“The Sims Online married a hot concept — multiplayer online gaming — to The Sims, the best-selling PC game series of all time. In addition, it was designed in part by Will Wright, one of the game industry
‘s most renowned developers. All of this combined into a rich maelstrom of hype: The Sims Online was featured on the cover of the Nov. 25, 2002, issue of Newsweek and GameSpot posted a 13-page behind-the-scenes feature. Mainstream press and hardcore game publications touted The Sims Online as the first mass-market online game. | Then the reviews came out.” —Ethics in Videogame JournalismOnline Journalism Review)