The Sims celebrates its tenth birthday today, having sold more than 125 million games.

The franchise has grossed more than $1.6 billion in revenue, putting it on level with the biggest Hollywood movies, such as The Matrix trilogy ($1.4 billion) and Titanic ($1.8 billion), as Venturebeat notes.

The Sims 3, which launched last summer, has sold more than 4.5 million copies and was the best-selling PC game of 2009. More than 110 million user-created items now exist for The Sims 3.

When Electronic Arts launched The Sims on Feb. 4, 2000, nobody knew if it would sell. But on its tenth anniversary, The Sims has become a blockbuster franchise in video games, with more than 125 million copies sold worldwide. It has had a profound influence on game design, broadened the definition of a game, and become embedded in pop culture.

Like a machine, EA has produced 45 different versions of the game, launching The Sims 2 in 2004 and The Sims 3 in 2009 as base games for expansion titles.

“For ten years, which seems an eternity in the games world, The Sims has been a leader. There are no competitors,” Sims studio GM Tim LeTourneau said in this interview.

News Info : VentureBeat .