Software:SimCity Creator

From HandWiki
Short description: 2008 video game
For the Nintendo DS version, see SimCity Creator (Nintendo DS).
SimCity Creator
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
SeriesSimCity
Platform(s)Wii
Release
  • EU: September 19, 2008[1]
  • NA: September 22, 2008
  • JP: September 25, 2008
  • AU: October 2, 2008
Genre(s)City-building game
Mode(s)Single player

SimCity Creator (シムシティ クリエイター, ShimuShiti Kurieitā) is a video game in the Sim game series by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Wii in 2008.

Overview

SimCity Creator follows the basic SimCity formula that sees players managing a city and placing residential, commercial, and industrial zones for buildings in addition to facilities such as police stations, hospitals, seaports, and stadiums. Players are also able to customize the look of their buildings by choosing from several themes for the city such as Egyptian, Roman, Japanese, European, Las Vegas, and near-future styles, in addition to ones that result in a crystal or confectionery-like appearance to buildings, along with unique soundtracks to go along with each theme. Players are also able to tour their city, rendered in 3D graphics, in a helicopter or airplane. If the player builds an airport, more touring vehicles can be unlocked.[2] In contrast to the DS title of the same name, players are not able to greatly advance the technology of the city short of the examples above.

Taking advantage of the Wii, the pointer function of the Wii Remote is used to directly draw roads and train tracks onto the map. Players were able to share their cities through WiiConnect24,[2] and the game's advisors were redesigned to resemble MySims characters.

Similar to SimCity 4, SimCity Creator features a day and night cycle, as well as a seasonal cycle last seen in the SNES version of SimCity. Players may tackle disasters including dinosaurs, giant robots, tornadoes, aliens, fires, and meteorite impacts.[2]

Construction

Zones

In SimCity Creator, areas can be zoned by the type of development and the density. There is also a landfill zone available which allows garbage to be stored. Each zone is color-coded:

  • Residential (yellow): Housing for Sims to live in. This zone's buildings include houses for low-density zones and apartment towers and skyscrapers for higher-density zones.
  • Commercial (blue): Where stores and office buildings are located. Sims can work in stores and offices, and the commerce can be taxed. Offices are usually built on commercial medium or high density zones. Hotels and restaurants are sometimes built as well.
  • Industrial (red): Contains the factories and warehouses. Sims may work here but it lowers land values and pollutes the air.

Transportation

Zones must be connected by lines of transportation. Some of the types of transportation choices for a city include roads and highways.

Roads and streets are basic lines of transportation that cars, buses and trucks drive on. They can be either curved or straight.

They can lead into each other to form crossroads or roundabouts. Heavy congestion can cause pollution above the affected road.

Highways are 4-lane roads. Cars travel faster on highways than roads or streets. However, they need on-ramps to function.

The player cannot build streets over rivers. However, building a road or railway over a river automatically creates a bridge.

Railways are what trains run on. However, they require train stations to work although they lower traffic congestion.

Subways are underground railways so they do not require buildings to be bulldozed, which makes it a more sensible choice for dense cities. They are more expensive to build than ordinary railways, about 8 in-game currency per tile, however, making it more sensible not to use them to link parts of your city that are far away from each other and do not have buildings in between them.

Subway stations are also smaller than train stations, occupying a 1x1 square rather than a 3x3 square for regular stations.

Subway stations are also easier to link to rails than ordinary railway stations.

Seaports are where boats stay. Seaports increase industrial demand.

Airports are where planes land.

If an airport is built the player will see planes, helicopter, airships and hot air balloons flying above their city, especially near the airport.

Airports also raise commercial demand and enable several flight missions to happen.

Energy and Climate

Development

The game was first announced on February 12, 2008, by Sims label president Nancy Smith along with other upcoming EA Sim titles including SimAnimals, MySims Kingdom, and MySims Party.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic67/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Famitsu28/40[5]
Game Informer5/10[6]
GamesMaster86%[7]
GameSpot6/10[8]
GameSpyStarStarStarHalf star[9]
GameZone7/10[10]
IGN5.9/10[11]
Jeuxvideo.com15/20[12]
Nintendo LifeStarStarStarStarStar[13]
Nintendo Power6/10[14]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one seven, one eight, one seven, and one six for a total of 28 out of 40.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Bozon, Mark (May 29, 2008). "SimCity Creator Details". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/05/29/simcity-creator-details. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 IGN staff (May 28, 2008). "Sim City [sic Wii Revealed"]. Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/05/28/sim-city-wii-revealed. 
  3. ↑ Faylor, Chris (February 12, 2008). "New Sim Titles Unveiled: SimCity Creator, MySims Kingdom, MySims Party, SimAnimals, Sims Next-Gen". https://www.shacknews.com/article/51288/new-sim-titles-unveiled-simcity. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "SimCity Creator for Wii Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/simcity-creator/critic-reviews/?platform=wii. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brian (September 17, 2008). "Famitsu review scores". https://nintendoeverything.com/famitsu-review-scores-18/. 
  6. ↑ Juba, Joe (November 2008). "SimCity Creator (Wii)". Game Informer (GameStop) (187). http://gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/5201FF17-54D2-4FB3-885E-56E4BAE3B291.htm. Retrieved March 6, 2022. 
  7. ↑ "Review: SimCity Creator (Wii)". GamesMaster (Future plc): 70. December 2008. 
  8. ↑ Light, Austin (October 14, 2008). "SimCity Creator Review (Wii)". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/simcity-creator-review/1900-6199401/. 
  9. ↑ Villoria, Gerald (September 30, 2008). "GameSpy: SimCity Creator (Wii)". IGN Entertainment. http://wii.gamespy.com/wii/simcity-creator/914979p1.html. 
  10. ↑ Ewen, Christopher (October 2, 2008). "SimCity Creator - WII - Review". https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/simcity_creator_wii_review/. 
  11. ↑ Hatfield, Daemon (September 26, 2008). "SimCity Creator Review (Wii)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/26/simcity-creator-review-2. 
  12. ↑ CptObvious (October 2, 2008). "Test: SimCity Creator (Wii)" (in fr). Webedia. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00009726-simcity-creator-test.htm. 
  13. ↑ Reddick, Stuart (March 27, 2009). "SimCity Creator Review (Wii)". Gamer Network. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/03/simcity_creator_wii. 
  14. ↑ "SimCity Creator (Wii)". Nintendo Power (Future US) 234: 101. November 2008. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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