The Sims is the 2000 life-simulation game that launched Will Wright's The Sims series.
Maxis developed The Sims, and Electronic Arts published it for Windows in February 2000. Instead of directing a conventional hero through a fixed story, players created households, built homes, managed finances, and guided characters through everyday activities. The game used needs such as hunger, comfort, hygiene, and social interaction to shape its play.
Will Wright originally conceived the project as an architectural design simulator, but the simulated people became the central focus during development. The game grew from ideas associated with SimCity, including construction, management, and emergent behavior, while turning the player's attention toward domestic life.
The Sims 2 was a sequel released in 2004, not the original. SimCity 2000 was an earlier city-building game from 1993, so its title can also cause confusion when identifying the first Sims-branded life simulator.