Social simulation game

When The Sims was released in 2000, it was referred to as "almost the only game of its kind".{{cite book|last=Rollings|first=Andrew|author2=Ernest Adams|title=Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design|publisher=New Riders Publishing|year=2003|pages=477–487|url=http://safari.adobepress.com/1592730019/ch16|isbn=1-59273-001-9|access-date=2008-03-18|archive-date=2020-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502170557/https://my.safaribooksonline.com/1592730019/ch16|url-status=dead}} But there are several important precursors to The Sims and the social simulation genre. Firstly, the game's creator Will Wright acknowledged the influence of Little Computer People,{{cite web | last =Wright | first =Will | title =A chat about the {{sic|hide=y|reason=duplicate 'the' error in source title}}"The Sims" and "SimCity" | publisher =CNN | url =http://www.cnn.com/chat/transcripts/2000/1/wright/index.html | access-date =2008-03-18 }} a Commodore 64 game from 1985. The games are similar, although The Sims is described as having a richer gameplay experience. Secondly, Will Wright also acknowledged the influence of dollhouses on The Sims,{{cite web | last = Keighley | first = Geoff | title = Gamespot - Simply Divine: The Story of Maxis Software | url = http://www.gamespot.com/features/maxis/page11.html | access-date =2008-03-18 }} which have generally also informed the gameplay of this genre.

Animal Crossing was released in 2001 for the Nintendo 64 in Japan. While released towards the end of the life cycle of the Nintendo 64, it developed a following that led to it being ported to the GameCube and released throughout the world. As the game's popularity has surged, this series has also been described as a social simulation game.{{cite web | last = Felix | first = Chef | title = Animal Crossing Wild World Review | url = http://www.modojo.com/reviews/ds/animal_crossing_wild_world/20051206/180/ | access-date = 2008-03-18 | archive-date = 2008-03-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080317182227/http://www.modojo.com/reviews/ds/animal_crossing_wild_world/20051206/180/ | url-status = dead }}{{cite web | title = Anti-Cheating Proposed Guidelines | url = http://www.pineight.com/rant/acpg/cheating | access-date =2008-03-18 }} Story of Seasons, a series that began in 1996 and is often compared to Animal Crossing,[https://www.wired.com/gamelife/2008/08/astro-ranch-iph/ Astro Ranch: iPhone Gets Its Harvest Moon], Wired.com has also been described as a social simulation game. Its social simulation elements are derived from dating sims,[http://uk.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/runefactoryzokuhen/review.html Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon Review] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322180046/http://uk.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/runefactoryzokuhen/review.html |date=2009-03-22 }}, GameSpot a subgenre that dates back to the early 1980s, with games such as Tenshitachi no gogo in 1985 and Girl's Garden in 1984.[http://www.atariage.com/features/shows/cge2010_preview/pixelboy.html AtariAge at CGE2010], Atari Age

Since the initial success of these games in the early 2000s, video game journalists have begun to refer to a group of similar games as belonging to the social simulation game genre.

Several other social simulation games have emerged to capitalize on the success of The Sims.{{cite web|url=http://gameslikefinder.com/games-like-the-sims/|title=Life Simulation Games Like The Sims|website=Games Finder|access-date=2013-01-10}} This includes several sequels and expansion packs, as well as games like Singles: Flirt Up Your Life with heavy similarities.{{cite web | last = Butts | first = Steve | title = Review: Singles - Flirt up your life | url = http://pc.ign.com/articles/519/519270p1.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040609082546/http://pc.ign.com/articles/519/519270p1.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = June 9, 2004 | access-date =2008-03-20 }}

{{main|Farm life sim}}

A farming sim is a specific type of social sim in which the player tends to a farm at the same time they interact with other townspeople. A direct connection can be drawn from early games in the genre such as Harvest Moon (1996) to the more recent Stardew Valley (2016). Other games, such as the Rune Factory series and Harvestella (2022) put a fantasy spin on the genre,{{Cite web |date=2022-06-28 |title=Harvestella is Square Enix's new fantasy farming sim/RPG on Switch |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/harvestella-is-square-enixs-new-fantasy-farming-sim-rpg-on-switch/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}} while there are also sci-fi examples such as Lightyear Frontier.{{Cite web |title=Mech-Themed Farming Sim, Lightyear Frontier, Revealed At Xbox Games Showcase |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mech-themed-farming-sim-lightyear-frontier-revealed-at-xbox-games-showcase/1100-6504506/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}} The 2.0 update of Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) added the ability to create a farm and grow produce.{{Cite web |last=Parkin |first=Jeffrey |date=2021-11-05 |title=Animal Crossing: New Horizons farming guide |url=https://www.polygon.com/animal-crossing-new-horizons-switch-acnh-guide/22765653/farming-farm-crop-produce-start-carrot-potato-sugarcane-tomato-wheat-sugar-flour |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}

