1) Create a terrible, franchise-destroying online-only game
2) Ride wave of initial sales based on franchise hype
3) Watch the game's reputation get destroyed as you're incapable of fixing fundamental flaws in the game
4) Months later, patch in offline mode
5) See no sales bump
6) Refuse to ever release offline games again. Cite SimCity. "See! We gave you what you said you wanted, and no one bought it!")
Well he's not wrong. He never said that it couldn't technically be done. There was red tape in place that you'd only really know about if you worked maxis.
I admit, it's something I appreciate as well. Of course I'd prefer them to give the actual score it deserves right away instead of rushing the review out and adjusting it later, but at least they do something.That was a cheap shot, Jim. There's nothing wrong with updating a review when things change.
Just in case people somehow think this news makes the game worth playing.
Well he's not wrong. He never said that it couldn't technically be done. There was red tape in place that you'd only really know about if you worked maxis.
To be fair, he's right. He's not saying that it cant be patched in, just that nobody outside of people working on the game would know whether its possible or not.
When confronted with the Rock Paper Shotgun article titled Maxis Insider Tells RPS: SimCity Servers Not Necessary:
I hope no one ever let's him forget how completely full of shit he was on this. He looks like a complete ass now.
Holy shit. Good job, it's a great game even that shouldn't have been left to this fate in the first place.
I have NO idea how you can read that tweet and not see he was saying "this game cannot be patched to be offline". That is what he was saying.
Huh, what makes you think I don't know the context for this tweet?
god, why would someone set themselves up for embarrassment in such an obvious way?
Excellent!
I'll buy it when it becomes Origin-less!
I will go with this being his spin. That's pretty clever.
You're starting to sound like Arthur Gies. Denying what is right in front of your face.
Hackers hacked the game to be offline a week or two after it's launch! How much more obvious does this need to get for you?
What's wrong with Origin?
(as a mac user, it's much better than steam.)
He is clearly trying to asskiss his way up the industry (also see his attempts to become twitter-buddies with Penello etc). Only he fails to do it in a subtle manner. When you're publicly known for being a clueless, arrogant fool you're not a particularly attractive candidate as a community manager (that's the position that ex-press people without talent get hired for in the industry, right?).god, why would someone set themselves up for embarrassment in such an obvious way?
This shows how far PR bullshit can go: from "impossible" to "we're doing it right now".
I guess the online population was dwindling and EA decided to give up with their idiotic business model.
as they'd look like bigger assholes releasing a console version that could be offline, if the PC version couldn't.
Because that's not what he's saying in THAT tweet right there. Just basic reading comprehension and an ability to not overreact about things.I have NO idea how you can read that tweet and not see he was saying "this game cannot be patched to be offline". That is what he was saying.
I didn't realize that part. Fair enough.Except for the fact that, ya know, hackers/enthusiasts had the game running offline within the first week. They just disabled the call to the server and it still worked fine.
Pretty much. Hearing that certain projects can't be done without friends to help out online is dumb as hell. Who thought this was a good idea?
It's run by EA, who have done nothing to deserve my trust.
It's not really spin though, it's the truth. The only way you would actually know why maxis didn't want an offline mode is if you worked there because the reason was not technical limitations. His sentiment of people talking objectively and confidently based on absolutely nothing remains.
That was a cheap shot, Jim. There's nothing wrong with updating a review when things change.
But that's not an incorrect statement? You "literally don't know what you're talking about" doesn't mean "you're wrong".
Is there any legitimate reason for the cities being so small?
The Glassbox engine supposedly can't handle bigger cities - which makes it a horrible design decision.Is there any legitimate reason for the cities being so small?
Exactly. It was clear right from the start that Gies was the one who didn't know what he was talking about. Of course his inflated ego didn't allow him to admit he was wrong.But people did know what they were talking about. It was clear from the start that the servers weren't doing any kind of calculation and it was all just DRM.
As opposed to who? I don't see why you'd trust any particular platform over another and I really don't understand why you'd cite the platform as the only reason not to buy a game.
Because that's not what he's saying in THAT tweet right there. Just basic reading comprehension and an ability to not overreact about things.
As opposed to... anyone else on earth?As opposed to who? I don't see why you'd trust any particular platform over another and I really don't understand why you'd cite the platform as the only reason not to buy a game.
Is there any legitimate reason for the cities being so small?
The sales were good enough I'd almost guarantee a sequel is in the works.
haha