The path to SimCity's port to the SNES began with an encounter in 1989 that reflects the time period so closely that it could have been created for a recent period piece about the origins of products like the Air or BlackBerry.

As recounted in the new book "Building SimCity," a history of the legendary simulation series, the deal began in the summer of 1989 when Maxis co-founder Jeff Brown received a phone call from Nintendo and was told that designer Shigeru Miyamoto was interested in creating "SimCity" on Nintendo's game console. The deal was sealed when he told them that he wanted to make "SimCity" on Nintendo's console. As author Chaim Gingold tells us, Miyamoto "imagined a game where the player creates his own world," and after discovering SimCity, he "wanted to put his own stamp on it."

The next day, Brown flew to Nintendo's U.S. headquarters in Redmond, Washington, where he met with Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln and president Minoru Arakawa. According to Gingold, Lincoln made the following proposal: Nintendo would handle the porting, Maxis would receive a $1 royalty for each "SimCity" cartridge sold, and if Brown signed on immediately, Lincoln would "also give him a $1 million signing bonus." (5]

Brown said yes, and a few months later he and "SimCity" designer Will Wright flew to Kyoto, where they were "welcomed like family and treated like royalty," according to Gingold's book. For a week, Wright worked with Miyamoto on ideas for a console version of "SimCity," and Miyamoto took the American out for a nightly pachinko game.

This visit is also the origin of the green-haired character "Dr. Wright," who serves as the player's advisor in the Nintendo version of "SimCity." Miyamoto was known to fans as "Dr. Miyamoto," and according to Gingold, "Nintendo knew the value of a good character, and they met an obviously good character in Wright.

Dr. Wright didn't just appear in "SimCity:" he also made cameos in "Smash Bros." and two "Zelda" games.

On a call with PC Gamer, Gingold said he felt that 1993's "SimCity 2000" must have been heavily influenced by Wright and Brown's experience working with Miyamoto and Nintendo: "Wright was just starting out and was basically apprenticed to Shigeru Miyamoto. At the time, Wright was 29 and Miyamoto, who was more experienced, was in his late 30s.

Making SimCity: According to Gingold, the book took over 10 years to write. Gingold says it took him more than 10 years to write the book, as surprising details and anecdotes repeatedly pushed him in new directions. The book contains another interesting fact: Maxis canceled The Sims in the 90s, but was saved by an unexpected hero: Electronic Arts.