• Little Computer People (1985)—by David Crane, published by Activision
• Tenshitachi no Gogo (1985)—One of the earliest dating sims,{{MobyGames|id=/tenshitachi-no-gogo|name=Tenshitachi no Gogo}} released for the 16-bit NEC PC-9801 computer.[http://uk.gamespot.com/pc98/adventure/tenshitachinogogo/index.html Tenshi-Tachi no Gogo] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120731015956/http://uk.gamespot.com/pc98/adventure/tenshitachinogogo/index.html |date=2012-07-31 }}, GameSpot
• Alter Ego (1986)—a personality video game by Activision
• The Money Game series (1988–1989)
• The Money Game (1988)—a Famicom life simulation about balance love with high finance
• Wall Street Kid (1989)—the Famicom sequel to The Money Game (The Money Game II: Kabutochou no Kiseki)
• Jones in the Fast Lane (1990)—by Sierra Entertainment is one of the earliest life simulators.
• My Life My Love: Boku no Yume: Watashi no Negai (1991)—a life simulation for the Japanese Famicom system
• Princess Maker series (1991–2007)—by Gainax
• Princess Maker (1991)—by Gainax, a raising sim which the player must raise an adoptive daughter until she reaches adulthood. The final result varies from a ruling queen, to an ordinary housewife, to even a prostitute if the player looks after her poorly.
• Princess Maker 2 (1993)
• Princess Maker: Legend of Another World (1995)
• Princess Maker 3: Fairy Tales Come True (1997)
• Princess Maker 4 (2006)—by GeneX
• Princess Maker 5 (2007)
• Tokimeki Memorial series (1994–2014)—6 main games and a large number of spin-offs
• True Love (1995)—a Japanese erotic dating sim and general life simulation game where the player must manage the player's daily activities, such as studying, exercise, and employment.
• Persona series (1996–2024)—6 main games and several spin-offs, although the first 3 games do not emphasize this aspect very much.
• Story of Seasons series (1996–2016)—by Marvelous Entertainment, farming simulator, role-playing game, and dating sim rolled into one.
• Shenmue series (1999–2019){{Cite web|url=http://spong.com/article/850/New-Shenmue-2-information|title=New Shenmue 2 information|website=SPOnG}}
• The Sims series (2000–2014)
• The Sims (2000)—by Will Wright, published by EA for the PC.
• The Sims 2 (2004).
• The Sims 3 (2009).
• The Sims 4 (2014).
• Animal Crossing series (2001–2020)—a life simulator by Nintendo. It has also been dubbed as a "communication game" by the company as had Cubivore, Doshin the Giant and GiFTPiA.{{Cite web |title=Designed as a 'communication' game, Animal Crossing defied genre |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/designed-as-a-communication-game-i-animal-crossing-i-defied-genre |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.gamedeveloper.com |language=en}}
• Real Lives (2001)—an educational life simulator by Educational Simulations where the player is randomly "born" somewhere in the world and often must deal with third-world difficulties such as disease, malnutrition, and civil war.
• Singles series (2003–2005)
• Singles: Flirt Up Your Life (2003)
• Singles 2: Triple Trouble (2005)
• Democracy (2005)—a government simulation game that was first developed by Positech Games, with a sequel released in December 2007 and a third game in 2013.
• Eccky (2005)—by Media Republic.
• Façade (2005)—An artificial-intelligence-based interactive story created by Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern.
• Nights series (2005–2008)
• New York Nights: Success in the City (2005)—a social simulation created and designed by Gameloft released for mobile phones.
• Miami Nights: Singles in the City (2006)
• Tokyo City Nights (2008)
• The Idolmaster series (2005–)—an idol raising sim by Namco.
• Kudos (2006)—by Positech Games. There is a 2008 sequel Kudos 2.
• Virtual Villagers series (2006–2010)—by Last Day of Work.
• Tomodachi series (2009–2026)—by Nintendo
• Tomodachi Collection (2009)
• Tomodachi Life (2013)
• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (2026)
• Castaway Paradise (2014)
• Stardew Valley (2016)
• Disney Dreamlight Valley (2023)—a social simulation adventure game developed by Gameloft
• Life: the Social Game (2011)—a social game inspired by the Conway's Game of Life

• Dating sim
• List of simulation video games
• Simulated reality
• Social simulation

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Category:Video game genres