The Sims Online

Associated With

Electronic Arts / EA.com; individual development credits are not specified in the retained filings - creator or operator

Defining Feature

A paid multiplayer persistent-state world sold on disc and sustained by subscription

Status

Historical game - Launch results were below EA’s expectations by March 2003

Overview

The Sims Online turned The Sims into a shared subscription world that continued while players were away.

EA launched the game on 17 December 2002. It was presented as a persistent world in which thousands of consumers could interact.

The software was sold on CD-ROM and required a monthly fee after a free trial. Early unit sales and subscriber numbers were below EA’s expectations, and the company subsequently reduced its plans for similar online projects.

Why It Mattered

It was an ambitious attempt to make ordinary simulated life into a persistent multiplayer experience.

The game’s early unit sales and subscriber numbers were below EA’s expectations, underscoring the commercial risk of adapting the format as a paid, shared experience.

Persistent World Design

• EA grouped The Sims Online with games where thousands of consumers could interact in one persistent world.
• The product was designed for online play rather than EA’s traditional packaged-software model.
• EA recorded its launch date as 17 December 2002.

Retail and Subscription Model

• EA described its paid persistent-world games as a retail CD-ROM purchase followed by a subscription after a free trial.
• The Sims Online generated subscription revenue after launch.
• Its development had been delayed before release.

Early Commercial Result

• EA’s January 2003 filing said early results were below expectations.
• Its annual filing recorded below-expected units and subscribers through 31 March 2003.
• EA subsequently reduced similar plans and cancelled most of the comparable online projects it had planned.

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