, the rebels and the jocks. Hanging out and gaining cred with these three groups offers unique advantages to your Sims, from earning dream jobs to even gaining an extra trait! And just like real life, your Sim can choose to spend time with only one or all three of the social groups. Your Sim might be a Fine Arts major with a techie streak, so your Sim could spend time with both the nerds and the rebels to build the right kind of relationships and story. If your Sim gains enough influence with the nerds, they might even unlock one of the brand new social group careers, such as becoming a video game developer (my favorite new career).

Are You Ready to Party?

Hanging out with friends, going to parties, dating–all of these are also huge parts of the typical university experience. I studied at a school where each year there was an awesome bonfire party held by a group of students. Being so fond of this memory, I really wanted us to include bonfires in the game.  A couple of other guys on the team remembered playing games with ping pong balls at parties and so we included “juice pong” for your Sims to play! We wanted to make sure we included a lot of the iconic party situations from university and I think we got ‘em. We even created a special Party Pack that you will receive when you pre-order the Limited Edition version of the game. The Party Pack features the Partaeus Maximus statue and will give Sims the ability to throw the themed costume bash of their lives! The pack comes with brand new togas, laurel leaves and masquerade masks for those classic college parties. Partaeus Maximus will not only let you choose between toga, masquerade, formal, sleepwear, and swimwear parties, but will also boost the moods of all of your party guests.

Well, thanks for reading upon The Sims 3 University Life today! This is just a quick introduction to some of the fun content that you can expect in this expansion. Stay tuned as we’ll be featuring more details on the game in the coming weeks. Be sure to tune in for our next Live Broadcast taking place on 14^th February at 6PM GMT.

The Sims 3 University Life launches on 8th March and we cannot wait to get this pack in your hands. Until then, watch this space for additional updates, and check out our UK Facebook page HERE  for the latest news and screens from the UK Maxis team!

Kari St. John

Senior Producer, The SimsStudio