SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation video game released in 1999, and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by series creator Maxis. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, and, through an arrangement with Loki Games, Linux.

Gameplay

thumb|300px|A mature city in SimCity 3000, featuring a population higher than 1 million

There are many changes between SimCity 3000 and its immediate predecessor SimCity 2000. These changes span both the integral city management aspects of the game, as well as its graphical and landscape aspects. More and newer city services are featured. These changes create a greatly different experience from that of SimCity 2000.

The most notable change is the addition of the concept of waste management. In SimCity 3000, garbage begins to accumulate when the city grows to a medium size, and must be disposed of at the expense of the city. Farms and agricultural structures are also introduced, appearing on large light industrial zones in a city with low land value and little pollution. A new zoning density was also added, totaling three densities, compared to SimCity 2000s two.

Development

Prior to the acquisition of Sim developer Maxis by Electronic Arts in 1997, plans were originally made in 1996 to develop SimCity 3000 as a fully 3D game, in tune with the emergence of 3D video games. Although the idea was deemed impractical by employees for being too graphically demanding, Maxis management pushed for the concept, and the game was developed for a year. After EA completed acquisition of Maxis, Luc Barthelet was assigned by EA as the new general manager of Maxis. He was troubled by the 3D SimCity 3000, questioning the viability of a game with such graphics. Eventually, the 3D version was completely scrapped, Lucy Bradshaw was brought in from EA in November 1997 to lead the SimCity 3000 project, and a new revision based on SimCity 2000s pseudo-isometric dimetric projection and sprite-based graphics was redeveloped from scratch.

The second version of SimCity 3000 would receive a more positive reception during its appearance in 1998 E3, and was well-received after its release in February 1999 (although Maxis originally intended the game to be released by Christmas 1998; regardless, EA willingly waited until the game was completed).

| IGN = 9.0/10 In the German market, it received a "Gold" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) by the end of May 1999, indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was the United States' best-selling computer game during the first half of 1999, and by the end of September had sold 470,000 units in the country. This drew revenues of almost $20 million. It claimed second place for the year overall—behind Rollercoaster Tycoon—with sales of 657,514 copies and revenues of $26.8 million. This gross was the highest that year for a computer game in the United States. In 2000, SimCity 3000 placed ninth in the United States, with another 385,001 units sold. This earned an additional $10.5 million in revenue.

In the United States, the game's Unlimited edition alone sold 1.1 million copies and earned $27.5 million by August 2006, after its release in January 2000. Edge ranked it as the country's sixth best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006, and the highest-selling SimCity title during that period. Combined sales of all SimCity computer games released between January 2000 and August 2006, including SimCity 3000 Unlimited, had reached 3.4 million units in the United States by the latter date. SimCity 3000: UK Edition received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

According to Maxis's Lucy Bradshaw, SimCity 3000 achieved global sales of 4.6 million units by January 2002. Using data from product registrations, she explained that the overall series' userbase was three-fourths male and one-fourth female at that time. The game sold 5 million copies worldwide by 2007.

Reviews and awards

SimCity 3000 received positive reviews. IGN gave it a 9.0, praising sound, gameplay, graphics, and lasting appeal.

GameSpot gave it an 8.5 and praised its graphics while criticizing the adviser system. SimCity 3000 Unlimited has also gained critical acclaim with IGN giving it a 9.1 praising its presentation and graphics. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated SimCity for "PC Strategy Game of the Year" at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, although the game lost to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.

Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "SimCity 3000 is great fun and loaded with interesting, mind-absorbing gameplay."

The Classic Mac OS version of the game received generally negative reviews. AllGame editor Lisa Karen Savignano criticized the game for having a steep learning curve and noted that many of the game's new features (when compared to SimCity Classic and SimCity 2000) "add nothing to the game in terms of playability and very little in terms of enjoyment". In his January 2000 review for MacAddict, Mark D. Shuchat-Marx referred to SimCity 3000 as "a big disappointment", noting that the game "doesn't actually run well on a Mac".

Legacy

Expanded edition

In May 2000, the game was re-released under different names in different regions, such as SimCity 3000 Unlimited (in North America and Oceania), SimCity 3000 Deutschland (Germany), SimCity 3000 Edition Mondiale (France), SimCity 3000 Korea (South Korea), Mahanakhon 3000 (Thailand) SimCity 3000 UK Edition (UK and Ireland) and SimCity 3000 World Edition (other countries), among others. This added, among other things, East Asian and European building sets, additional terrain colors and vegetation types, a snapshot feature, additional music, an improved version of the Building Architect Tool (a pseudo-3D design tool based on cubes), four additional disasters (such as locusts and space junk), additional landmarks (like the Seoul Tower and Helsinki Cathedral), new reward buildings, thirteen scenarios (along with an editor based on Microsoft Access) and a new FMV intro.

Premade cities are also available, including London and Liverpool for the UK, Berlin (with the Berlin Wall), Madison, Madrid, Moscow and Seoul. The game also includes city terrains based on the geography of real cities, including Hong Kong and Chicago. At the time of the game's release, EA launched a website for Simcity 3000 Unlimited which allowed users to exchange their creations. The site, formerly located at www.simcity.com/us/exchange/ (for North American territories), is no longer available and can only be accessed with an archiving tool.

SimCity 3000 Unlimited was re-released digitally on GOG.com on July 14, 2016, and later on Steam on March 7, 2024.

SimCity DS

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SimCity DS is a heavily modified version of SimCity 3000 for the Nintendo DS released in Japan on February 22, 2007, North America on June 19, 2007, and Europe on June 22, 2007. The game inherits SC3Ks graphics, but makes use of the handheld's dual screens to display additional interfaces. Console-specific features are also included, such as the use of the console's integrated microphone, which is used to blow out fires, and the touchscreen, which is used to control the interface. The game also features a "Save the City" mode, in which the player must help one of several cities recover from a disaster and reach a specific target to succeed.

Linux

Loki Entertainment released SimCity 3000 Deutschland, SimCity 3000 Unlimited, and SimCity 3000 World Edition for Linux.

iPhone and iPod Touch

A version of SimCity 3000, known as SimCity for iPhone, was released in 2008 for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

References

  • SimCity 3000 on SimCity.com
  • SimCity 3000 at MobyGames