SimCity

You can build a city!

You are the mayor. You start with a blank map. You use money to build roads and houses. You can also add parks.

Your people need help to live well. You must give them water and power. You can build schools and hospitals too.

If you do not have enough money, things can go wrong. People might go on strike. You might even face a fire or a tornado.

It is fun to grow a big town. Do you want to try?

Imagine you are the mayor of a new city.

In the game SimCity, you start with a blank map. You use a budget to build your town. You must provide basic things like water and power. You can also build schools, hospitals, and parks. Each building has a range. This is the area it helps nearby.

If you do not provide enough services, problems can happen. People might go on strike. You might even face fires or tornadoes. You can even deal with monster attacks! To get more money, you can use taxes. You can also make deals with nearby cities. You might sell them power using cables.

Will Wright designed the first game in 1989. He loved making maps. He was inspired by a book about urban planning. Many new games came after. SimCity 2000 added underground pipes and subways. SimCity 3000 added business deals. SimCity 4 let you build large regions. Some games even let you play on a handheld device. You could use a microphone to blow out fires! It is a way to see how a city grows and changes.

Imagine you are the mayor of a brand new city.

In the SimCity video game series, you start with a blank map. You use a set budget to grow your town. You must provide basic needs like electricity and water. You also build services like schools, hospitals, and parks. Each building has a circular range to help nearby areas. If you do not fund these services, people might strike. You may even face disasters like fires or tornadoes. Some games even include fictional monster attacks! (Note: Using placeholder name as source mentions SimCity 2000 features)

Managing a city is a big job that requires careful planning. You get money mostly from taxes on your citizens. You can also earn money by making deals with neighbors. For example, you can sell electricity using cables. You might even use special buildings like prisons to make money. As your city grows, you can add government buildings. These might include a courthouse or a mayor's house. Different games change how you build these things. SimCity Societies let you build buildings one by one. SimCity Creator for the Wii lets you draw roads with a pointer.

Designer Will Wright began working on the first game in 1985. He was inspired by a map feature in a game called Raid on Bungeling Bay. He also read a book called Urban Dynamics by Jay Wright Forrester. A short story by Stanisław Lem also gave him ideas. Wright and Jeff Braun from Maxis worked hard to release the game. At first, publishers did not think people would buy it. They thought a game you could not win or lose was strange. But SimCity was released in 1989 for the Amiga and Macintosh.

The series grew with many different versions over the years. SimCity 2000 came out in 1993 with an isometric view. This version added underground pipes and subways for the first time. SimCity 3000 arrived in 1999 with more colorful landscapes. In 2000, SimCity 64 was released for a Japanese console. It let players see cities at night in 3D graphics. SimCity 4 came out on January 14, 2003. This game let players build large regions with different districts. You could even move people between different games like The Sims 2.

SimCity is part of a huge family of games called "Sim" titles. One famous spin-off is The Sims, which became a best-seller. Some versions were even made for handheld devices. The SimCity DS used a microphone to blow out fires. You could also use a touch screen to control the city. A 2013 version of the game had many problems. It required a constant internet connection to play. This caused many errors and made the game hard to use. Some people say these troubles ended the franchise in 2015.

SimCity is a famous franchise of open-ended city-building video games.

These games are real-time management and construction simulators. Players take on the role of a mayor to grow a city from nothing. You start with a blank map and a specific budget. Your goal is to expand the urban area while keeping the citizens happy. This series is part of a larger group of "Sim" titles. One famous spinoff is The Sims, which became a massive best-selling franchise.

Managing a city requires careful attention to many different systems. You must provide basic utilities like electricity and water. You also need to provide public services like health, education, and safety. You can build infrastructure like parks and leisure facilities to help the people. Each building has a circular range that affects the area around it. If you do not fund these services well, you might face strikes. You may even deal with disasters like fires, tornadoes, or even monster attacks.

To keep the city running, you need a steady flow of money. The primary source of income is taxation from your citizens. You can also generate income through special buildings like prisons or military bases. Some games even allow you to legalize gambling to increase revenue. You can also make deals with neighboring cities. This might involve using electricity cables to buy or sell power to a neighbor. As the city matures, you can add government buildings like a courthouse or a mayor's house.

Designer Will Wright began developing the original game in 1985. He was inspired by a map creation feature in a game called Raid on Bungeling Bay. He also studied urban planning through Jay Wright Forrester's book, Urban Dynamics. A short story by Stanisław Lem also influenced his ideas. At first, publishers did not think the game could sell. They believed a game that could neither be won nor lost was too unusual. However, Maxis founder Jeff Braun agreed to publish it. The first SimCity was released in 1989 for the Amiga and Macintosh.

The franchise saw many technological improvements over the years. SimCity 2000 was released in 1993 with an isometric view. This version added underground layers for subways and water pipes. SimCity 3000 arrived in 1999 with more colorful and complex landscapes. In 2000, SimCity 64 was released as a Japanese exclusive. It featured 3D hybrid graphics and let players view cities at night. SimCity 4 was released on January 14, 2003. This title introduced regions where cities were divided into different districts.

Different versions of the game offered unique ways to play. SimCity Societies, released in 2007, focused on social engineering. Instead of using zones, players built individual buildings. SimCity DS used the dual screens of a handheld device. Players could use a microphone to blow out fires. SimCity Creator for the Wii allowed players to draw roads using a pointer. Even the original game's source code was released for free in 2008. This version is known as Micropolis because EA kept the SimCity name.

The 2013 reboot of SimCity was a very different experience. It featured full 3D graphics and the new Glassbox engine. However, the launch was described by some as one of the most disastrous in history. The game required a constant internet connection, even for single-player mode. This caused many connection errors and server outages. Because the servers handled saving, users often lost hours of progress when disconnected. These technical problems and bugs were heavily criticized. Some suggest these issues led to the 2015 shutdown of Maxis Emeryville and the end of the franchise.