The 1989 simulation game created by Will Wright and centered on designing and managing a city is SimCity.
Wright developed the original game after becoming interested in urban planning and the map-editing system in his earlier game Raid on Bungeling Bay. SimCity did not focus on defeating an opponent or completing fixed levels. Instead, players zoned land, built roads, provided public services, and responded to changing populations and budgets.
The game was initially difficult to publish because conventional video-game companies doubted that a game without a clear victory condition would sell. Brøderbund eventually released it for home computers in 1989, and its success helped establish the city-building simulation genre.
SimCity is sometimes confused with The Sims, another major Will Wright creation. The Sims, released in 2000, focuses on individual virtual people and households, while SimCity focuses on an entire urban environment.