{"id":1613064,"date":"2026-06-21T16:12:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T16:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/KNknrZcSXd3adxyMrKuuoD"},"modified":"2026-06-21T16:12:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T16:12:26","slug":"you-will-never-guess-who-turns-up-in-this-video-about-why-you-cant-build-british-towns-in-simcity-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/you-will-never-guess-who-turns-up-in-this-video-about-why-you-cant-build-british-towns-in-simcity-4\/","title":{"rendered":"You will never guess who turns up in this video about why you can’t build British towns in SimCity 4"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I needed no further incentive to check out this video that explores why a SimCity<\/a> game set in the United Kingdom wouldn’t work, but even if the idea of comparing metropolitan systems of government isn’t thrilling <\/em>to you, you’re going to want to watch it just to see who crops up at the end. It’s so unexpected that I think it probably counts as a jump scare, and while I can’t say whether it makes the video better or worse, it’s sure as hell makes it fascinating.<\/p>\n

The subject of the video\u2014which is by YouTuber Chris Spargo<\/a>\u2014delves into how a SimCity set in Britain would differ from the standard, Americentric version of the game, using SimCity 4<\/a> as its case study. As Spargo points out, you can manage some “British” cities in SimCity 4, like London. But it doesn’t really look or act like London, because it’s built according to the US system of city governance.<\/p>\n

As Spargo lays out, the differences between British and American cities are many and run deep. Even some of the most fundamental things diverge radically, like who runs a city in each nation. As with most modern urban city-builders, SimCity 4 puts players in the role of mayor, which works fine for American cities because mayors wield most of the power within a city. But in the UK, or at least, in England, power can be much more widely distributed among councils and boroughs.<\/p>\n

Other differences include SimCity’s fundamental mechanic of zoning. Spargo points out that zoning in the US is very rigid, hence why they end up with sprawling residential districts with no nearby amenities. The UK has a much more nuanced system that allows for multipurpose zones, but it’s also much harder to build anything <\/em>due to extensive.<\/p>\n

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