Over the past couple weeks, as news of the new Sim City has started to filter in, I've been doing some thinking about the future of the project. Given the circumstances, I've decided to suspend the Metropolis Project for the time being. There's two main reasons for taking this step:

It seems that the news many of us, myself included, thought would never come to pass is now a reality: Sim City 5 is being made, and is due for release in 2013. EA made the announcement at GDC today, although the rumors had been floating around for some time. The initial reports sound promising: so far we know that the new Sim City will be in full 3D, will be moddable... and will have curvy roads.

An interesting new column by Will Doig on Salon.com entitled Dream City begins with an article about trends in urban renewal and the motivating forces behind them. Well worth a read at the link below.

How should we design the cities of our dreams? by Will Doig, via Salon.

In a couple of news posts over at Simtropolis recently, the old spectre of Sim City 5 seems to have reared its head yet again. Most interestingly, statements from a former executive at EA seem to indicate that they are considering resurrecting some "old franchises". Whether that includes Sim City or not is anyone's guess.