Note: if you missed the first entry in this exclusive EA Labels series, EA Casual President Kathy Vrabeck, please click here. Still to come: EA Games' Frank Gibeau and EA Sports' Peter Moore.

The Sims has thrived for more than seven years and has become a gaming icon. It's sold over 90 million units in more than 22 languages and is available in every country where PC games are sold. So what is the secret of its success? The answer is simple: no other franchise has such broad appeal, regardless of age or gender. For a long time Electronic Arts made games for one customer group: males 18-34 years old. The Sims was one of the first games to attract females of all ages and to captivate players beyond that core demographic. Today, The Sims has a balanced player mix, with about 60% female and 40% male, and truly attracts creative people of all ages.

Leader of The Sims and apparently the Girl Scouts

I have been part of the Electronic Arts team since its early days and have worked on the launch of many different franchises, but the one that has fascinated me most is The Sims. When The Sims was introduced there was nothing like it. For the first time, players could create characters, design sets, and tell stories all their own. And because players cannot control The Sims world, there was always a note of unexpected humor. The Sims is a creative sandbox, so it's really the player who makes the game when it leaves the shelf. This makes The Sims unique in the industry and it remains Electronic Arts' #1 best-selling franchise in the world.

Realizing the possibilities, two years ago The Sims Label was formed as Electronic Arts' first integrated worldwide studio and marketing team. We selected a bright creative leader, Rod Humble, to head our studio. With focus on our consumers, this organizational experiment has allowed us to unlock the potential of The Sims as a widely successful brand with global reach. It's been an incredible opportunity.

Our CEO, John Riccitiello, believes the growth in our business will come from adding consumers of all ages by making games accessible to more players. The Sims Label recently introduced MySims, an exclusive title on Nintendo DS and Wii which launched at the top of the charts. Additionally, MySims has opened the door to Asia where it has been embraced, and with its E rating the game appeals to families around the world.

An important ingredient of The Sims brand has been to build a community where players share their creations. The Sims 2.com boasts more than four million unique visitors monthly and over the last three years, these visitors have downloaded more than 60 million creations. This defines a lively engaged community.

Additionally, we recently launched The Sims On Stage.com, an online performance community, which extends the brand beyond games. Using webcams and microphones, players become stars.

It's thrilling to realize how The Sims brand resonates with people of all ages. I recently hosted special visitors to our studio – a Girl Scout troop of 11 year-old girls. They were excited to meet the people who make MySims and The Sims 2 because they love the games. I was amazed that these girls were such passionate and articulate gamers as they talked about the characters and stories they had each created. This would not have happened 10 years ago!

We love to celebrate the creativity of our players and we thought it would be wonderful to put The Sims brand in the hands of young artists. So, we teamed up with three prestigious art and design schools, Parsons The New School for Design in New York, Academy of Art University in San Francisco and Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, to produce art exhibitions based on The Sims. It was inspirational to see the range of media, including machinima, paintings, illustrations, sculptural work, fashion designs, cinematography, and interactive displays.

Also, we have brought The Sims into the world of fashion through our partnership with H&M and Yahoo! The Sims fashionistas had the opportunity for one of their apparel designs to be produced and made available in H&M retail stores worldwide. To make this a reality, we held seven weekly online fashion shows broadcast by Yahoo! to showcase a collection of submitted designs. Viewers then voted for their favorite outfit, which will soon be in H&M stores. And we continue to celebrate The Sims players as we collaborate with 20th Century FOX, to bring The Sims into a feature film.

It is an exciting time for The Sims Label as we continue to reach new players with new entertainment experiences. Together, with an amazing team of talented designers, artists and engineers working with Rod Humble, the Head of Studio, we remain centered on creative expression – which is in the hands of our players.