SimCity hits Mac on August 29

SimCity will launch on Mac on August 29, EA has announced. The title will be cross-platform compatible, so Mac and PC users will be able to play together in the game’s online world and jump back and forth into their cities regardless of which platform they’re using. Those who already own a PC version of the urban construction game will receive an automatic entitlement for SimCity on Mac via Origin.

In early June, EA delayed SimCity's Mac release from its previously planned June 11 launch to an unspecified date in August. Explaining the move, senior producer Kip Katsarelis said: “We have made this tough decision because we do not believe it is ready for primetime yet. We want to ensure the Mac is a great experience for our players and that is why we are taking more time.” The caution was understandable given the game’s disastrous PC launch.

In late July, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau revealed that the game had overcome its turbulent launch to surpass two million sales. He told VentureBeat: “In retrospect, our biggest takeaway is that we are lucky that SimCity has an enormous number of loyal fans. That first week after launch was really rough - an experience nobody wants to live through again. We've sold more than two million units, and the number of people logging in and playing is holding steady. SimCity is a success. However, underestimating demand in the first month was a major miss. We hope that the game and the service we've provided since then meets the fans' high standards."