Everyone wants to be someone else, even if only for a little while. On the other hand, maybe people just want to control other people. Either way, games like The Sims, World of Warcraft, and Second Life wouldn’t be such a hit if people didn’t love their format. The Sims may not have been the first human simulation game on the market but it defiantly grabbed people’s attention unlike any other before it. In 2010, the creators of The Sims released the figures of their sales so far, a whopping 2.5 billion had been shelled out by eager gamers for the title.
In The Beginning
Electronic Arts, the creators of SimCity, released The Sims in 2000 to great reviews and successful sales figures. People loved the idea of customizing characters and homes and simply assisting characters in their daily lives. For whatever reason, people of all ages were immediately drawn to this game. The graphics were not fantastic, but they were pretty good based on the current markets standards. The people looked like, well, people! It was defiantly a guilty pleasure; Instead of living your own life you could create another one and watch it progress. I received my copy in 2001 and spent more hours on the computer than I did anywhere else! (Unless you count all of the things my Sim was doing, in which case I was actually very productive)
The Lifestyle
The Sims gave people everything they had unknowingly wanted in a game: a distraction from their life, a feeling of control over life, and full customization of everything involved. Your ‘Sim’ was your character or person you controlled. You could have many Sims but only control the ones under one household at a time. You could chose how your Sim looked, where they lived, what they wore, how their home was decorated or built, where they worked, who they associated with, and what they ate. In order to stay healthy you had to eat regularly, use the rest room (or you would wet yourself!) and even socialize with others. If you really liked another Sim in the game (and they shared the feeling, of course) you could ask them to move in with you. Job and relationship progression were important parts of the game. Certain activities could make you more successful at work or more likely to land your ideal partner.
Controversy
Nothing can rightly be called great unless it has offered some controversy. The Sims rattled a few parents by doing things like showing Sims in the shower (the were blurred out like on cops), having two Sims kiss until they make a baby (the baby pops up in the room, no hanky-panky necessary), and allowing same sex couples.
Continued Development
Popularity of The Sims was followed by many more like game releases. At first, the games released were add on packs for the original game. These additions offered new vacation sites, new objects to buy, new characters, the ability to bring pets in to the home and many other options. When the full potential of the game was realized an online version was available. As more people turned to gaming consoles the folks over at EA decided to make Sims games available for PlayStation, Xbox, and later the Nintendo Wii and DS. Games are still being produced today. Katy Perry has even offered up her likeness for The Sims 3 Showtime Expansion Pack.
The Sims is my personal favorite PC game of all time because of everything listed above. I recently handed down my original Sims and add on disks to my niece, proving the game is also timeless. It will always be fun to be someone else, or at least tell them what to do.