Software game The Sims offers simulations of human life’s big events — marriage, old age and death — but its big draw has always been something even more fundamental: shopping, usually for tacky or pretentious furniture. (Heavy on the tiki gods and zebra prints.)
Late last month, the Sims’ virtual world got a blast of Nordic reality with a game expansion pack full of virtual furniture modeled on actual buyable items from IKEA. The pack, co-branded by the Swedish retailer, costs players about $20. And of course sponsor IKEA is hoping that playing with virtual versions of its Ektorp sofa and other goods will lead fans to buy their own, just to keep up with their Sims.
With global sales of $100 million since its 2000 launch, The Sims has run other sponsored promotions with real-world retailers, offering downloads of virtual General Motors cars and H&M fashions. More such deals may be in the works. The next version of The Sims, set to drop in 2009, includes a shopping plaza with presumably more opportunities for sponsored simulation.
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