Simcity 2013 Guide

[Karoline Oum]

NOTEI am currently in the process of moving this page over from my old website, pnaw10.com. I've moved my websites to a better hosting provider, but I can't host as many websites as I had on the old host, so I'm merging the SimCity guide into peterthedj.com. The pnaw10.com domain redirects to this page.

Some of the images may be missing, and some links may not work during this transition period -- but the entire guide is now on one single (really long) page, rather than being split into separate pages. I will eventually have the table of contents link to anchor points within this page. Until then, you'll just have to scroll up and down to find what you need.

I was 16 years old when I started Peter's Place. At the time, I was in high school and I had a lot more time for video games and computer games then. My "SimCity 2000 Tip of the Week" was one of the first features on the website. Since then, many other gaming sites have popped up, created by people who have more time for video games than I do. While those sites continue to evolve around the latest games in the series, my site is, to the best of my knowledge, the only one that ever covered the Super NES version of the original SimCity in such detail, and even in 2021 this page continues to get decent traffic. That's why I decided to keep the SimCity SNES page going.

Super NES vs. Wii Virtual Console - There really aren't many changes. For the most part, the Virtual Console version is a direct replica of the original. However, there are three very important differences you need to know about -- the last two are actually very cool.

Super NES vs. Computer - Generally, SimCity is SimCity, no matter what platform you use. The rules are the same, the object is the same, and the general procedure to get things done is the same. So if you're playing a computer version, you can still get a lot out of this guide. But there are a few differences between the SNES version and the computer versions:

SimCity vs. SimCity Classic - SimCity is the original title of the computer game. It was re-released as SimCity Classic (for the PC) after SimCity 2000 was released, but there were no other major changes. SimCity was never re-released as "SimCity Classic" for the Super Nintendo. The only change was to the box art, when SimCity became a "Player's Choice Million Seller" after selling a million copies.

SimCity vs. SimCity 2000/3000/4 - If you're used to the newer versions of SimCity, the key thing to remember is that the original is much simpler. It's still a complex and involved game, but there are certain things you don't have to worry about. For example, SimCity 4 has you making deals with neighboring cities for things like power supply and trash management. You're responsible for building water pumps and the underground pipes to get that water to your zones. In SimCity, NONE of that is your job. Your neighbors simply don't exist, trash isn't a concern, and neither is water supply. Highways aren't even an option... it's just streets or rails. And you don't need train stations -- people can get on and off the train anywhere along the route. If you think newer versions of SimCity are just too overwhelming, you may find the original to be more fun to play... or at least a good "foundation" to learn the basic ideas of SimCity before you try the newer versions.

Considering SimCity was released over 20 years ago, you can rule out finding a new-in-box copy of the SuperNES cartridge. But, it's still pretty easy to get your hands on this game one way or another. You can scour stores and web sites for a used cartridge, of you can simply download to play on a Nintendo Wii console.

Updated June 2014: SimCity was once, but is no longer available for download through the Wii's "Virtual Console" feature. After noticing a recent uptick in site traffic, I just decided to see if SimCity is still available in the Wii Shop Channel; it is not.

Worth nothing: Other previous Wii Virtual Console purchases of mine still show up in the Wii Shop Channel. In place of a price, they either display "downloaded" if they are still present on the system, or "redownloadable" if I had deleted them. Nintendo has always allowed players to redownload previously-purchased-and-deleted titles for free, knowing that players may sometimes need to delete games to free-up memory. It appears that SimCity is an exception; if deleted, you may not be given the chance to redownload it.

But, if you downloaded SimCity while it was available and kept it, good news: If you get a Wii U, you can still play! Nintendo offers a free "transfer utility." Simply download to both systems and let it rip. It'll move darn near everything -- Miis, game save files, downloaded games, your Wii Menu layout -- over to your Wii U. (Note: this doesn't mean you can use one Wii to copy SimCity to multiple Wii U machines -- after all the data is moved to the Wii U, the transfer utility wipes the memory on the original Wii, so it's like it had never been used before.)

