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.[1] By March 22, 2002, The Sims had sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling PC game in history;[2] the game has shipped 16 million copies worldwide as of February 7, 2005.[3] Since its initial release, seven expansion packs and sequels, The Sims 2 and the newest sequel The Sims 3 (each with their own expansion packs), have been released. The Sims has won numerous awards, including GameSpot's "Game of the Year Award" for 2000.