Simcity

1989 video game

Original description from the source, not translated.

YEAR 1989

GENRE Simulation

PLATFORM Android, Linux, Microsoft Windows, web browser, Wii, Unix, OLPC XO-1, iPod Touch, mobile phone, ZX Spectrum, Acorn Archimedes, Mac operating system, iOS, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, DOS, X Window System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, NEC PC-9800 series, IBM OS/2, Java virtual machine, EPOC, Palm OS, Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Symbian, FM Towns, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Virtual Console, CDTV, DESQview, Classic Mac OS

ABOUT THE GAME

SimCity (also known as the retronyms Micropolis or SimCity Classic) is a city-building simulation video game developed by Will Wright, and released for several platforms from 1989 to 1991. SimCity features two-dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective. The game's objective is to create a city, develop residential and industrial areas, build infrastructure, and collect taxes for further city development. Importance is placed on increasing the population's standard of living, maintaining a balance between the different sectors, and monitoring the region's environmental situations to prevent the settlement from declining and going bankrupt. SimCity was independently developed by Will Wright, beginning in 1985; the game was not released until 1989. Because the game lacked any arcade or action elements that dominated the video game market in the 1980s, video game publishers declined to release the title for fear of its commercial failure until Broderbund eventually agreed to distribute it. Although the game initially sold poorly, positive feedback from the gaming press boosted its sales. After becoming a best-seller, SimCity was released on several other platforms, most notably on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1991. Its gameplay was significantly revised with Nintendo's involvement. SimCity is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, marking the beginning of the urban simulation genre. It was met with critical acclaim for its innovative and addictive gameplay despite the absence of traditional action elements, with reviewers describing it as instructive and beneficial to players’ understanding of urban planning, politics, and economics. SimCity sold 500,000 units on home computers and 1.98 million units on the SNES, and received numerous awards from news publishers and industry associations.

Source: Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0 — SimCity (1989 video game) · retrieved October 19, 2026

Text is shortened from the original article; the full version is linked.

PROVENANCE

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