Ongoing problems preventing users playing the newly released SimCity game have caused Amazon to temporarily stop selling the game late on the 7th March, although at the time of writing this has now resumed.
Unlike previous SimCity titles, EA has demanded that players stay online whilst they play. One of the main reasons some game developers have started to require this is to reduce piracy, although if you ask EA they will probably say it was to add more realism to the title with users towns existing within online regions where they share virtual environments such as pollution, crime and other essential resources.
Don’t get us wrong, if this had worked, and the servers could cope with the demand this would have been a cracking title, something eagerly awaited by many. Indeed, the popularity is one of the causes that is leading the servers not to cope with all the users.
We are pretty sure all these kinks will be sorted out before long, but the damage to their reputation, and the viral sales resulting from the launch hype may be severely affected. Sure, looking at the game, we are sure some of you 80′s and early 90′s children would long to rekindle the magic this title gave you in your youth. The writer was tempted for a second. However, reading this article, and all the others similarly posted online it puts you off right?
Anyway, EA have been frantically sending out tweets and other messages via their spokesperson, that they are adding server capacity, and have rolled out fixes to increase the speed of gameplay, and get more people into the game. This won’t be of much comfort to those having to wait 30 minutes on a roll of the dice to get into the game only to find it struggling in the speed department. One of these fixes even removed their “cheetah” speed which was a very liked feature to speed up the game.
SimCity’s senior produce Kip Katsarelis posts on their forums:
Server capacity is our biggest obstacle. We launched in North America on Tuesday and our servers filled up within a matter of hours. What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn’t want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join. We added more servers to accommodate the launch in Australia and Japan, and then more yesterday to accommodate the launch in Europe. As of right now, we are adding even more servers which will be going live over the next three days. And, our plan is to continue to bring more servers online until we have enough to meet the demand, increase player capacity and let more people through the gates and into the game.
Earlier today, we released a patch that temporarily cut off some features including leaderboards, achievements and Cheetah Speed to reduce data stress on the servers and effectively free up space so that we can let more people into the game. These are great features that we’re proud of and we’ll turn them back on soon, but our number one priority is to bring stability to our servers. This update also resolved some of the bugs and issues that have been frustrating players. You can read all about it at http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/9341807.page
We will be posting regularly to keep you up to speed on developments, so please check back for updates. We are committed to doing everything we can to deliver a stable and enjoyable experience and we thank you for your continued patience and support.
Once all the servers can keep up with the demand, we are sure all this fuss will die down. We wouldn’t let this put you off buying this superb game,… although you might want to wait a couple of days to avoid all the frustration on not being able to log in.
You can purchase the downloadable or physical copy of the game at Amazon via the following link for $59.99: SimCity – Limited Edition
UPDATE: News just in from EA. If you have activated your copy of SimCity by the 18 March, you will receive a FREE EA title as an apology for all the problems.
The full update can be read below:
The good news is that SimCity is a solid hit in all major markets. The consensus among critics and players is that this is fundamentally a great game. But this SimCity is made to be played online, and if you can’t get a stable connection, you’re NOT having a good experience. So we’re not going to rest until we’ve fixed the remaining server issues.
And to get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio. On March 18, SimCity players who have activated their game will receive an email telling them how to redeem their free game.
I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent.
SimCity is a GREAT game and the people who made it are incredibly proud. Hang in there – we’ll be providing more updates throughout the weekend.
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