Extract text from SimCity 4 game saves (SC4)
To convert SC4 saves to another format, you need SimCity 4 or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game Save / Voice Recording" file type, you need software like SimCity 4 or a similar tool.
An .SC4 file typically serves one of two very different purposes. Most famously, it is a proprietary saved game or region file for SimCity 4, developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Alternatively, it functions as a highly compressed digital voice recording file created by legacy hardware dictaphones from manufacturers like Panasonic or Sony.
Both formats come with frustrating real-world disadvantages. The SimCity 4 saves are heavy, closed binary databases holding complex city layouts, population metrics, and terrain data. They often exceed 100MB and are completely proprietary, making them impossible to open natively outside the aging game engine. The .SC4 audio codec is equally restrictive. It is an obsolete, undocumented audio format that modern media players and web browsers completely ignore, stranding users who no longer have the original legacy playback software.
Because of these limitations, conversion is critical but challenging. If you are dealing with an audio .SC4 file, the primary goal is converting it to a standard MP3 or WAV file so you can actually listen to the recording on a modern smartphone or computer. If it is a game save, standard conversion to another format is generally impossible without destroying the complex game logic, though specialized modding communities sometimes extract the raw terrain data into image formats like PNG or JPG.
This file format is notoriously difficult to process because standard online converters fail to distinguish between a city builder game save and a voice recording. Just drag and drop your file into convert.guru to identify the exact underlying format. We will inspect the file, analyze its internal header, and show you its actual contents. If our analysis detects a supported embedded audio stream or extractable image data, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your SC4 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted SC4MODEL, SGS, WHS, RSG and SC3 files.
If you want to convert SC4 file to EXE, ISO, BIN, CUE, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP, MAP, SAV or DAT, you can use SimCity 4 or similar software from the "Game Save or Voice Audio" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to SC4, try SimCity 4 or another comparable tool in the "Game Save or Voice Audio" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our SC4 converter.