It’s been 10 years since The Sims came out. It was the year we got engaged, & it was a lovely break from the wedding planning angst for me. There’s a cool video about the game – lots of footage of the old games, interviews with creators.
It was the first game to really break the gender barrier in terms of game sales. They called it a bunch of different things as they worked on it, including Dollhouse, which they knew would be a name that would kill all potential sales to boys; Will Wright started calling it The Tactical Domestic Simulator. Love that.
(But it really is like a dollhouse – but dolls who you build houses for in addition to changing their clothes / making up stories about them.)
I would also like to note that I have never figured out all the way to kill my Sims.