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[OrangeYouGlad]

Yeah. I think you're right that someone in corporate communications wrote this.

It's painfully obvious this is a "crafted" message. As Lint pointed out, Lucy is the lightning rod for the hate that people are throwing at EA. That way if things get to the point where they need to salvage their image they can just can her and pretend like that solves the problem.

 

[TheGreyHulk]

Lucy.. Lucy... From us gamers her @ neogaf, "STFU!"

seriously, stop speaking for us fans. We never wanted am online only gimped sim city.

 

[kafiend]

Never has a game I haven't bought given me such entertainment. Thanks!!!

Also STFU.

 

[dejay]

It's painfully obvious this is a "crafted" message. As Lint pointed out, Lucy is the lightning rod for the hate that people are throwing at EA. That way if things get to the point where they need to salvage their image they can just can her and pretend like that solves the problem.

She'll no doubt get a nice payout and move on - hopefully for her she has a thick skin.

I think EA is trying to force this to work with the gaming public because this DRM model is something they want to use going forward and Simcity was meant to be a success for that model.

 

[Permanently A]

I don't want to play SimCity at all, thanks much.

 

[unbias]

Her blog sounded more like a letter to their stockholders to convince them they have it all under control, more then trying to inform the public of anything.

 

[fanboi]

Sim City is a good game.

 

[Canuck76]

One of the most bizarre screw ups i've seen in any industry ever.

God help those at Maxis who have to try sort through this hamburger hill type situation.

Sad too, a lot of hype before this game came out and now.....this

 

[Timedog]

Make it work offline and I'll buy it.

 

[Septimius]

I want to do a credit call back, or whatever it's called, just for this alone. Even if regions are a nice online feature does not mean you need to be ALWAYS online to enjoy them, as there's no inter-city communication going on. Since I don't actually send two fire-trucks to your city - they just spawn locally in yours. So fuck you, Lucy, for having the audacity of saying shit like I enjoy always-online just because I think the online features are nice. Those two have nothing to do with each other.

I can have patience for a poor launch if I like the game. I can put much of the poor online design past me, but when EA tries to spin it positively, I just want to fucking flip my table.

 

[Amey]

Is the whole Maxis staff this arrogant or only those interacting with public?

 

[Kayhan]

But we’re also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality.

Sure, Lucy.

 

[SolarPowered]

She has absolutely no idea how to address an audience that isn't primed to accept corporate BS-speak.

Sometimes it seems like few in this industry remember that gamers aren't simple marketing receptacles.

 

[dejay]

Is the whole Maxis staff this arrogant or only those interacting with public?

Read between the lines of some of the devs - there's a lot they want to apologise for and change, but their hands are tied. Management, on the other hand, particularly non-creative management, are always business first.

 

[kinoki]

Sure, Lucy.

Well, to be honest there might be. But the tens-of-thousands that complain about it was left unmentioned.

 

[vareon]

SimCity PR since launch is disastrous, but EA is being EA and did what every corporate would do at times like this, which is turning it into a good one because a bad PR is PR nonetheless.

 

[fanboi]

Well, to be honest there might be. But the tens-of-thousands that complain about it was left unmentioned.

Tbh, the non complainers will outmatch the complainers by quite a margin I would say.

 

[polyh3dron]

Always-Connected™®

love how she capitalizes this term every time.

 

[Zaptruder]

EA PR: Hi Gamers! We know there's been some kerfuffle over our latest game! But we wanted to do right by you by repeating our bulleted marketing points in a slightly different manner while insulting your intelligence by obviously avoiding the actual issue you're bitching about here. Because you know, it's not actually you gamers that count. It's the gamers that haven't been played by our marketing scam yet that count. You guys were stupid enough to fall for it, so I guess the real lesson to be learnt here is scam as many as we can until it all falls apart!

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

This is as good as cracking the game, because I've gotten $60 worth of entertainment from this game without even buying it.

 

[Haunted]

Hey Lucy, thanks for the heads up, turns out you're right! I don't want to play this game offline.

Or online.

Or at all.


Cheers,

Everyone.

 

[Farslain]

I'd just love to know exactly when people like Lucy feel it's ok to behave and talk like this to their public. We've seen a few delusional ego maniacs as of late, it's like North Korea, but with legs and a brain.

How disconnected from your public and the reality of your terrible situation do you have to be to write shit like this Lucy? People obviously do want an offline mode, it's exactly what every single gamer wants for every single game they will ever play whether they know it or not. Always online clearly is never going to be trouble free, and on that basis we'll always need an offline mode.

 

[mikeGFG]

But we’re also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality

what a crock of shit

not even the region chat works in a game full of friends-- fucking TEXT chat.

just give me my free game already.

 

[Open Source]

It really feels like a Facebook game: asynchronous online interactions designed to cover up a shallow, broken, boring single player experience.

Of course some genius probably thinks that we should aspire to make Facebook-like games because some Facebook game made a lot of money.

What next, endless running games, which exist only because of the shortcoming of having no buttons on an iphone, on consoles?

Excuse me while I vomit.

 

[Conan-san]

Well she's perfectly correct;

I don't want to play her game.

 

[Mxrz]

Of all the games to ever cause such a complete shitstorm, I would have never suspected SimCity. EA really has out done themselves.

The sheer damn logistics of a billion dollar corporation fucking up this bad is astounding on its own. To then keep digging the hole further, even moreso.

