When RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 ($4.99) hit iOS a few months ago, most players were happy to see it but would almost immediately add “I wish RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 made it to iOS, too." Well, it seems all those players’ wishes have been heard since Chris Sawyer is currently working on bringing RCT 2 to iOS. RCT 2 was the last game of the series to be developed by Sawyer, since he only acted as a consultant for RCT 3. RCT 2 didn’t use a 3D engine, like RCT 3 did, so for many players it has aged better than its successor. While opinions always differ, many feel that only RCT 1 and RCT 2 are the “proper" RollerCoaster Tycoon experience with RCT 3 being a good game but not as good as the previous two in terms of graphics, gameplay balance, and so on (at the same time, many like RCT 3 the best, so it’s a matter of taste). Sawyer wasn’t involved in the mobile version of RCT 3, so his only work on mobile so far has been Transport Tycoon ($6.99).
In his interview for Eurogamer, Sawyer that the success of Transport Tycoon on iOS (it did and is still doing quite well) convinced him of the feasibility of bringing RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 to mobile. Since the newer versions of RollerCoaster Tycoon have moved on in terms of style and gameplay, Sawyer believes there’s a gap in the market for the original “classic" version of the game with its “unique graphical style and more simplistic gameplay." Hopefully the UI will work at least as well as the one in Transport Tycoon. There’s no release date for RCT 2 in the interview, but hopefully it’s not too far off. If you want to read the whole interview (which is quite interesting), go here.
