Can't say I saw this one coming.
For those unaware, SimCity was an incredibly influential game created by Will Wright that first released in 1989 on various computers. It essentially birthed the city-building genre, and would eventually make its way to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 as a launch title.
The SNES version of SimCity is notable for having been partially developed and published by Nintendo themselves, featuring various Nintendo references, most famously a Bowser Attack that can befall your city.
It was also the debut of Dr. Wright, a character Super Smash Bros. fans may be familiar with, as he appears in that series as an Assist Trophy.
So, yeah, this game has quite the legacy and is pretty beloved. That doesn't make it any less surprising to see it suddenly appear on Nintendo Music.
I don't know how the rights work with SimCity. I believe the franchise rights are currently owned by EA, who released the disastrous 2013 reboot of the SimCity, which was such a catastrophe that it basically killed the series off for good. However, Dr. Wright has been able to appear in Super Smash Bros due to Nintendo creating him for their versions of the game, therefore owning the character.
Doing a smidge of research, I learned that the SimCity SNES has actually been rereleased before on the Wii VC in 2006. However, it was sadly removed from the service in early 2013, allegedly due to the license expiring (though don't take that as gospel).
So, what gives? How is Nintendo able to put its soundtrack on to their proprietary music streaming app? Well, I have a few theories.
Firstly, perhaps they own the rights to the soundtrack, but not the game itself? It was composed by Nintendo composer Soyo Oka, who also did the soundtrack for Super Mario Kart and Pilotwings. I don't know if that's how these things work, but I'm just throwing ideas out there.
It's also worth noting that the game isn't currently available on SNES - Nintendo Classics. It would've been really cool to see it released alongside the soundtrack, but obviously that didn't happen. It could still very well be added in the future, though. Perhaps Nintendo has worked out the rights to the SNES version of the game and intends to re-release it soon, and put the soundtrack out first to kinda, I dunno, 'tease' it?
Regardless, this is a pretty cool addition, unexpected as it may be. I've been listening to the soundtrack as I write this post, and it is so pleasant. I can see how someone who grew up with this game might get the warm and fuzzies listening to this music. One song that really stuck out to me is 'Save Complete', which is just so calm and relaxing, and made a perfect addition to my sleep playlist.
It's a collection of 21 tracks totalling 23 minutes, and I highly recommend checking it out! And here's hoping we do get the actual game soon. It would be a perfect addition to a SNES library that already feels pretty complete, and I'd love to give it a try! If anything gets announced, I'll be sure to cover it here as soon as I can!