Whether you've got SimCity on the Wii or WiiU, you'll need a special controller, because the Wii remote doesn't have as many buttons as the original SuperNES controller. Although the WiiU gamepad does have all the right buttons, try it and you'll get an error message informing you that "Wii software cannot be controlled with the Wii U GamePad.") You may have noticed that certain Wii Shop Channel games have been re-released through the Wii U's eShop Channel, adding GamePad compatibility -- but SimCity isn't available there, either. So, here are your options:

Using a real SuperNES ControllerThere are a couple of people who make and sell devices which can connect an original SuperNES controller to the GameCube ports on the Wii. (Again, because these options require GameCube ports, they are useless if you have the newer Wii model, which lacks GameCube controller ports.)I have not tried any of these products myself, but they seem pretty interesting. I you insist on having the most "authentic" experience possible, without actually owning a SuperNES and tracking down a SimCity cartridge, this might be the way to go.

Check eBay - This might be the easiest way to find the game. It's almost always there, somewhere, but you might have to decide if it's worth getting into a bidding war. And watch out for buyers who add hefty shipping charges to the winning bid.

"Retro" game stores - Major national chains like GameStop usually limit their used game offerings to the newer platforms, so don't expect to find any SuperNES games there. But, if your area has any locally-owned retro game stores, check those out. At least in my area, there are a few locally-owned shops and they DO carry games all the way back to the original NES (and earlier consoles like Coleco and Atari). If they don't have the game the first time you visit, you might need to check back periodically to see if someone else happened to sell a copy. Some stores might be willing to take your name and call you if the game comes in.

Pawn Shops or "Comic Book" stores - Jeff Sichta from Omaha, NE, writes in to suggest pawn shops or comic book/gaming stores. But these stores sell more than just video games... so you may want to call ahead. Even if you do, the staff likely aren't video game experts, and the stores probably don't keep a close inventory of their video games... so in the end, you might just have to go scour their stock in person anyway -- and you still might come up empty-handed.

Thrift Stores - I never really went into thrift stores until a few Halloweens ago, when I was looking for the ugliest possible suit jacket I could find for a costume. Surprisingly, every store I visited had old video games. I didn't catch any particularly eye-catching titles, but you never know until you stop in. Again, it's unlikely the store staff will be able to tell you if they have any copies of SimCity over the phone, so you'll just have to go and look for it yourself.

Important! Remember, SuperNES games use an in-cartridge battery to save your progress. Most of these batteries had a life expectancy of about 5 years. SimCity was released in 1991. Do the math. If the battery isn't already dead when you get the game, it may not last much longer. Once the batteries die, no more save-file capability. You'll either need to leave the game in your SNES and leave it powered-on 24/7 or be prepared to start over from scratch every time you start the game. Or, if you're brave enough to perform some surgery on your game, here's an article I found on how to replace the battery in an SNES cartridge. I make no guarantee it actually works -- just providing the link as a courtesy.

The legality of using an emulator is questionable, so I'm not going to say much more about the topic. The only reason I'm listing it is to avoid having people email me to "inform" me that I "forgot" to mention emulators. Do not e-mail me about emulation -- I will not respond to questions about emulators.

If that much reading isn't for you, and you happen to be playing on the Wii "Virtual Console" just press the "Home" button on your Wii controller to access a neat on-screen instruction manual. It's much shorter than the original instructions, but it covers enough of the basics for you to get started.

These three landforms have the least amount of water (13%, 15% and 15%, respectively). Obviously, the less water there is, the more room you have for building. And the more you can build, the more SimCitizens can move into your city.

What about water supply?

If you're asking that question, you've played one of the newer versions of SimCity. This could be good or bad news: water doesn't matter in the original SimCity. Less realistic, but less of a pain in the neck... you don't have to deal with building water pumps, pipes, sewage treatment plants, etc. In this version, water just takes up space. (But as you get closer to using up all available space, you are given the option to build three "landfills" on the water. More details when we talk about "Gifts" in Section 7.)

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