# SimCity 3000

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity-3000/

18 people recommended SimCity 3000 in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 4 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

15 of the 18 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “SimCity 3k in 4k”.

**Verdict:** Fans praise its aesthetics, soundtrack and advisor system; some report speed problems on newer PCs.

Summary written by Claude from 21 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Nostalgia and fond childhood memories (3 comments in the sample): "This was one of my favourite games. City simulators took up an enormous amount of my childhood" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48298358)) "So many hours, this was my SimCity experience and I still can hear the jazz." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48306622)) "Loved SimCity growing up." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48299457))
- Praised soundtrack and aesthetics (2 comments in the sample): "Unlimited is sad because data-mining shows that it was almost multiplayer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48301672)) "the soundtrack was amazing. game was kinda lowkey hard" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48301556))
- Holds up; ranked among best games (2 comments in the sample): "It still holds up better than most new games." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48298073)) "it's in my top 5 best games ever made" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48299044))
- Cohesive, warm and pleasant feel (2 comments in the sample): "They were less-realistic, yes, but is so pleasant how everything ties together" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48301906)) "masterfully executed advisor system that felt both classy and warm" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48298225))

## What people warn about

- Performance issues on newer PCs (2 comments in the sample): "Every time I played the game on any XP or newer PC I get speed limited in Cheetah mode" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48215735)) "I haven't been able to get some performance issues ironed out." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48378161))

## Other city builder games people recommend

- [SimCity 2000](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity-2000/): 16 recommend, 3 mixed, 7 criticize
- [SimTower](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simtower/): 11 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [SimCity](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity/): 10 recommend, 7 mixed, 10 criticize
- [SimCity 3k in 4k](https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity-3k-in-4k/): 9 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "SimCity 3000", https://hackerapproved.com/p/simcity-3000/ (18 recommend, 5 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.