‘The Sims,’ gaming’s ultimate social sandbox, turns 25
Near the end of the manual for the first game in The Sims series, players were given a recommended readings list that included social theory, economics and time management. It’s just one of the ways the philosophies of creator Will Wright permeated the groundbreaking “life simulator” video game.
In The Sims, players design not only houses, but the people inside them — entire families of characters with their own identities, jobs and relationships. Want to build an idyllic life for your Sims, or drown one of them in a freak pool accident? The Sims let you decide.
Several months after the game’s release in February 2000, Wright told NPR’s Susan Stone that the game’s open-ended design was meant to reflect the multitude of choices players faced in their own lives.
“Every day, everything you do, you’re basically playing a strategy game, you know? Down to ‘what door am I going to walk through’ or ‘am I going to go have lunch now or later?’ ” Wright said. “How can I spend my time to maximize my happiness both in the short and long term? You can’t help but play this game and then walk away and start thinking about your real life in those terms.”
The Sims, its three sequels and numerous expansion packs have sold a combined 200 million copies. Publisher EA says the franchise has attracted more than 500 million players since its inception, and in 2024 alone, players logged more than 1.2 billion hours in the latest entry. A Sims movie is also in the works.
The series has become a cultural juggernaut, too. Its remarkable flexibility — allowing relationships between Sims of any gender since 2000, as well as support for a healthy modding community — has kept it socially relevant over time like few other video game series, even as its core appeal remains largely unchanged.
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