Business 2.0 has posted an article about Electronic Arts' tremendous success over the years and not only that but an amazing growth rate during the past year, too... here's a quote that left me quite impressed:

(...) If any gamemaker has a shot at realizing such ambitions, it's Electronic Arts. Based in Redwood City, Calif., the 3,800-employee company has more than twice the sales of Activision, its biggest rival, and its expected revenues for this year are around $2.3 billion, a 35 percent increase over 2001. The stock market seems to believe in EA's future: During the past 30 months – a period that left most tech stocks in smoking ruins – EA's shares are up more than 80 percent.

The Sims franchise sure has got something to do with this, but the article also discusses some other possibilities like expanding to other entertainment areas such as movies or music, good read IMO.