Here's What Happens When You Ask Amazon's Alexa To Play "The Sims"

If you’re feeling nostalgic for days when you used to spend hours on your family’s desktop computer, constructing a virtual world on The Sims, you’re in luck. Starting today, you can ask Alexa to play The Sims. Alexa, play Good Charlotte. I’m about to get in my early ‘00s zone.

Alexa’s new Sims feature comes in collaboration with EA and Maxis, the companies responsible for our beloved Sims. A press release emailed to Bustle states, “[P]layers around the world with an Amazon home device can simply say the magic words, 'Alexa, play The Sims,' and they will immerse their households with The Sims like never before.”

So, what actually happens IRL when you say, “Alexa, play The Sims”? If you’re hoping to suddenly see a little green diamond floating above your head, lower your expectation significantly. Alexa’s new Sim-centric skill allows users to learn facts about The Sims (“like origins and inspirations behind the game”) and play a Sims trivia game (“with options to play solo or with up to four players in beginning, casual or challenge mode”).

If you’re underwhelmed by those features, perhaps this will increase your happiness mood meter: you can also listen to 140 songs from The Sims franchise which includes Sim-lish tracks sung by artists like Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jepsen.

Imagine a casual get-together while Alexa plays The Sims 4 version of Carly Rae Jepsen’s Run Away With Me. Picture yourself doing dishes and saying, “Alexa, hit me with the Sims-lish version of Last Friday Night by Katy Perry.”

Does Alexa’s commands include a “rosebud” cheat code that infinitely adds money to your bank account? No. Can Alexa make the time pass faster à la in The Sims? Again, no, but you might be able to ask her to play Good Charlotte’s Sim-lish version of Where Would We Be Now if you’re feeling angsty about it.

The update to Alexa comes in tandem with the addition of Lin-Z, an in-game AI a la Alexa, in The Sims 4. Available this week, users in the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, and the U.K. will be able to access the Lin-Z feature. Like Alexa, players can command Lin-Z to entertain and help out their Sims. Lin-Z can play music, play trivia, adjust lighting, tell jokes, and order foods and other home and repair services. So, you could ask Lin-Z to order a pizza for your Sim while you ask Alexa to order you a pizza IRL. What a weird, weird time to be alive.

Hopefully, Lin-Z doesn’t start maniacally cackling at your Sims like Alexa was doing last year. Or, if she does, at least let her cackle in Sim-lish.

As Alexa’s seemingly endless list of features continues to grow, Google Assistant also has new features and smart devices coming this year to keep up with the competition. According to Yahoo! Finance, you’ll be able to see more Google Assistant-compatible devices in stores this spring. If you’re in the market for a Smart Clock, perhaps Lenovo is for you. The $79 Smart Clock has a touchscreen display has a USB port to charge your smartphone and includes Google Assistant voice commands. So, you’ll literally be able to yell at your alarm in the morning.

Of course, if you're looking for that sweet, sweet Sims content, you'll need to stick to asking Amazon's smart assistant. While the new features may not include any "motherlode" cheat codes or the option to restart your real-life dinner when you burn it, it does include the aforementioned ability to hear Katy Perry sing in Sim-lish at your beck and call.