The Sims: Hot Date is the third expansion pack released for the strategy/simulation computer game The Sims.
New NPCs include townies, waiters and waitresses, a violin player and Mrs. Crumplebottom. The townies are just like regular Sims who only appear on Downtown lots- they don't live on playable lots as regular player-controlled Sims do. The waiters and waitresses appear at restaurants. The violin player does not appear in fast-food restaurants, but will appear in the fancier ones.
Hot Date introduces the character of Mrs. Crumplebottom, a Sim that protects the Downtown area from improper behavior. Upon spying two Sims acting indecently, she will approach them with a comment and tell them to go somewhere else with phrases such as "Why don't you get a room?" while hitting them with her purse. Mrs. Crumplebottom has managed to become one of the Sims most hated characters after her appearance in the Sims 2: Nightlife, but most Sims players feel the game is incomplete without Mrs. Crumplebottom walking around.
Many Sims enthusiasts have cited Hot Date as the inspiration for the 2005 expansion pack for The Sims 2 titled Nightlife. Hot Date provided a huge leap for the game, allowing Sims to leave their house, a feature included in every expansion pack since.
One of the other well known parts of The Sims Hot Date was the jazz music that played when traveling to the Downtown neighbourhood. The music was composed by saxophonist Marc Russo. Each expansion pack later had its own theme music.