How can I play Sim City 3000 in Windows 10?

[Pandorable]

Since we installed Windows 10, my Sim City 3000 game will not play.  Is there a way to make it compatible with Windows 10?  I do not like Sim City 4000 or any of the other Sim City games.

[Straatford87]

@Pandorable,

For issues with Simcity 3000, please try the following:

1. A disc versions will not work on newer computers. Edit: Please see the this post for more info.
2. Turn off Origin in-game.
3. Try running in compatibility mode: right click the Simcity 4 shortcut > Properties > Compatibility. Choose a compatibility mode, click apply. Try different compatibility modes to see if that resolves the issue
4. Right-click Origin and select Run as administrator

Lastly, I cannot guarantee we can get the game working on newer versions of Windows as they don't meet the requirements of the game.

I hope this helps,

--Tom

[PrimbudP]

It states to contact a Game Advisor for a digital rendering of an older disc game (for newer platforms such as Windows 10) but nothing older than Sim City 4 is listed in 'first, choose a game'. I have the disc for 'Sim City 3000 Unlimited' but am having trouble with it now.

[Straatford87]

@PrimbudP

The game itself isn't listed, just select Simcity as your game and you should be fine.

[ImpossibleBag]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I just tried to contact support for a download and was told that they could not do this. In my search for a method to get the game back, this was the top thread via google. The chat was very helpful and gave me a free game, but said they were unable to get the game for me because Maxis no longer exists.

I'm not really sure how that all makes sense, but that's what I was told. Hopefully some day this game gets supported again. Here is the exact quote.

Tristine "I understand that but we no longer have the access to the game since it has no Studio anymore and we're unable to replace the code as well."

[topkekeater]

I followed the steps and i talked to a person. I then proceeded to give the person my email and name. Now what?

[EA_Kristi]

Hello all,

If you are on Windows 10 and have a disc version of the game, then sadly you will not be able to install the game. If you are about to purchase the game, I would recommend checking out GoG.com.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to an Advisor.

Thanks!

[Pheonixau]

Why are you telling me to buy this again? I already bought the license to play this game so why can I not play it?  I definitely don't have the money to spend on buying it again

[Gorath_the_Elder]

Your game is almost seventeen years old.  Only Window98 and Windows2000 were around back then, and Maxis is out of business now.  It will never be patched again, and Windows 10 cannot emulate an OS any older than Vista with any useful accuracy. 

You might look into getting "Virtual PC" from Microsoft, and then find a copy of Windows2000 to run within that virtual space (finding an unused copy of Windows98 would be rather difficult now). 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3702

[FFppppff]

First of all, I know this thread is old.. But I love this game, payed for it, and refused to let it just stand there on my desk all dusty. The only way I got the cd version of this game working flawlessly on windows 10 was by applying a no-cd exe, therefore removing the DRM, since all the trouble in starting up the game is due to that.

I hope all people who bought this game like I did, can enjoy it after all these years!

Cheers