What year did you start playing your first The Sims game?

I think I was 7 or 8 when I first seen it in a basket at the supermarket. It was sims 1 double deluxe edition, so I was fairly new to simulation games. My first time playing it was pretty cool. I loved that game so much that I regretted my decision on what I let happen to the cd's. It is still a favorite of mine, but it's been so long since I've played that I feel disconnected. Not long after that gen, I ran across the sims 2, which still to this day I LOVE. I couldn't live without this masterpiece to say the least.