The Sims 2: Bon Voyage is an expansion pack for the 2004 life simulation video game The Sims 2, developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The sixth expansion pack for the game, it was released 4 September 2007. Bon Voyage adds the ability to book in-game holiday travel to one of three pre-defined destinations, broadly themed around the Far East, Polynesia, and a generic "mountain" region respectively. Each destination has its own unique culture, activities, and attractions.
Upon release, Bon Voyage received mixed reviews; it faced criticism for serious software bugs and incompatibility with existing game mods. The expansion pack's themes were reused for later expansions for The Sims 3 and The Sims 4. Bon Voyage use of the SecuROM system of copy protection and digital rights management drew controversy, including lawsuits brought against its publisher Electronic Arts.
Background and development
The Sims is a franchise of life simulation games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It has sold over 200 million copies amongst all platforms and installments, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. The Sims 2, sequel to the original, was released on 14 September 2004. It expanded upon the original game's features, introducing elements such as an aspiration system based around short-term and long-term goals; expanded character and neighbourhood customization; and the ability for sims to raise families, age, and progress through generations.
All main entries in the series have had multiple expansion packs, which add further gameplay options. Rather than being relatively simple downloadable content, expansion packs for the first three games in the Sims series substantially expanded upon the base game's life simulation; Kieron Gillen, writing for Eurogamer in 2005, stated the first game's expansions "could have been expanded [...] into games of their own" and argued their complexity was a component in why The Sims had few competitors in its genre. Eight expansion packs were released for The Sims 2 between 2005 and 2008.
The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, the sixth expansion pack in the series, was announced in mid-2007. It was stylistically influenced by The Sims: Vacation, a similar expansion pack for the first game. Bon Voyage was developed alongside the thematically similar The Sims: Castaway Stories for PC and The Sims 2: Castaway for console. Both Castaway games are stand-alone entries in the series with semi-structured plots based around a shipwrecking, distinguishing them from the freeform expansion structure of Bon Voyage; senior developer Rod Humble stated that Bon Voyage was designed to let players "enjoy the tropics without having to starve to death". It was released on 4 September 2007 for PC and 17 December 2007 for macOS, becoming the final expansion pack for The Sims 2 to be released for Mac. Bon Voyage was the first expansion pack for the game to use the SecuROM copy protection and digital rights management system, use of which was retained for the following entries The Sims 2: FreeTime and The Sims 2: Apartment Life.
Gameplay
The Sims 2: Bon Voyage revolves around vacationing. Sims are able to book holiday travel to one of three pre-defined destinations, broadly themed around the Far East, Polynesia, and a generic "mountain" region respectively. Bon Voyage allows sims from multiple households to travel together, changing the structure of previous games where only one household could be played at a time. When a sim books a trip, the player can invite along sims from other households. These guests cannot be directly controlled by the player, but their profiles are viewable, a structure similar to that used for pets in The Sims 2: Pets. While sims are travelling, time does not pass as in other areas of the game; sims do not age or need to attend work or school.