You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The botched launch of the new SimCity game has upset many this week, however there is a little good news. EA Maxis exec Lucy Bradshaw posted that the company is working on its server issues, with capacity reportedly up 120 percent in the last 48 hours and "disrupted experiences" down 80 percent. As a way of making up for a launch that was "dumb" for not anticipating far more players and activity than seen in its beta, EA will offer all those who've activated a copy by March 18th a free PC game download. There's no word on which game(s) from the EA portfolio will be available but users will be notified by email. The one thing they won't be getting however is what many are asking for: an offline option that avoids all the server mess and entanglements of always-on DRM.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: EA
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
SimCity is in shambles. Not the virtual cities built within its digital confines, mind you, but the game itself. The reboot of EA Maxis' classic SimCity this week has been a roller coaster of emotions, with positive reviews and fanfare pushing hype levels past 11... all of which fell apart just after midnight on Tuesday morning when the game launched to a crushing response from fans. Unlike many games, including previous SimCity entries, the new SimCity requires a constant connection to EA's servers. It requires a connection regardless of whether or not you choose to play with others, even -- a bold move, and one that was met with much wariness among gamers when announced last year.
Given the mass popularity of the SimCity series and the glowing praise the game received ahead of release from press, it was no surprise that the sheer number of customers trying to snag the game -- and subsequently, play it -- overwhelmed EA's servers. The result? Days of choppy play, or, more often, an inability to access the game at all. Worse yet, EA's started shutting off parts of the game in hopes of lowering server loads across the board, which (understandably) angered many players. So, how did we get here?
Man, this is some bad news for EA and Maxis. Yesterday afternoon, Amazon temporarily stopped selling download copies of SimCity. Yes, the version that was just released this week. The game has already received over 1800 reviews on Amazon. The problem is that it has an average rating of just one star.
That’s because the majority of of those are one star reviews. Looks like only a handful of people gave the game more stars. I’d say thats a big fail. A note from Amazon states that many customers are having connection issues and they have no idea when it will be fixed, but to check with EA for more info. EA is bringing new servers online over the next few days to solve the problem, and Maxis is fixing bugs as quickly as they can, but the damage has been done.
After the temporary suspension, it looks like Amazon is yet again allowing downloads, but who is going to want to buy a copy after seeing these reviews?
[via Geek]
I’d be willing to bet there are huge number of gamers out there who have fond memories of playing previous SimCity games back in the day. I know I spent many an hour building a giant city only to destroy it with a rampaging monster or some other catastrophe. It’s been 10 years since we’ve seen a new game in the SimCity franchise. EA has announced that the new SimCity game is now available at retail stores across North America and as a digital download via Origin.
This game has been one of the most widely anticipated launches of early 2013 and brings the game play we all remember along with significantly updated graphics and capabilities. EA says that everything is intelligently simulated in the new SimCity.
EA says that everything from the Sims in the city down to every kilowatt of power is intelligently simulated thanks to the powerful new GlassBox Engine. The game supports multiple city game play across regions giving players a larger field than some previous titles that limited you to a single city. The new game allows players to manage and play up to 16 cities at a time.
Each of the 16 cities can have a different specialization. A player’s individual cities can share services and trade resources. The cities can choose to help each other or hinder each other depending on the player’s mood. This is also the first SimCity game to support multiple player gaming with a players decisions for their cities impacting the city and the region. The game supports real-time updates and pushes updates to players with new challenges and achievements.
You can download SimCity Limited Edition for $59.99(USD) or the Deluxe Edition, which includes French, German and British city sets for $79.99 over at the SimCity website now.
Who wants to build a beta city? The final version of EA's long-awaited followup to its city-building classic goes live today in North America for all of you aspiring mayors out there -- well, those of you with a PC at least (the Mac version is still forthcoming). You can download or pick up a physical copy through EA's Origin site right now, to finally get your Robert Moses on (though maybe watch where you stick those highways).
Filed under: Gaming
With the reboot of SimCity and sequels to Total War: Rome, Command & Conquer, Company of Heroes and an expansion to Starcraft II, there’s certainly a lot to look forward to if Strategy is your cup of tea when it comes to video games.
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In collaboration with developer GlassLab, EA has announced an interesting extension to the SimCity world. SimCityEDU is an online development portal for the education community to accompany the upcoming new version of SimCity. The goal is for SimCityEDU to be a resource for classroom teachers interested in using digital platforms to help students learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects.
The portal will allow teachers to create and share digital SimCity learning plans to encourage students to think critically. For students, this will be an excellent opportunity to get classroom credit for playing SimCity. Anytime you can play video games that are fun in school while also being educational is a big win for teachers and students
SimCity EDU will launch this March – around the same time as the new game. Educators interested in accessing the portal can sign up here.
EA thinks that SimCityEDU and SimCity will help inspire the next generation of leaders allowing them to hone skills for urban planning, environmental management, and socio-economic development. All kids will know is that they’re getting classroom credit for playing a video game.