Above: purported concept art from SimCity -- we're still waiting on official screenshots!
"We're building a simulation that really captures the world we live in today, where your decisions go beyond the boundaries of the city." Speaking at an EA press conference in San Francisco tonight, Maxis Senior Vice President Lucy Bradshaw shared some of the high-level goals for the new SimCity game, coming to PC in 2013.

Bradshaw recalled shipping the first city builder in 1989, and described the return of Maxis to the franchise proper with great enthusiasm. "It's been about ten years since we shipped the last, true SimCity by Maxis," she said. Despite that passage of time, the developer still seeks to impart inspiration in simulation. "The buck stops at the simulation," Bradshaw said.