Redwood City (CA) - After letting The Sims run its course as one of the top-selling PC game series, EA today launched a new installment in the franchise that offers a more casual, story-driven focus to the basic Sims framework, in an attempt to expand its reach to the non-gamer crowd.

The Sims attracted a large chunk of the non-traditional demographic. According to EA, more than half of the players are female. However, the original game, as well as the sequel, The Sims 2, are packed with dozens of micro-managed processes and tasks that need to be constantly watched and requires players to have 100% devotion to the game.

The Sims Life Stories, on the other hand, is part of a brand new Sims series and is the kind of game EA says players can just have opened as a side window on the computer screen and take five minute breaks to play. Other installments in the new series include The Sims Pet Stories, expected for a summer release, and The Sims Castaway Stories, not due out until the 2008 holiday season.

The Sims Life Stories, exclusive to the PC, is rated T and retails for $40.