 

[Yagharek]

Always-Connected™®

love how she capitalizes this term every time.

Without a Hint of Irony© at that.

 

[Nosgoroth]

But I do, Lucy. In fact, I won't be buying thhis game unless I can.

If I were human I would say "go to hell"......if I were human

This was bugging the hell out of me for ten minutes until I figured out it's a Star Trek Insurrection quote.

 

[Soodanim]

If I decided to buy a Sim City game, which one would GAF suggest?

 

[Mxrz]

If I decided to buy a Sim City game, which one would GAF suggest?

Can't really go wrong with any of the previous ones. 4 is probably the most presentable these days, with all the mods and things to go along with it.

 

[szaromir]

This Sim City launch debacle looks more or less like the Half-Life 2 launch debacle... which means people will stop caring about it sooner than later.

 

[MoGamesXNA]

Ugh corporate spin, is corporate spin regardless Lucy.

SimCity is either:

1) A horrendous example of modern game design
2) A horrendous example of forced and intrusive DRM

See that sweet, sweet money in my wallet? Yeah you're not getting that.


...If I sound bitter, it's because I am. I'm also tired. All of the SimCity talk & marketing inspired me to install SimCity 2000 and 3000 during the week. I've since put Tomb Raider on the shelf and have been forced to reduce my allocated sleeping hours to accommodate the demands of being a virtual mayor.

 

[Keasar]

I don't want to play SimCity at all right now, I think that is even a bigger problem.

This Sim City launch debacle looks more or less like the Half-Life 2 launch debacle... which means people will stop caring about it sooner than later.

What was the debacle back then? I remember there being some frustration over that you couldn't launch the game immediately because of the online registration but at least once that was done you were free to do whatever you want. I was one of the people frustrated and while I still think it kinda sucks, its at least "one-time only". Though having to do that when you had actually bought the game in retail, with a physical DVD, did really suck.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

I don't want to play SimCity at all right now, I think that is even a bigger problem.

same here. It's a real shame because I was looking to get back into the franchise after years of being away..

 

[szaromir]

I don't want to play SimCity at all right now, I think that is even a bigger problem.

Yeah, all the negativity made me entirely disinterested about the game.

What was the debacle back then? I remember there being some frustration over that you couldn't launch the game immediately because of the online registration but at least once that was done you were free to do whatever you want. I was one of the people frustrated and while I still think it kinda sucks, its at least "one-time only". Though having to do that when you had actually bought the game in retail, with a physical DVD, did really suck.

It was a problem when you couldn't connect to the server to activate your game though.

 

[Afrikan]

Poor Maxis... this has to be EA decision makers at work..

they did the same thing with Madden 13...with no offline franchise more......they said everyone wanted a connected career.

 

[QaaQer]

Sure, Lucy.

I believe the proper quote was:

game.fudgethenumbers(
     But we’re also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across 
     regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality)

 

[Darklord]

Even if it was offline, the DRM shadows other major, game ruining issues that make me no longer want to play it. The game is crap.

 

[Muku]

I'm simply amazed they let that turd of a letter out into the wild. Who the hell is that letter supposed to be for anyway? Someone somewhere lost something very important, because that whole thing screams of "you'll listen to my bullshit and like it", and I really won't listen and I won't like it. Though to be honest I've gotten more entertainment off this than anything. I didn't even buy the game, but I sure as hell have had someones $60 worth of entertainment.

 

[chogidogs]

DON'T TELL ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

WE Tell You How To Play Games!™

Yeah, that's the weirdest part about it.

Do they seriously have their heads stuck that far up their own asses?

They just stated there is literally no reason for there not to be an offline option. What the fuck.

 

[solarus]

Arthur gies probably got a hard on reading this.

 

[B-Dex]

It's like they forget that without customers they don't have jobs.

 

[DragonSworne]

Treat us like Sims? Then I demand lower taxes

 

[Dead Man]

Great. So make online optional.

Can't have that. All or nothing. It's the EA way.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

WTF. Every new thing I hear about this game is incredible. So I guess they weren't allowed to make the game people wanted? That just sucks for everyone.

 

[Rebel Leader]

Treat us like Sims? Then I demand lower taxes

I demand a new home everyday I get off work

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Changed my mind. Not going to buy it now. EA can fuck right off. The worst part is that rather than Maxis being rebellious and getting their way or no way (i.e. shut us down and we'll fuck off to another company and make CityMax the way we want), they are on board for this horrible "vision" of SimCity becoming SimTown.

 

[Fistwell]

Oh wow, only just now catching up with the latest developments.

Haha, from the article I posted, I didnt realize the javascript was that bad:

It’s since been revealed that population numbers are nonsense, even down to leaked Javascript code (Javascript code? Was this meant to be a Facebook game at one point?) featuring “simcity.GetFudgedPopulation” as a function.

Nice article.

Regarding Bradshaw's piece, this ain't even PR anymore, they've upgraded to full-out bullshit propaganda.

 

[JaseC]

Changed my mind. Not going to buy it now. EA can fuck right off. The worst part is that rather than Maxis being rebellious and getting their way or no way (i.e. shut us down and we'll fuck off to another company and make CityMax the way we want), they are on board for this horrible "vision" of SimCity becoming SimTown.

EA has owned Maxis since 1997.

Edit: Oh, you may be using the company to refer to the individual people, in which case I think you'll find that, by and large, they'd rather avoid poking the bear for the sake of job security.