Persistent world

A Persistent World is a virtual video game world where life continues even if nobody is playing the game. This is typically used in MMOs and video games that simulate real life, such as Animal Crossing or Nintendogs. These non-online games usually rely on the internal clock of the console or system, which can be manipulated in the settings.

History
Several video games from the 1980s also featured elements of persistent worlds with their own day/night cycles and non-player characters going about their own daily routines, including Konami's Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987), Arsys Software's Reviver (1987), Nintendo's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987), T&amp;E Soft's Hydlide 3: The Space Memories (1987), Fun Factory's War of the Dead (1987), and Chunsoft's Dragon Quest III (1988). Certain aspects of persistent worlds became more and more prominent in the Pokémon franchise beginning with Pokémon Gold Version and Pokémon Silver Version.