The Sims is a strategic, life simulation video game series developed by Maxis and later by The Sims Studio, and published by Electronic Arts. It is one of the most successful video games series of all time. As of May 2011, the franchise has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, and is also the best-selling PC franchise in PC history.

The games in The Sims series lack any defined goals (except for some later expansion packs which introduced this gameplay style). The player creates virtual people called "Sims" and places them in houses and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves. Each successive expansion pack and game in the series augmented what the player could do with their Sims.

The Sims is the first game in the series. Developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, it was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2000. The game uses isometric projection and features open-ended simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons ("Sims") in a suburban area near SimCity. Seven expansion packs and two bonafide deluxe editions with exclusive content have been released for this game. It was repackaged in several different formats and different versions of it were released on several different platforms. By March 22, 2002, The Sims had sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling PC game in history, surpassing Myst. The original game, all seven expansion packs, and the two exclusive deluxe edition content packs constitute the first generation of the series on the PC. All PC releases in this generation were developed by Maxis.

The Sims is a strategic life-simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity. It is a simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons ("Sims") in a suburban household near SimCity.

The Sims uses a combination of 3D and 2D graphics techniques. The Sims themselves are rendered as 3D objects, but the house, and all its objects, are pre-rendered, and displayed dimetrically.

While gameplay occurs in the game's Live mode, the player may enter Build mode or Buy mode to pause time and renovate the house or lot.

When the game begins, each family will start off with §20,000 Simoleons (regardless of its number of members). These funds can be used to purchase a small house or vacant lot on the Neighborhood screen. Once a lot is purchased, a house can be built or remodeled in Build mode, and/or purchase or move furniture in the Buy mode. All architectural features and furnishings customizable in the Build and Buy modes follow a square tile system in which items must be placed on a tile. Walls and fences go on the edge of a tile and can follow the edge of the tile or cross it, but furniture items cannot be placed on either side of a crossed tile. The base game contains over 150 items including furniture and architectural elements.