The Sims
Will Wright's dollhouse simulator where you controlled virtual lives, sent them to work, made them fall in love, and then deleted the pool ladder and watched them drown. Launched in February 2000 by Maxis and EA, The Sims became the best-selling PC game of its era—a mania that never ended, spawning sequels that kept the franchise dominant for decades.
The Sims arrived on February 4, 2000, designed by Will Wright (who'd previously created SimCity) as a life simulator in the tradition of his earlier work—but whereas SimCity asked you to manage a city, The Sims asked you to micromanage a household. You created Sims, built their houses, watched them pursue careers and relationships, and experienced the universal crime of deleting the pool ladder and watching your neglected Sim drown. The Simlish gibberish they spoke was instantly iconic, and the 'rosebud' money cheat became the game's worst-kept secret — an infinite cash injection for your struggling Sims. The game sold millions within its first year and became a cultural touchstone for PC gaming.
The Sims 2 (2004) and The Sims 3 (2009) kept the franchise at the top of the PC-gaming heap, while a steady stream of expansions and spin-offs ensured there was always new content to buy. The franchise has never actually stopped—new mainline entries and spin-offs continue to this day, making The Sims not just a nostalgia artifact but an ongoing phenomenon that's been running in some form continuously since 2000.
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