The Sims is a
strategic life-simulation computer game developed by
Maxis and published by
Electronic Arts. It was created by game designer
Will Wright, also known for developing
SimCity. It is a
simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons ("
Sims") in a
suburban household near SimCity.
The Sims was first released on February 4, 2000. By March 22, 2002,
The Sims had sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide, making it the
best-selling PC game in history; the game has shipped 16 million copies worldwide as of February 7, 2005. Since its initial release, seven
expansion packs and a sequel,
The Sims 2 (with its own expansion packs), have been released. A third game,
The Sims 3, was released June 2, 2009.
The Sims has won numerous awards, including
GameSpot's "Game of the Year Award" for 2000. 'The Sims' franchise also holds the record for best-selling games franchise of all time, with more than 100 million copies of Sims 1, Sims 2, all expansion and stuff packs being sold worldwide to date.