[Mac] SimCity and MacOS Catalina

[arthrfrts]

@kirbyzhou Aspyr released an update for SimCity on Mac App Store as well!

[BlackjackWidow · Accepted solution]

Apple dropped support for 32-bit games like SimCity, beginning with MacOS Catalina 10.15.

There is more information in This Post, including some options for running 32-bit games after upgrading to Catalina. See this blog for detailed info.

Aspyr has updated their version of SimCity:Complete Edition to 64-bit and it is now compatible with Catalina. If you choose to purchase the App Store version, be aware you will no longer have access to any regions or cities on the EA servers. The App Store version by Aspyr is single player / offline use only. 

EDIT: In July 2021, Aspyr released an update for their Mac App Store version of SimCity:Complete Edition. This update addresses crashes for M1 devices and Big Sur.

Please contact Aspyr if you are still experiencing issues after installing the latest patch.

If you recently purchased SimCity, and none of the above options appeal to you, you may wish to check out the Great Game Guarantee.

[jbd00]

@EA_Mai @EA_Eve  and @MaxisBazajaytee  Hi, I remember back in the days EA cooperated with AspyrMedia in order to get SimCity to work back when High Sierra got released. I was wondering if you could again cooperate with the company in order for the game to be 64xPatched in Origin?  Aspyr's App Store version does not have online multiplayer support 

[taniasiao1]

Hello,

I just re-installed SimCity complete Edition on Mac Origin and it won't launch.

I have tried to restart Origin and also re-install it, but it just won't start at all. When clicking the install button (which remains even after the installation is complete!) it sometimes performs a check. After this is complete it asks me to select a language, but then it will remain in status "download" forever. When I click the orange "install" button, it just changes back to install. No error messages are given.

My Mac runs Catalina 10.15.1.

How do I solve this?

[BlackjackWidow]

Hi @taniasiao1  -  I moved your post to the master thread on this issue.

Apple dropped support for 32-bit games like SimCity, beginning with MacOS Catalina 10.15. There is more information in this post: https://answers.ea.com/t5/SimCity-2013/Mac-SimCity-and-MacOS-Catalina/m-p/8298578#M127940 , including some options for running 32-bit games after upgrading to Catalina. 

[rachel1073]

I purchased SimCity years ago, and it appears in my Origin game library with the option to install it. WHen I select that, it "downloads" extremely quickly, says it is complete, but only has the option to download/install again or close it. Downloading/installing again does nothing, can't get it to actually download. I'm on a new Mac.

[RealSimmor0]

Which version from your operating system are you using, @rachel1073?

Be aware of and sure notified, that Catalina version 10.15.3 is a 64 bit operation system only and doesn't support 32 bit applications anymore. This means, you can't run games like SimCity (2013), The Sims 3, The Sims Medieval and Spore anymore.

When you like using 32 bit applications and / or want to play these games you must use an older version or just switch to another platform.


Find out which operating system you're using: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201260
More about end of 32 bit application support, see: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208436


Regards.

[BlackjackWidow]

Hi @rachel1073  -  Are you trying to run SimCity on MacOS Catalina? Apple dropped support for 32-bit games like SimCity, beginning with MacOS Catalina 10.15. 

As stated in the first post of this thread, if you wish to run SimCity there are a couple of choices; you could create a bootable external drive, install a virtual machine running an earlier MacOS or bootcamp your Mac and run SimCity in Windows. There is more detailed information here: https://bluebellflora.com/running-32-bit-apps-after-macos-mojave/ including step-by-step instructions on how to create a bootable external drive.

If your new Mac is not running Catalina, please reply back with more information about your Mac following these instructions: https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-4-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/461...

[MikeBacotti]

@BlackjackWidow Has anyone heard if the app store version has plans to go multiplayer?

[BlackjackWidow]

Hi @MikeBacotti - I don't think they will ever go to multiplayer. EA hosts all the servers for the current online play. I think if Aspyr were going to do any kind of server hosting themselves they probably would have rolled it out that way. I think their niche is porting Windows games to the Mac, but not actually hosting mmo-type games. You could always ask them, to be sure.