Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
Fred Haslam recalled being pitched on a sequel for SimCity at a Maxis company dinner in December 1990, just as he and Will Wright had finished SimEarth.
Jenny Martin, the art director, and her team were conscious of buildings having distinct identities: "Cities don't have one style, so we wanted to make a mix of the deco and the modern and the old style ornate buildings." 3 x 3 tile buildings were designed first, then were cut down to create 2 x 2 tile buildings, which were in turn cut down to create 1 x 1 tile buildings.
However she stated she was held back in this goal by the limited capability of sound cards at the time to sustain long notes.
The SimCity 2000 "CD Collection" was released soon after the main game, on CD for the first time (after the 1.44MB floppies).
SimCity 2000 "Special Edition" was released on February 7, 1995 for Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS.
SimCity 2000 Network Edition, sometimes unofficially referred to as the "Gold Edition", was released in 1996 for Windows 32-bit only.
Comparing its improvement over the first SimCity to "watching the part in The Wizard of Oz where the color kicks in", InfoWorld in 1993 praised SimCity 2000 for Macintosh as "basically the same game, but now it's the way you always wish it was when you played the first version".
Computer Gaming Worlds reviewer, an author of a book on its predecessor, wrote in 1994 that SimCity 2000 for Macintosh offered "plenty of new challenges", fixed "virtually every criticism I leveled at the game" in the book, and "is without question a superior program".
The magazine said that the CD version's "multimedia enhancements make for a more accessible and enjoyable product".
In 1996, Next Generation listed the personal computer versions as number 33 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", calling it "easily one of the most enthralling games playable.
In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Sim City 2000 70th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time".
In the same issue, GamesMaster rated the Sega Saturn version 10th in its "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10".
In 1995, SimCity 2000 won "Best Military or Strategy Computer Game of 1994" Origins Award.
In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 35th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "lots of fun".
A reviewer for Next Generation said that the Saturn version "is a carbon copy of the latest installment of this city-planning simulation game, and, as such, it carries with it the monstrously addictive quality and absorbing challenge of all SimCity games.
He said that the one major problem is the Saturn version's lack of mouse support.
GamePros brief review said that the expanded menu "bogs 2000 down a little" but that the game would still be enjoyable for fans of the series.
A reviewer for Next Generation said the game is "a true, if uninspired, descendant" of the original SimCity.
He praised the addition of the 3D "ride-through" feature in the PlayStation version, but complained of the clunky interface when using the PlayStation joypad.
IGN staff erroneously criticized the PlayStation version for lacking mouse support, and said the game doesn't compare well to other simulation titles, but nonetheless assessed it as "worth it" for fans of the genre.
While its predecessor pioneered the city-building genre of video games, SimCity 2000 would become the model upon which subsequent urban simulators would be based over the course of the next decades.
Haslam spent the first 8 months of 1991 working on a top-down two-dimensional game.
Jenny Martin, the art director, and her team were conscious of buildings having distinct identities: "Cities don't have one style, so we wanted to make a mix of the deco and the modern and the old style ornate buildings." 3 x 3 tile buildings were designed first, then were cut down to create 2 x 2 tile buildings, which were in turn cut down to create 1 x 1 tile buildings.
The SimCity 2000 "CD Collection" was released soon after the main game, on CD for the first time (after the 1.44MB floppies).
It includes everything in the CD Collection, but also with remade music, new cities selected by Maxis from a 1994 competition, bonus scenarios, and (for the first time) "WillTV" movies.
The movies were a first for Maxis; SimCity 2000-SE was the first "Sim" game to feature produced videos.
SimCity 2000 Network Edition, sometimes unofficially referred to as the "Gold Edition", was released in 1996 for Windows 32-bit only.
SimCity 2000 has been released on a wide range of platforms and version since its debut in 1993, ranging from ports of personal computers and video game consoles.
The first console port for the game was the version for the Super Famicom/Super NES, ported by HAL Laboratory and published through Imagineer exclusively in Japan in May 1995.
The Sega Saturn port of the game was one of the first titles announced for the system, back in August 1994.
