Graphics in SimCity 4 are rendered using trimetric orthographic projection whereas SimCity 2000 and SimCity 3000 were rendered with diametric projection. Moreover, SC4 does have a control interface very similar to The Sims. SC4 comes with some default sims for those without a copy of the game. Sims can be imported into the city where they will report what they think of the area they are living in. SimCity 4 can be used in conjunction with Maxis' popular game The Sims.

Additionally, the simulated city can now be seen at nighttime as well as during daytime. In this version, the player may develop several dependent cities at the same time, eventually populating the entire region. For example, neighbor deals could be established, where a city could exchange resources such as water, electricity, or garbage disposal for money. Neighbor cities played a large role in the previous version of the game, SimCity 3000. The regional play concept adds a whole new dimension to this sequel of SimCity. There are many differences between this game and previous versions, the largest difference being that cities are now located in regions that are divided into segments, each of which can be developed.

Simcity or simcity 4