VNES: An NES emulator accessible through your browser. (You have been warned. Even worse, they have the Adventure Island games.)

Iain Banks missed a deadline and it was all because of Sid Meier: “It’s all because I became a serial addict of the computer game ‘Civilisation’ [sic]. I played it for three months and then realised I hadn’t done any work. In the end, I had to delete all the saved files and smash the CD. It is very unprofessional of me. I had to ask for an extension for the first time, which made me feel just like I was a student again.”

Hopefully, someone who cares will keep Will Wright’s games out of his hands. I had to smash my Sims CDs about three years ago to get things done.

Telegraph: “Except it’s not quite so simple. Caroline Pelletier, a project manager at London University’s Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, says: ‘The Sims inspires quite a patronising attitude – that it’s OK for girls to play with computers so long as it’s in a domestic space, controlling characters in a maternal way, caring for them and attending to their needs.’ Yet when Pelletier’s team observed girl players, they discovered a different reality. ‘Girls usually use The Sims to explore subversive behaviour. They get rich and try out a wealthy lifestyle, then see who can lose the most money. They drown their babies and call in social services – they deliberately play against the game’s conventions.'” (via Rebecca’s Pocket)