“The Sims” celebrates its 25th birthday

On February 4, 2000, The Sims was released. It subsequently grew to become one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, boosted by bored millennials living out both benign and diabolical fantasies through the little digital characters.

But it wasn’t supposed to be a hit.

Dolls, on a screen

Game designer Will Wright was inspired to create a "virtual doll house" after losing his home during the Oakland firestorm of 1991 and subsequently rebuilding his life.

But when he pitched the idea to his bosses at Maxis, a videogame developer, they rejected it. Maxis was later bought by Electronic Arts (EA) – who was more receptive to the pitch. And it paid off.

• The franchise’s latest installment, The Sims 4, has been translated into 18 languages and played by 85 million people worldwide, per EA.
• In total, the franchise has sold ~200 million copies worldwide. For comparison: Madden, the annually released ultra-popular NFL game also made by EA, has sold ~130 million copies.

🎂 Humple Borpnah! In celebration of the birthday, EA is making The Sims and The Sims 2 available for purchase again. Watch the official release trailer here.