SimCity (2013 video game)

"SimCity 5" redirects here. For the 2007 game, see SimCity Societies.

SimCity
Developer(s)Maxis Emeryville
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Producer(s)Kip Katsarelis
Jason Haber
Designer(s)Ocean Quigley
Stone Librande
Composer(s)Chris Tilton
SeriesSimCity
EngineRenderWare
GlassBox
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows[5][6]
macOS[7]
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: March 6, 2013[2]
  • EU: March 7, 2013[1]
  • AU: March 7, 2013[1]
  • JP: March 7, 2013 (2013-03-07)[3]
  • UK: March 8, 2013
macOS
  • WW: August 29, 2013[4]
Genre(s)City-building
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer[8]

SimCity is a city-building and urban planning simulation massively multiplayer online game developed by Maxis Emeryville and published by Electronic Arts. Released for Microsoft Windows in early March 2013,[2] it is a reboot of the SimCity series, and is the first major installment since the release of SimCity 4 a decade before. A macOS version was released on August 29, 2013.

Players can create a settlement that can grow into a city by zoning land for residential, commercial, or industrial development, as well as building and maintaining public services, transport and utilities. SimCity uses a new engine called GlassBox that allows for more detailed simulation than previous games. Throughout its development, SimCity received critical acclaim for its new engine and reimagined gameplay; however, publications cautioned the game's mandatory use of a persistent internet connection, which enables cloud saves and multiplayer functionality, allowing cities to trade and share resources.

Prior to release, SimCity received positive reviews; however, the game's launch was received negatively due to widespread technical and gameplay problems related to the mandatory network connection for playing and saving game data. These issues included network outages, problems with saving progress and difficulty connecting to the game's servers. As a result, reviewers were unable to review the game, labeling the launch a "disaster" and the game "unplayably broken", urging players to avoid purchasing the game until the issues were resolved. The poor performance of SimCity was cited for the closure of Maxis Emeryville in 2015.

  1. ^ a b "When will SimCity be released?-EA Help". Electronic Arts Inc. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Phillips, Tom (October 24, 2012). "SimCity release date set in stone • News • Eurogamer.net". eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  3. ^ "4Gamer.net エレクトロニック・アーツ，日本語版「シムシティ」を，2013年3月7日に発売。初回特典の内容も明らかに". 4Gamer.net. November 16, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  4. ^ "Blog post by Senior Producer Kip Katsarelis". Archived from the original on October 10, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  5. ^ "SimCity Official FAQ". Electronic Arts. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  6. ^ Parish, Jeremy (March 7, 2012). "SimCity Returns as One Part Simulation, One Part Stump Speech". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  7. ^ "Breaking News: Live from Gamescom". Simcity.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  8. ^ "SimCity returns in 2013". GameSpot. March 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.