IGNPC: So, would it be fair to call Nightlife the Sims 2 version of Hot Date?

Rod Humber: I think it's fair, I think there are going to be people who are going to say that, so we may as well embrace it. But I hope that, as with University, we can add a whole bunch of new, deeper gameplay experiences, where people will say, "Hey, they really were a bit more bold with that." Actually, Tim, go ahead and say--I've got Tim right here, over my shoulder...

Tim LeTourneau: So, the other thing I was going to say is that one of the things that we've added... Specifically, because we don't want--You draw comparisons to Hot Date, and as the producer of Hot Date, I can't complain too much about drawing comparisons, because it actually was one of the very most successful expansion packs. One of the things we did is...We want this to be a Sims 2 experience, so we've added a new Aspiration to the game that's going to be part of Nightlife, which is the Pleasure Seeker. And it ties into a lot of the gameplay that we're adding and a part of Nightlife. It's about the Sims going out, it's about the Sims seeking fun, having fun. And the wants and fears that that [Pleasure Seeker] Sim is going to have are really going to relate to that idea of seeking pleasure in life.

So, obviously, there's a lot of comparison to Hot Date, because it's about dating and going out, but it's not solely about that. It really is... For every expansion pack, you want to do something that adds gameplay and really brings people back into it, reinvigorates that gameplay, and allows them to tell stories. And Nightlife is really about telling a community story: getting them out, having them interacting with people from throughout the neighborhood, and then, with these others veins, like the Pleasure Seeker Aspiration added to it.