Before Minecraft, There Was SimCity

When I think about the early 1990s, I immediately picture CRT computer screens — DOS, Norton Commander running on them, the clatter of keyboards, and the smell of a freshly printed manual inside a game box... well, sort of, because at computer markets back then, original copies were as rare as hen’s teeth.

It was in this world that SimCity appeared — a small revolution that required neither a joystick nor lightning-fast reflexes, only imagination and patience.

In 1989, when Will Wright introduced this extraordinary game to the market, nobody expected virtual city-building to become a cultural phenomenon. SimCity allowed players to feel like gods of urban space: planning roads, residential, industrial, and commercial zones, while also managing budgets, electricity, and disasters ranging from fires to… monster invasions.





There were no missions, scores, or levels to complete — only the endless pleasure of watching your city grow, evolve, sometimes collapse, and learning from your own mistakes along the way. By today’s standards, the graphics were minimalist and the interface simple, even austere, but that was precisely where its charm lay — every decision mattered in real time and carried consequences.



What truly set SimCity apart from other games of that decade was the absence of a traditional “goal.” Players were not forced to compete or win. Everyone could create their own city — from a quiet village to a bustling metropolis — and observe how it reacted to their decisions. It was the first major step toward simulation games where creativity and planning became the reward itself.

Today, when looking at modern titles, it is hard not to notice their roots in this simple yet brilliant project. SimCity from 1989 not only defined the city-building simulation genre, but also taught millions of players that sometimes the greatest joy comes from watching your own creation evolve through your decisions — even if that occasionally means putting out fires or cleaning up after a tornado.

The nostalgia for that era feels even stronger because every hour spent with the original SimCity was filled with uncertainty, experimentation, and small victories that still bring a smile to my face today. Because isn’t that the true magic of classics?

To this day, I still keep SimCity on my hard drive and launch it from time to time in DOSBox. Today I was building a futuristic version of Kalisz… but unfortunately, the mayor sent in the National Guard because of riots.



If you want to try it quickly yourself, you can even play it directly in your browser here: [Internet Archive – SimCity (1989)] https://archive.org/details/msdos_SimCity_1989?utm_source=chatgpt.com