
After experiencing a six month delay, EA has finally released the Mac version of the new SimCity. The game which was originally set to come out in February of this year was delayed to “ensure a great experience” for its players. EA has repeatedly emphasized that the Mac version of SimCity isn’t a “port” of the PC game but rather a fully native version designed specifically for the Mac using OpenGL. That being said, the game however does include full cross-platform support to facilitate “region play” where the cities of multiple players are connected to share utilities and citizenry, with PC and Mac Mayors able to play in the same regions.
For those of you who aren’t too familiar with it, SimCity’s PC launch was more than a little rocky, mainly because the game could only be played online. EA made it a requirement to be connected to its servers at all times, a requirement which had caused the company many issues and backlash. At launch, SimCity’s servers ended up being overwhelmed with traffic and the gameplay experience was very poor. Today, EA seems to have ironed out most of the bugs and users are able to play the game as intended. EA added the following notice regarding its system requirements (viewable in full at the bottom of the purchase page):
In general, most Late-2009 iMacs, mid-2009 MacBook Pros, and mid-2010 MacBooks meet the SimCity's minimum specifications. Other systems not listed here may be able to run SimCity, but can experience graphical or performance issues and would require an OS upgrade.
Source: SimCity
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