April 16, 2008 1:24 PMThe Chicago Tribune has published an article on EA's recent announcement that The Sims has reached the milestone of 100 million copies sold. The success makes the game the most popular computer game of all time and the second most popular video game of all time. Some view such "god games" as akin to millions of people replacing pet hamsters with pixelated humans. EA says 60 percent of "The Sims" players are women, which may have something to do with the creative and nurturing aspects called for in developing simulated characters and becoming immersed in their lives. But dismissing "The Sims" as an anti-social substitute for companionship misses the fact that this juggernaut mirrors whom we've become in the years since "The Sims" hit stores in February 2000. "Although our 'Sims' players spend a lot of time creating [alone], they love to come together creatively," says Nancy Smith, president of "The Sims" label at EA. "An artist paints at home, but you like to share your work and show what you've designed." In this era of personalization, self-expression, sharing, blogging, casual gaming, video-making wrapped in solitary computer use, it seems players of "The Sims" have done it all. The franchise has made the leap from computers to such devices as PlayStation 2, the Nintendo DS and mobile phones, though its core audience is on the PC (Aspyr Studios has altered the PC games so they run on Macs too). "The Sims" has influenced many other games and simulations, from the virtual world Second Life to "Grand Theft Auto IV," which hits stores in two weeks.Check out the rest of the article at the link below.Chicago Tribune: Sim-ply stunning successAspyr MediaMaxisWestlake InteractiveThe Sims

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