It was first released in Japan in September 1995 before shortly being released in North America and Europe.
A Japan-only release of SimCity 2000 for the Nintendo 64 on January 30, 1998, produced and published by Imagineer Co., Ltd. It featured some additional features, mainly mini-games, a dating game, TV to replace the newspaper, horse races and monster breeding, among others, all of them in 3D.
Another Japan-only release, SimCity 64 was based on the SimCity 2000 game but was heavily customized for the Nintendo 64DD game system.
Comparing its improvement over the first SimCity to "watching the part in The Wizard of Oz where the color kicks in", InfoWorld in 1993 praised SimCity 2000 for Macintosh as "basically the same game, but now it's the way you always wish it was when you played the first version".
It allowed 1 vast maps to be developed simultaneously by multiple players (up to 2 players by modem, up to 4 players over LAN or the Internet).
In 1996, Next Generation ranked SimCity 2000 No. 33 among all games as "one of the most fun games".
In 2016-8, Time placed SimCity 2000 at No. 13 in its best 50 video games.
In 1994, PC Gamer US ranked SimCity 2000 No. 7 among all computer games.
Famitsu gave the Super Famicom version 6 out of 10 in its Cross Review.
In the United States, SimCity 2000 was the 9th best-selling computer game between 1993 and 1999, selling 1,400,000 copies.
An approximate total of 4.23 million copies of SimCity 2000 have been sold, mainly in the United States, Europe and Japan.
In the United States, SimCity 2000 was the ninth best-selling computer game between 1993 and 1999, selling 1.4 million units.
During 1996 alone, it achieved sales of 500,000 copies.
According to Maxis's Lucy Bradshaw, SimCity 2000 achieved global sales of 3.4 million units across all platforms by January 2002.
SimCity 2000 was critically praised for its vibrant and detailed graphics, improved control menu, gameplay and music.
In the United States, SimCity 2000 was the ninth best-selling computer game between 1993 and 1999, selling 1.4 million units.
According to PC Data, SimCity 2000 SE was the United States' 20th-best-selling computer game during the January–November 1998 period.
Comparing its improvement over the first SimCity to "watching the part in The Wizard of Oz where the color kicks in", InfoWorld in 1993 praised SimCity 2000 for Macintosh as "basically the same game, but now it's the way you always wish it was when you played the first version".
Ed Lomas of Sega Saturn Magazine criticized the slow scrolling in the Saturn port but applauded the game itself for its depth, realism, and addictiveness, calling it "one of the few games that appeals to just about everyone.
They criticized the port's interface and low resolution graphics, which Dan Hsu felt were enough to ruin the game, but were unanimously pleased with the addictive simulation gameplay.
He praised the addition of the 3D "ride-through" feature in the PlayStation version, but complained of the clunky interface when using the PlayStation joypad.
IGN staff erroneously criticized the PlayStation version for lacking mouse support, and said the game doesn't compare well to other simulation titles, but nonetheless assessed it as "worth it" for fans of the genre.
Also, as elements unique to the Sega Saturn version, the statue of the mayor awarded when the city's population reaches 30,000 has been changed to a statue of Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Llama Dome awarded when the population reaches 90,000 has been changed to a spaceport, apparently in the image of the Saturn.
Haslam gives examples such as including the square grid from A-Train, which Wright then removed for the underground view.
Being developed in Japan, the stock photographs featured are replaced with images that resemble something from anime or manga.
Also, as elements unique to the Sega Saturn version, the statue of the mayor awarded when the city's population reaches 30,000 has been changed to a statue of Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Llama Dome awarded when the population reaches 90,000 has been changed to a spaceport, apparently in the image of the Saturn.
North American and European releases followed suit through THQ's Black Pearl Software label in Late 1996, near the end of the Super Nintendo's life span.
In 2003 it was also ported to the Game Boy Advance (not released in Japan).
Fred Haslam recalled being pitched on a sequel for SimCity at a Maxis company dinner in December 1990, just as he and Will Wright had finished SimEarth.
In the same issue, GamesMaster rated the Sega Saturn version 10th in its "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10".
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