The Verge - 'SimCity' launches to critical acclaim and crippling server problems

Why 'SimCity' has no parking lots, and other insights from the lead designer

2013-05-09T18:58:41Z

"Our game was going to be really boring if it was proportional in terms of parking lots," SimCity lead designer Stone Librande says of his decision to simply pretend the game's parking is underground. It's one of many decisions Librande and his team had to make when building their world simulation — adding some details created fascinating emergent phenomena like in-game traffic jams, but other things, like food supply chains, just wouldn't fit. At The Atlantic, Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley interview Librande about how he prepared for the game and what people ended up taking out of it, whether they chose to build a fantasy city or engage in a Starcraft-esque resource management war.

Original 'SimCity' creator Will Wright calls EA's botched game launch 'inexcusable'

2013-05-08T14:11:53Z

EA has been roundly thrashed for the rocky launch of SimCity, and Will Wright — who designed the original SimCity title and co-founded studio Maxis before leaving for other projects — says the company should have seen it coming. Wright told GamesIndustry International that the new SimCity was "a good game; I enjoy playing it a lot." But he expressed sympathy for the team, saying "I could have predicted — I kind of did predict there'd be a big backlash about the DRM stuff." He has stronger words for the launch itself, which left many people unable to play at all for days on end due to the need to connect to a game server.

"It was kind of like, 'EA is the evil empire, there was a lot of 'Let's bash EA over it,'" Wright said in the...

'SimCity' for Mac available starting on June 11th

2013-04-10T14:42:35Z

Hoping that it can put the launch issues of the PC version behind it, EA has announced the availability of SimCity for Mac. The company says that from June 11th, you'll will be able to purchase a copy of SimCity on its Origin games distribution platform and receive a copy playable on both the Mac and PC. That means if you have already purchased the PC version, you'll now be able to download it and play on the Mac for no extra charge.

EA CEO John Riccitiello stepping down on March 30th

2013-03-18T20:10:13Z

EA CEO John Riccitiello is stepping down from the video game giant as of March 30th, the company announced today. His departure comes at a time when EA is struggling with public perception over the troubled launch of SimCity, but the company also simultaneously announced that the game has sold more than one million copies since launching two weeks ago.

The circumstances surrounding Riccitiello's departure aren't clear yet; EA's press release indicates that both the former CEO and newly-appointed Executive Chairman Larry Probst (who served as EA CEO from 1991 until 2007) came to a mutual agreement that the time was right for Riccitiello to move on. Riccitiello has served as CEO since 2007, replacing Probst. As for a new CEO, Probst will...

EA limits 'SimCity' free game apology offer, but includes major titles

2013-03-18T19:47:57Z

Electronic Arts has announced the titles that it will offer SimCity owners for free as an apology for the server issues that plagued the game's launch and left it often unplayable. The company is offering a choice between eight titles: Battlefield 3, Bejeweled 3, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Plants vs. Zombies, and SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition. The list is certainly whittled down from the original stipulation-free offer of a "game from the EA portfolio," but many of the titles, such as Dead Space 3, are worth nearly as much as SimCity itself. Titles like Bejeweled 3 and Plants vs. Zombies are a significantly smaller giveaway from the company, but given SimCity's broad appeal EA may...

EA finishes 'SimCity' server upgrades after troubled launch

2013-03-14T12:48:08Z

EA and Maxis have completed a series of server upgrades that will hopefully solve the ongoing connection problems with SimCity. In a blog post, Maxis' Barrie Tingle said that the team had migrated all the original servers to "faster/higher capacity server architecture." A dedicated page listing the status of each server was also launched yesterday; while there were some lingering problems at that point, the page now shows an all-clear, albeit at a low-stress time. In addition to the server upgrades, a new patch promises to improve "trade intermittency issues," speeding up gameplay within regions.

The new servers have been in the works since shortly after launch, when a large proportion of players were unable to connect to the game's...

EA offering free game as apology for 'SimCity' issues

2013-03-09T04:18:46Z

Electronic Arts' launch of the new SimCity game has been plagued by server issues, resulting in everything from features being taken offline to EA calling off some of its promotional efforts for the game. The company hopes to make up for it, however, by offering a free game to users. In a blog post tonight, Maxis' Lucy Bradshaw apologized for the problems, admitting that the game's developers simply underestimated the number of people that would sign online to play the title. "A lot more people logged on than we expected," she writes in the post. "More people played and played in ways we never saw in the beta."

As compensation, the company will be offering a free downloadable PC game from EA's portfolio. Registered SimCity owners will...

'SimCity' marketing campaign put on hold, EA requests that affiliates do the same

2013-03-08T19:45:40Z

Electronic Arts has faced a number of problems with the latest SimCity since launching the title, and the ongoing issues have now led the company to call off some of its online marketing — and it's asking affiliates to do the same. Polygon reports that EA has sent an email out to members of EA Origin's LinkShare program, informing them that it has "deactivated all SimCity text links and creative," and is requesting that members of the program do so as well. EA will still pay commissions to program members for any referred sales, and pledges to let members know when it resumes the marketing efforts.

It's just the latest reaction in what has become a truly embarrassing snafu. Earlier this week "non-critical" features of the game were...