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Cities Skylines Proves We’re Still Enthusiastic About Sims

Cities Skylines Proves We’re Still Enthusiastic About Sims

Something extraordinary has happened to PC owners. We’ve gotten a simulation game we deserve. Paradox Interactive has provided us all with Cities: Skylines . It’s a city building and management simulation and, frankly, it’s awesome. Remember the good SimCity games? Like, say, SimCity 2000 ? That’s what Cities: Skylines is. It’s a game that gets a lot of things we love about the genre right.

But praising the success of Cities: Skylines is about more than stating the obvious. If a game is good, then yes, it is going to succeed. That’s common sense. We all know and recognize that. This particular title is important because it shows there is a demand for simulation games.

It’s a genre that’s never really gone away. You see simulation games pop up from time to time. Primarily, they’re on PCs. EA’s done pretty well with the continual iterations of The Sims and with SimCity , despite its steady decline in quality, but we never really think of them as blockbusters. The demand isn’t clear, because aren’t seeing substantial figures constantly proving these games are wanted.

Cities: Skylines is doing just that. Pre-orders and first day sales surpassed 250,000 units. A few days ago, it passed the 500,000 copy mark. The numbers are there. People aren’t just buying this $29.99 game offhand. They were flocking to it and happy to support a company that was getting a massive management game right.

Cities Skylines Proves We’re Still Enthusiastic About Sims

There’s another indication of success that’s even more telling. Ever look at the top selling games on Steam? Cities: Skylines has been at number one ever since it released on March 12. This $29.99 game is beating out big-name titles like Grand Theft Auto V, Sid Meier’s Civilization V, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. People are showing they’re into this genre.

Cities: Skylines is reassuring. It proves in an age of AAA titles, open world fantasies, and indie darlings, a simple game about creating a town and making it work can win. It isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about a quality product in an overlooked genre getting the kind of attention it deserved. Things like this have to make you smile.

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