EA considers reality TV excursion for The Sims

Massively popular videogame franchise The Sims may be set to move into a new medium, with publisher Electronic Arts revealing that it is planning to create an interactive "reality" TV show based on the series.

Jumping onto the reality TV bandwagon which continues to be hugely popular both in Europe and in North America, EA has approached a number of TV production companies about the idea.

"One idea could be that you're controlling a family, telling them when to go to the kitchen and when to go to the bedroom, and with this mechanism you have gamers all over the world 'playing the show'", EA Europe VP of marketing and sales Jan Bolz told Reuters late last week.

The show would almost certainly attempt to generate revenues by encouraging viewers to vote on the proceedings over premium rate phonelines or SMS, in much the same way that popular shows such as Big Brother work.

The demographic is certainly ideal; with The Sims currently back on the radar thanks to the major success of PC sequel The Sims 2, which was launched last autumn, the game enjoys an audience in which women are the majority of players, just as most reality TV does.