The Sims at 25: How a virtual dollhouse took over the world

The Sims was never supposed to be a hit.

Back in the 1990s, when creator Will Wright pitched the game to his bosses, they weren’t convinced by his idea of a “virtual dollhouse”.

A so-called life simulator where players design their own characters, give them personalities and tend to their needs.

Who wants that?

Quite a lot of people, it turns out.

Now, 25 years from its debut, The Sims is one of the best-selling video game series of all time, with an active community of superfans known as Simmers.

The latest instalment, The Sims 4, has been translated into 18 languages and played by 85 million people worldwide, according to publisher Electronic Arts.

The original game’s open-ended nature helped it to become a hit and reach so-called “casual gamers” outside the medium’s more dedicated audience.

Players had the freedom to carefully craft a detailed domestic setting for their digital people, managing their love lives, daily routines, basic needs and hobbies in exacting detail.

But it also allowed them to imagine various torments for their virtual pals. One of the most famous – stranding your Sim in a swimming pool without a ladder – remains a popular meme to this day.

UK-based streamer Jesse, best known as Plumbella, says she became obsessed with the legendary trick when she first played the game at five years old.