The Sims celebrates its 25th anniversary

Sims should never have been a hit.

Already in the 1990s, when creator Will Wright threw the game of his bosses, they were not convinced of his idea of ​​a “virtual doll house”.

The so -called simulator of life, in which players design their characters, give them personalities and tend to be their needs.

Who wants this?

Quite a lot of people, it turns out.

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

The last contribution, The Sims 4, has been translated into 18 languages ​​and played by 85 million people worldwide, according to the publisher Electronic Arts.

The open nature of the original game has helped him become a hit and reach the so-called “daily gamers” outside the more devoted audience of the winner.

The players had the freedom to carefully work out a detailed home setting for their digital people, managing their love life, daily procedures, basic needs and hobbies in complex details.

But it also allowed them to imagine different torment for their virtual friends. One of the most famous – late your SIM in a pool without a ladder – remains a popular memory to this day.

The United Kingdom-based Jesse, best known as Plumbella, says she became obsessed with the legendary trick when she first played the game for five years.

Sims has been part of Jesse’s life since then, thank you, she says, the community around her.

Players can create modifications or “mods” that change different elements of the way the game plays until the appearance of characters.

Options for extra height, the presence of multiple jobs and neurodyver -and -by -person personality traits are among some of the popular fan supplements.

For the dedicated fans, says Jesse, longevity comes from the construction of the other’s creations.

As she says, “Take something and customize it and share it with other baths.

“It’s really interesting to see the ways people can think of to use their game in an interesting way.”

The ability to express yourself in the stages also made it a popular title among its many players from different communities.

Even at its launch in 2000, Sims included same -sex relationships at a time when the choice of sexuality or identity in games was rare.

The Creator Molly, who flows like the thenglishsimmer, makes a lot of LGBT content for his channel.

She says that the developer Maxis “has always been a species in the game industry when it comes to telling different stories and a desire to show that representation.”

Molly says Sims gave her a platform to find others like her.

“It was so wonderful that I was able to tell my stories and get in touch with people and they could see themselves presented,” she says.

The Sims have come in for more criticism over the years for their racial representation.

The American content creator Amira, known as Ximiramira Online, has created a personalized skin tone package for SIMS 4, which is still used by many players today.

“I couldn’t do the shims that either look like me or my family, friends. And it’s in many games,” says Amira.

“But the difference between the stars and other games is that I can do something about it.”

The Amira’s Melanin package was a hit when it was released, and it has since been working with Maxis and Electronic Arts to officially perceive more skin tones in the game.

“For me, this is a big part of why I played the game for so long,” she says.

“I can do whatever I want, I can do SIM with any body type, complexion, hair, whatever I want to do, this is one of the most adaptive games I have.”

Amira says she has noticed more and more games offering the ability to choose different skin tones, body types and hairstyles without needing third -party supplements.

While the stims are often seen as a leader when it comes to involvement in games, some people are uncomfortable with his approach.

Zoe Delahunty-Light, a video producer of the Eurogamer website, welcomes SIMS to achieve “great steps” with variety and work with creators to build an authentic performance in the game.

But she points out that much of the work was done first, free of charge by Modders.

The official Lovestruck supplement, Zoe says, introduces polyamor relationships in the game and costs £ 30 ($ 37).

“So it may feel that it presses as much money as possible from people who want representation most, which is quite bold,” she says.

The game has also been criticized for the lack of inclusion for players with disabilities, both in their ability to change their controls and to see themselves on the screen.

“The game still lacks the possibility of changing key relationships, which is a major problem with accessibility,” Zoey says.

Early the developer Maxis said he was discussing the introduction of more accessibility features in the game.

It added certain functions – as visible hearing aids – to improve the presentation of damage to the game.

As SIMS celebrates its anniversary, the new US government has introduced policies to scales initiatives to scales diversity, justice and inclusion (DEI).

Critics say these schemes are discriminatory and are used to drive political programs, while supporters claim to work to combat inequalities.

The technology industry follows the suit, such as companies such as Meta that owns Facebook and Instagram, Remove your efforts on Dei And also reduce moderate teams.

There is a question whether this can affect games where companies are often criticized for failing to cope with a gender -based and gender -based harassment of their platforms.

“The greater concern is that this will be seen as a green light for certain groups of toxic gamers to become more open to their own hateful views, which makes inclusive spaces more important than ever,” Zoey says.

Simmer Amira says it is especially important for a life simulation game like SIMS to include as many people as possible.

“Everyone should be able to do it with little or no problem for their bigger part,” she says.

Jesse adds, “Many people can’t experience things that other cultures are experiencing and this is a really great way to apply themselves to study for it in everyday life.

“I think this goes a long way to take.”

Listen to Newsbeat Lively at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back hereS