See that intent stare?

How do you judge when an item of popular culture earns the right to call itself a "phenomenon"? When my partner, whose greatest foray into the world of gaming is Bejeweled on the iPhone and whose awareness of popular culture is best described as "extremely hazy", asked me about The Sims 3, it seemed pretty safe to say that the latest iteration in the staggeringly successful series is edging towards Harry Potter and Star Wars for near-universal recognition, even before release. But for those of us who abstain, what's the hype all about? Electronic Arts Australia says Australians' "love of self expression and creative gaming" is a driving force, as demonstrated in a recent survey.

Respondents to the study seem to pretty keen on playing out their personal fantasies by manipulating their Sims, since 74% agreed that if it were possible to completely customise the gibberish-spouting characters, the first new Sim to roll off the creative production line would be an accurate or enhanced replica of themselves. Players were also asked which aspects of the game they liked that weren't available to them in real life, and the Mary Sue element certainly shone through, with 44% answering "acquiring exclusive possessions", 56% "developing a dream lifestyle", 41% "controlling the future of relationships" and 41% 'altering physical appearance".

With 15 million players worldwide, The Sims is the biggest selling games franchise in Australia, which seems to indicate that a lot of us are enjoying the virtual, controllable world fantasies inherent in the series. I wonder what psychiatrists would say this suggests about the state of our society? When The Sims 3 launches in a few days, it comes complete with even more options for customising and minutely controlling your imaginary friends, and will no doubt prove even more hopelessly addictive as its precursors.