EA says “The Sims is not a casual game”

Sims is the obvious example when we talk about the rise of casual gaming. Are you comfortable with that label?

I don’t think of it as casual. We were one of the first games that started to attract a broad audience. We were one of the first games that bought in women.

They were attracted by the storytelling aspect of the Sims and interested in things like fashion and interior design that were not featured in other games.

Today we have a 55% female audience worldwide and a really broad age range from 13 to 50 years old.

Personally, I don’t see what is so bad about The Sims being called a casual game.  Those are the games that do well!  Just look at the Wii’s casual games….WiiSports, WiiPlay….then the upcoming WiiFit.  Those are aimed at the casual gamers, and the sales are thru the roof!  Not to mention The Sims is one of those games where anybody can jump in and start playing right off the bat.

You can read more of this interview with Nancy Smith at the BBC newsbeat.