The Sims Turns 20: How a Sandbox Life Simulator Changed Gaming

The Sims, the life simulation video game created by Will Wright, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020. Released on February 4, 2000, by Electronic Arts, it became the best-selling PC game at the time, with over 200 million copies sold across all installments. The game's success was unexpected by its publisher, which feared it would fail. The Sims attracted a broad audience, including women, older adults, and non-gamers, thanks to its non-violent, accessible gameplay and low technical requirements. It popularized modding by including editing tools from the start. The game offered a fantasy based on reality, allowing players to create avatars, build homes, and pursue careers in a controllable, meritocratic world. It also featured same-sex relationships from the first installment, offering representation for LGBTQ+ players. The series later introduced fantasy elements like aliens and magic. The article discusses the decline of graphic adventure games in the late 1990s, which had previously attracted a female audience, and how The Sims filled that gap. The game's sandbox nature and focus on everyday life contrasted with the action-oriented shooters dominating the market. Electronic Arts reported that over 1.6 billion Sims had been created in The Sims 4 alone by 20 million players.