Hudson Soft’s Lost SimCity Game for Japanese Phones Has Just Been Preserved

For years, many assumed Hudson Soft’s exclusive SimCity mobile game was lost to time. Released in 2006 for Japanese feature phones, the game was a unique take on Maxis’ classic city-building franchise, optimized for the hardware limitations of the era. Now, thanks to video game preservationists, this long-lost title has been recovered and made available for future generations to explore.

Hudson Soft, known for its work on the Bomberman and Adventure Island series, collaborated with Maxis to develop this version of SimCity specifically for Japanese mobile networks. Unlike traditional SimCity titles, this adaptation streamlined gameplay elements to fit the constraints of mobile gaming in the mid-2000s. While it retained the core aspects of city management—zoning, infrastructure, and disaster response—it introduced mobile-friendly mechanics that made it more accessible on the go. You can view the gameplay in the video below.

The game was distributed through a subscription-based service that was commonplace for Japanese mobile games at the time. Due to the ephemeral nature of these services, many titles from this era have been lost, as they were never released on physical media or ported to other platforms. The recent preservation effort involved extracting the game’s data from a surviving device, ensuring that it remains playable for enthusiasts and historians interested in early mobile gaming.

SimCity 3D for SO was preserved by Xyz! Developed by Hudson Soft in 2006, it appears to be a keitai-exclusive entry in the #SimCity series. This variation was preloaded on the SO902i. The non-preloaded version periodically received new scenarios from the "iSimCity" i-mode site.

[image or embed]@rockmancosmo.bsky.social9 February 2025 at 17:48

While there’s no official way to play the game outside of archival circles, its preservation highlights the importance of digital conservation. Games from the feature phone era often fall into obscurity due to their reliance on proprietary distribution methods, making preservation efforts crucial for maintaining gaming history. You can view the manual for the game here.

This discovery is a reminder of how much of gaming’s past is still at risk of being lost. With more efforts like this, we can continue to uncover and safeguard forgotten gems from the industry’s ever-evolving history.

If you’re passionate about preserving gaming history, make sure to protect your own collection with RetroShell, the world’s finest game protector—perfect for keeping your treasured titles safe. And if you want more retro gaming news every week, subscribe to our free Substack for all the latest updates!