Feeding the Juggernaut: Why Sims Players Keep Playing

Calling The Sims a phenomenon doesn't quite do it justice. This is the series that's sold close to 100 million copies since it first appeared in 2000. This is the game so central to EA's bottom line that an entire section of the corporation has been dubbed the "Sims division." A Sims-related title has been a top-20 seller every month since its debut. (Some historical perspective: The No. 2 seller in its early days was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.) And it's not just the expansions and variations; the core Sims game, either on its own or in a compilation pack, regularly reappears near the top of the sales list.