It comes as no surprise that The Sims franchise is one of the best selling games of all time. EA announced today that The Sims just reached the 100-million mark since it’s initial release in 2000. The series is sold worldwide in 60 countries with 22 different translations. The New York Times states that the series has generated over $4 billion for it’s publisher, Electronic Arts.

Originally The Sims was released for the PC on EA’s Maxis label just over eight years ago. It was created by a man named Will Wright and continues to be the favorite of people world wide. Since that time numerous expansions and console titles have been released. Not to long after that The Sims 2 was released in 2004. With the launch of The Sims 3 just around the corner (set for 2009) dozens of new features will be added for a whole new environment to explore.

The Sims is a popular virtual-life simulator created for the sole purpose for playing out day to day life in a family situation. Individuals can manage whole families or couples by getting a job, cleaning house, building and decorating houses and keeping relationships with other Sims. Downloads for objects such as decor, new Sims, and clothing are available on The Sims 2 website. The website receives just over 4.3 million unique visitors each month.

According to EA, “If 100 million boxes of The Sims were lined up end-to-end, they would stretch from New York city to Moscow. And, with 100 million sold, one out of seven homes in Europe and one out of three homes in America would have a product of The Sims franchise.”

The Sims is celebrating it’s success by releasing new items for download April 16 from the game’s official Web site.