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

1999 - I remember this distinctly because for my High School graduation, a friend of my Mom's called her and asked if I would be interested in trying a new game out that was marketed towards Teens. I received it in the mail, along with a survey(?) and it was only for so many hours. But I could be mistaken. It also came with a discount code for the release copy of the game. *shrug*