Whereas presidents are always judged on their first one hundred days in office, rarely is a game judged the same way.

　　But Mindscape has reason for celebration as it announced that it has sold more then 100,000 copies of Creatures, a virtual-life simulation that shipped in late July and appears to keep growing as the holidays get closer.

　　Creatures focuses on little creatures called Norns. Norns are hatched from eggs, live and breed inside the computer, and learn and act independently as they get older and discover the world.

　　"People of all ages and both sexes are absolutely enamored of their Norns," said Mindscape CEO John Moore. "They love to talk about them and e-mail them to their friends, which has made Creatures an incredible success story. This word of mouth, especially on the Internet, has helped Creatures reach a level of consumer awareness that is very rare for a computer game. We expect to sell more than 200,000 Creatures by the end of the year."

　　It may sound a bit ambitious, but with the popularity of virtual pets like the Tamagotchi, which seems to still be growing, Mindscape may just hit its goal and beyond.

　　The game is available in both PC and Mac versions across the US and Canada. An add-on pack is set for November called Creatures Life Kit No. 1, which will introduce six new Norns into the Norn environment.