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THE SIMS (2000): WHO LET THE SIMS OUT?

Will Wright's The Sims (Electronic Arts, 2000; Apple Macintosh, Nintendo GameCube, PC, and others) is one of those rare games whose appeal extends to people who wouldn't normally consider themselves gamers. Plenty of people who would never dream of playing Halo or John Madden Footbal1 are diehard fans of The Sims, and, conversely, many gamers who obsess over the latest shooter or MMORPG2 have little knowledge of Wright's virtual playground,3 or, as he called it, “Virtual Dollhouse.”

Thus, although the game and its sequels constitute the best-selling franchise of all time for the PC, it's not hard to find seasoned gamers who've never played it. Indeed, it's estimated that a full 50% of the series’ fan ...

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