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The '''''SimCity'' universe''' ({{ja|シムシティー|Shimushitī}}, ''SimCity'') is a long-running series of open-ended world-simulation games. | The '''''SimCity'' universe''' ({{ja|シムシティー|Shimushitī}}, ''SimCity'') is a long-running series of open-ended world-simulation games developed by {{s|wikipedia|Maxis}}. Despite not creating or owning the series, the character of [[Dr. Wright]] is owned by [[Nintendo]] due to being exclusive to versions they developed, hence his inclusion in the ''Smash'' series. | ||
==Franchise Description== | |||
While working as a software developer for other companies, {{s|wikipedia|Wilbur Wright}} showed a passion for level editors and wanted to create a game based entirely on the player creating their game with a level editor. He combined this desire with his fascination with urban planning to create a game based on creating and managing a city. This game, initially titled ''Micropolis'' before being changed to ''SimCity'', was created in 1985 for Commodore 64, but went unreleased for years as every publisher turned the project down for being too complicated for the average consumer. Fed up with waiting for a publisher, Wilbur and his friend {{s|wikipedia|Jeff Braun}} created their own in 1987, named Maxis. Commodore Amiga and Apple Macintosh versions of the game were also created around this time and were released first, with the Commodore 64 version releasing later. | |||
The game was a critical and financial success, with particular praise given to its inventive gameplay, slick presentation and being an early example of a "Simulation" game. The game continued to sell for years afterwards and continued to receive accolades for aging very well as a game and as a simulation, with many proclaiming it as one of the most important video games of all time. The continued success is often attributed to its miriad of ports of just about every major game console and computer. A particularly interesting port is theversion for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video version (simply called ''[[wikipedia:SimCity_(series)#SimCity_SNES|SimCity]]''). This game introduce an original character named Dr. Wright, who acted as a tutorial character and introduced new game mechanics as necessary. Due to a licensing agreement, Dr. Wright is wholly owned by Nintendo and is not allowed to reappear in any future tiltes without permission. An NES version of the game was worked on nearly to completion, but was canceled for unknown reasons. | |||
A sequel was eventually released in 1993, titled ''SimCity 2000''. While fundamentally similar to its predecessor, this sequel saw a significant amount of improvements like improved graphics, more facilities and more mini-games. This game also received several ports, notably two versions for [[Nintendo 64]]. The first is a straightforward port released in 1997 with updated controls and graphics to be compatible with the system. The second is a modified version for [[wikipedia:Nintendo 64DD]], titled ''{{s|wikipedia|SimCity 64}}'' in 2000. This version is notable for the return of Mr. Wright, who has a similar role to previous appearances. | |||
The series then introduced a slew of spinoff titles, including the ''SimFarm'' subseries, ''SimCity the Card Game'', ''SimTown'', ''SimCopter'', and ''Streets of SimCity'' before Maxis was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1997. The first game under their new parent company was ''SimCity 3000'' in 1999. The game is the first in the series to have an original music score. The game also features a host of new facilities and city features. The team created another spinoff game a year later, titled ''The Sims'', which takes the Sim formula and puts it on a much smaller scale with the player directly controlling individuals. The game was a massive success and spawned its own franchise that has become a tentpole property for Electronic Arts. | |||
Another sequel, titled ''SimCity 4'', released in 2003. The game is the first in the series to use 3D polygonal graphics and introduced various game modes to control the city at a macro and micro level. Later that year, the game received an expansion pack titled ''Rush Hour'', as well as a deluxe edition that combined both releases. This expansion greatly expanded transportation, including the ability to directly control vehicles. | |||
The series then received its first handheld title, titled ''{{s|wikipedia|SimCity DS}}'' for [[Nintendo DS]]. Based on ''SimCity 3000'', the game was rebuilt to be used with a touch screen interface. The game was also the first to not be made by Maxis, instead being developed by AKI Corporation. That same year, Tilted Mill Entertainment developed ''SimCity Societies'' for PC. This game differs from previous entries in that it focused more on social engineering and was overall less strict on planning and roles. Hudson Soft then developed ''SimCity Creator'' in 2008 exclusively for [[Wii]]. This game utilized the Wii remote to construct the city more intuitively. A DS version of this game was also made with AKI returning, but it was not a port. It was instead a sequel to ''SimCity DS'' titled ''SimCity DS 2'' in Japan that was renamed to avoid brand confusion. In 2012, an online version of the game was released on [[Facebook]] titled ''SimCity Social''. The game lasted less than a year before shutting down in 2013. | |||
All games mentioned that did not involve Maxis received mixed to negative reviews, with most critics agreeing that their absence was felt and very apparent. This is due to the company working on ''{{s|Wikipedia|Spore}}'', a history and evolution simulation game. Maxis finally returned to the series with ''SimCity'', a complete reboot of the series in 2013. However, this release ended up being the most controversial entries due to a myriad of problems and poor decisions. Aside from the many cut features, engine problems and performance issues, the game was required to have an internet connection while playing despite being an offline, single-player game. This cause problems with disconnections and loss of saved data, particularly when the online servers crashed for several days, meaning no one was allowed to play the game during that time. The online mandate was eventually removed, and the ''Cities of Tomorrow'' expansion was released, but the game still has overall negative reviews. | |||
The series has officially gone dormant, with the last release being a mobile game titled ''SimCity: BuildIt'' in 2014. The negative response of the game caused a large amount of the studio to be laid off, and now the development teams have only worked on ''The Sims 4'' and its expansions since 2014. | |||
==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''== | ==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''== | ||