In a letter to their Origin customers, Maxis have revealed that anyone who has purchased a copy of SimCity on Windows will be able to download the Mac client at no extra cost. They said that the game will be fully cross-platform, with Mac players able to compete or cooperate in Windows based regions.
Now that Maxis is slowly re-enabling several of the "non-critical" features for SimCity that were shut down while they fixed their server issues, they're ready to release the Mac version of the game. SimCity for the Mac will release on June 11th, exclusively on Origin (like that's a big shock).
Maxis' city-building game coming to Mac this summer with cross-platform play; PC sales rise to 1.3 million.
Electronic Arts announced today that Maxis' city-building game will launch for Mac on June 11. It will be available as a download only and won't be sold in stores.
Previously, the game was expected on the platform sometime this summer.
SimCity for Mac includes cross-platform play, meaning PC and Mac gamers can play together on the same servers. Those who already own SimCity for PC will receive the Mac version for free (and vice versa).
In addition, gamers can take cities they created on PC and play them on Mac by logging in to the same server they originally created the cities on.
According to Maxis, SimCity for Mac is not a simple port of the Windows version, but rather has been created as a native version optimized for Mac. Target system specifications for the game are Lion OSX 10.7.5 and a Core 2 processor.
Maxis said it has not yet determined if SimCity for Mac will support Retina display.
SimCity launched for PC in early March and was , becoming the "biggest SimCity launch of all time."
EA announced today that sales have jumped further to 1.3 million.
Maxis has let the Cheetah roam free once again as the highest game speed returns to SimCity after having been disabled shortly after launch. Now Mayors can really watch their cities hustle and bustle.
Work continues on the next update to SimCity which addresses a lot of gamer gripes to do with city services, mass transit and other AI quirks. Still no timetable for its arrival.
Had been disable by Maxis during the game's troubled launch.
The Cheetah Speed feature was disabled following the game's bodged launch in order to reduce the load on the servers.
"Yes, it's true - we've recently brought back Cheetah Speed," reads an update posted on the game's official channels.
In other news, Maxis is teasing SimCity Update 2.0, but hasn't said what players can expect to see – chief among the wanted features is extended city boundaries.
Cheetah Speed is the fastest setting for passing time in SimCity. The mode was disabled on March 7, shortly after the game's disastrous launch, in order to take load off the game's overburdened servers. Other "non-critical" features were also removed from the game at the time, such as achievements and leaderboards.
Maxis also said that SimCity Update 2.0 is in development, and promised to reveal formation soon.
Kotaku - One month ago today, EA and Maxis released SimCity into the wild. The game's launch was troubled, to say the least. In fact, you could very easily call it a disaster. Server woes, a debilitating online requirement, AI shortcomings, lost cities, and slow customer-service left many gamers angry.
Sponsored DLC offers in-game happiness for displaying a company logo.
Maxis is offering sponsored DLC for , starting with a free Nissan Leaf charging station.
In game, the Nissan Leaf charging stations offers no real downsides--the building generates happiness without requiring power, water, or workers. It doesn't generate any waste. The in-game advertisement does, however, feature a prominent Nissan logo and fill your city with Nissan's electric Leaf cars.
"Plopping down the Nissan LEAF® Charging Station will add happiness to nearby buildings," . "Adding the Charging Station will not take power, water or workers away from your city. Zoom in to the streets of cities and players will start seeing a percentage of their Sims from all wealth classes driving the electric vehicles. The Charging Station produces no garbage or sewage as well making it pollution free."
Any SimCity player interested in the Nissan Leaf charging station can download it for free from Origin or the in-game store. The content will be available for the next six months.
