It has come to light that there was a SimCity game planned for consoles in 2011, and cancelled under mysterious circumstances.
Our source was looking up a different cancelled EA game, Black, when this information came to light. This game was cancelled in October 2011, but was planned for release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U. Maxis went as far ahead as a prototype, but EA chose not to go through with it further, but if it was released, it would have come out alongside 2013’sSimCity.
That release is famous now for its always online requirement and the problems this requirement created when it went through multiple technical issues at launch. What may have been forgotten is that it also made use of a new engine, called GlassBox. GlassBox essentially raised the AI level of the overall game, so that it paid attention to even the smallest details, such as cars using the shortest routes in traffic.
There is no evidence that Glassdoor was conceived of in the console versions of the game. However, it is entirely possible, since the console versions were cancelled early, that Maxis used tech and development tools meant for those versions on the PC game that did get release.
Why could EA have decided to cancel the console version of SimCity? Do you think they should consider releasing a new console Sim game in the future? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
