SimCity BuildIt "Tokyo Town" Update: 6 Steps Forward, 2 Steps Back!

On the 3rd of March 2015 SimCity BuildIt issued it's first major update since the initial launch back in November and it has come with a lot of interesting changes that improve gameplay and add more interesting aspects that both existing and newer players can appreciate.

Known officially as the "Tokyo Town Update" these are the 6 Steps Forward and 2 Steps Back that I have encountered since downloading the SimCity BuildIt update four days ago:

6 STEPS FORWARD

1. BETTER VISUALS & SOUND: All round improvement in sharpness of the game graphics and sound. This can be noticed particularly when viewing the "Hardhat" icons used to indicate a building ready for upgrading as well as the "Golden Coin" icons used for offering special deals for items to the Mayor. 
2. LESS SAVING REBOOTS: There is a significant reduction in the amount of rebooting and saving that used to take place every time your phone received an SMS or notification and caused gameplay to pause, save and Reboot from the server while visually showing a SimCity BuildIt cue-card. Now it is almost unnoticeable which is a big step forward.
3. NEW SIM SAYINGS: A big boost in the number of "Sim Sayings" that you get when clicking on the blue speech bubbles has been included in the update which adds variety and provides some humorous, head-turning sayings.
4. MASSIVE NEW AIRPORT: The most immediately visible update is the new space behind the Global Trade HQ which can be turned into an airport once your city reaches a 260,000 Sim Population. When clicking on the new location it explains that "Llama Cargo Airlines is looking for new destinations. Build your airport for new imports and exports. The airport will also unlock Tokyo Town Zones". A sample working airport can easily be found at Mayor Daniel's City where it looks pretty cool with 5 planes constantly landing and taking off.
   
   
   
5. TOKYO TOWN ZONES: Once the airport is unlocked you can build new Tokyo style residences and skyscrapers (including the iconic Himeji Castle landmark) using various imported "Tokyo Town" items including the "Lucky Cat" which appears to operate in a similar way to the Golden Keys available from Ship Cargo and Doctor Vu's Disasters.
6. NEW MAILBOX: EA somehow still found space to also include a new Mailbox that appears just underneath the Settings and Friends icons in the top left corner of the screen. The purpose of this is meant to be mostly for providing rewards, gifts and game update news.

2 STEPS BACK 

Alas with the good also comes the not-so-good and these are the two areas which have either not been fully fixed or which might have negative consequences for the game's future development:

1. GLOBAL TRADE HEAD QUARTERS TWEAKS: In all fairness the GTHQ has been much improved with a smoother operation and better algorithm that makes shopping for items a slightly less painful task. However there still remains a lack of search functionality and general difficulty in finding the items you need, let alone being able to conclude a purchase for them. They have replaced the incredibly annoying "Purchase Failed!...." notice with a slightly more amusing Llama based one though.
2. CREATION OF MORE EXPENSIVE ZONES: With the creation of the Tokyo Town "Medium Service" Zones this appears to open a lead into higher service support requirements which means that more Simoleans will be needed to support similar sized buildings albeit with higher populations. The question at the moment is how much will it really cost and how much more expensive will it be for "High", "Premium", "Luxury" zones etc....could be very costly depending on the next few big updates!