2000 video game

The Sims is a 2000 social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The game allows players to create and control virtual people, called "Sims", and manage their daily lives in a suburban setting. The game features open-ended gameplay where players can choose their own goals and objectives, and customize their Sims' appearance, personality, skills, relationships, and environment. A series of expansion packs were also released that add new content and features to the game, such as new careers, items, locations, and scenarios.

The game's development was led by Will Wright, and the game was a follow-up to Wright's earlier SimCity series. Wright was inspired to create the game by Christopher Alexander's 1977 book A Pattern Language, and Scott McCloud's 1993 book Understanding Comics later played a role in the game's design. Seven expansion packs were released from 2000 to 2003, each of which added new items, characters, skins, and features.

Upon release, The Sims garnered widespread critical acclaim and was described by Wright as being successful in attracting casual male and female gamers. The game is regarded as one of the most influential and greatest games of all time. It won several awards and placed 31st on Time's list of "The 50 Best Video Games of All Time". The game has also been commercially successful, having sold more than 41 million copies worldwide across the original game and its expansions by 2004. Currently the Sims has sold an estimated 70 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling PC games of all time. Several sequels in The Sims series have been released —The Sims 2 in 2004, The Sims 3 in 2009, and The Sims 4 in 2014. The game was re-released on Steam and EA desktop in January 2025 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of The Sims series.

Source: Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA.