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Platform Win, Mac Publisher Electronic Arts Developer Maxis Release Date 03/05/2013

Review

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872 Comments
6.5

SimCity review: engineering addiction

By Russ Pitts on Mar 04, 2013 03.04.13

Once I saw under the hood of all that SimCity allows you to do, it was hard to restrain the urge to become a mad dictator SimCity is more-or-less the same game it has always been. And it is, at the same time, radically new. In a nutshell, it is the heart and mind of the SimCity games of days gone by, but more beautiful, ready to seduce away your hours until you are a rotted husk of the person you used to be. If it charged by the hour, you'd sell a kidney. I wish I was joking. What Maxis and EA have learned over the course of a long decade of experimentation with The Sims and social gaming is exactly how (and why) to push a gamer's buttons and make them click ... and click and click and click. It's "one more turn" taken to the most obsessive extreme. And it is ungodly fun. S...

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Maxis teases SimCity amusement park DLC, coming May 28

By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 16, 2013 05.16.13

SimCity's next round add-on content, the Amusement Park Pack, will be available on May 28, according to a footage of a leaked product page and a tease from developer Maxis on the SimCity Facebook page. The pack was leaked earlier today in a video from Hypnotoad Productions, a webshow that shares video game walkthroughs and news. The footage, posted above, walks viewers through screenshots of a listing on downloadable game site Green Man Gaming, which reportedly leaked news of the DLC earlier. "Some of you may have seen thrilling new SimCity content that arrived too early at the gate. It's coming May 28th. We think you'll be amused," reads the post on the SimCity page. The Amusement Park Pack adds several rides to players' buildings tools, as well as park entrances they can customize...

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SimCity update 3.0 tweaks traffic, fixes bugs and adds more hotels

By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 10, 2013 05.10.13

The latest update for SimCity went live earlier this week, bringing with it a handful of bug fixes, more tweaks to the traffic and 24 new types of hotels to host visiting Sims, according to a post on the game's official blog. Further improvements have been made to the traffic routing system, which saw a bit of trouble earlier in the year. According to the post, the system now "understands more information" regarding u-turns, required vehicle stops and certain vehicle behaviors on different road types, aiming to present a more smooth traffic flow and make traffic "smarter." Industrial and commercial building types will now stagger their work shifts, which should also reduce traffic. Vehicles can now make right turns at red traffic lights if possible, and a bug that made cars randomly...

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SimCity sold more than 1.6M since launch, EA promises launch issues 'will not happen again'

By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 07, 2013 05.07.13

Electronic Arts promises not to repeat the issues surrounding the launch of SimCity,Electronic Arts' Frank Gibeau said today in its financial earnings report. SimCity sold more than 1.6 million units since its launch in March, with more than half of them digital sales through the Origin service. Gibeau said the game is "far ahead" of the company's forecast, but that it had a "challenging launch." "The short explanation for the launch is that the initial rush of consumers overwhelmed our game service, disrupting the consumer experience," he said. "As we stabilized the game and improved service in the first week, fans continued to pour in. "The key takeaway here: SimCity is a highly resilient, global franchise with a long service life in front of it. But we learned our lesson and are...

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SimCity 3.0 update due this week, makes traffic 'smarter' and trees longer-lasting

By Michael McWhertor on May 06, 2013 05.06.13

Maxis will release a version 3.0 update for SimCity later this week, according to a post on the game's official forums, with a long list of tweaks and fixes that address traffic and vehicle behavior and adds more hotels "to increase hotel variety." According to update notes, a large number of upcoming fixes focus on roadways and congestion. Vehicles will be able to make right turns at red lights and SimCity's routing system will better understand U-turns. School buses will no longer get stuck and delivery trucks won't get lost. Sims will generally have a better commute. Cities should have better virtual odor too. According to the update, "Sewage will now take a more direct route to regional sewage plant instead of throughout the city." SimCity's first major update, version 2.0, was...

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SimCity players report new bugs with patch 2.0

By Tracey Lien on Apr 23, 2013 04.23.13

Players of Maxis' SimCity are reporting that patch 2.0, which released yesterday, is introducing new bugs to the game and, in some cases, causing the game to crash. Patch 2.0 is the first major update to SimCity since the game's launch, and it aims to address issues such as the inexplicable fluctuation of tourists, delays in receiving invitations and the playing of phantom audio. Since the patch's release yesterday, players have taken to EA's forums and Reddit to point out new bugs that may be caused by the patch. Among the problems reported include sewage overloads, cities reverting to old saves, cities being overrun with taxis, pollution being magnified, production slowness in Cheetah Mode, road textures disappearing and phantom noises coming from objects, such as trees making siren...

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First major SimCity update coming April 22, requires server downtime

By Samit Sarkar on Apr 19, 2013 04.19.13

Maxis will deliver SimCity's first major update April 22 to fix a whole host of problems and add some minor features, and the studio will need to take the servers down for "a few hours" to administer it. The patch, which will bring the embattled city-building simulation title to version 2.0, addresses issues such as the inexplicable fluctuation of tourists, delays in receiving invitations and the playing of phantom audio. You can check out the full list of changes below. Maxis will take the SimCity servers offline starting at 4 p.m. ET on April 22, a time the studio chose by looking at the peak server usage. "Choosing a time to issue a major update is never easy," said Maxis. "As you can see from the list ... the wait will be worth it." The studio re-added "Cheetah" speed, which it...

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SimCity gets free Crest-sponsored Attractions Set DLC

By Samit Sarkar on Apr 16, 2013 04.16.13

SimCity now includes a free Crest-sponsored Attractions Set with five attractions that can only be obtained by buying dental hygiene products. Purchasers of specially marked packages of Crest toothpaste and Oral-B Glide floss will find codes redeemable for offers including the Attractions Set, which features five attractions that will increase your population's happiness: Dolly the Dinosaur, Giant Garden Gnome, Llarry the Llama, Maxis Man Statue and the World's Largest Ball of Twine. It is impossible to buy the DLC in SimCity. The codes can also be used for cash in The Sims Social, which is being closed June 14, or a coupon for $5 off a purchase on Origin. The Attractions Set isn't the first piece of sponsored SimCity DLC; earlier this month, a Nissan Leaf charging station and Leaf...

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SimCity launching June 11 on Mac, get both PC and Mac versions with single purchase

By Samit Sarkar on Apr 10, 2013 04.10.13

SimCity will be available June 11 on Mac OS X, and users who buy either that version or the existing Windows PC version will receive copies on both platforms, publisher Electronic Arts announced today. All players who have already purchased SimCity on PC will receive a copy of the Mac version when it launches on Origin. The Mac version will be available via Origin and "other online retailers," said EA in a press release. Developer Maxis previously said that cross-platform play will be supported, and that the Mac version is not a port, but was developed natively on the platform. "You only need to buy SimCity once to play together across the same servers, regardless of which version you're playing," said Lucy Bradshaw, senior vice president and general manager of Maxis. Players will be...

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SimCity's 'Cheetah' game speed returns, version 2.0 update in development

By Michael McWhertor on Apr 09, 2013 04.09.13

The fastest gameplay mode in Maxis' recently launched SimCity — known as "Cheetah" speed — has been restored, more than a month after the developer throttled the simulation game during its disastrous launch week. In an update posted to SimCity's Facebook and Twitter accounts, Maxis wrote it "recently brought back Cheetah Speed." The option to play SimCity at its fastest speed was disabled on March 7, restricting players to normal or "Llama" speed. At the time, Maxis said it turned off certain "non-critical" features, including leaderboards and achievements, in an effort to improve the game's overall performance. At launch, SimCity was severely hampered by issues related to its server-based architecture. Cheetah speed was restored to the game's test servers on March 30. Maxis says...

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EA's Peter Moore vows to 'do better' in response to 'worst company in America' poll

By Michael McWhertor on Apr 05, 2013 04.05.13

For the second year in a row, video game publisher Electronic Arts is on its way to being named "worst company in America," according to Consumerist's reader-voted poll. This year, the company has already defeated Facebook, Anheuser-Busch InBev and AT&T for the dubious honor. Today, EA faces Ticketmaster in a battle of who's worse. EA chief operating officer Peter Moore is, unsurprisingly, not thrilled at the prospect of "winning" the contest. But in a post on EA's official blog, it appears Moore's taking the poll's outcome to heart, writing, "We are committed to fixing our mistakes." "Are we really the 'Worst Company in America?'" Moore wrote. "I'll be the first to admit that we've made plenty of mistakes. These include server shut downs too early, games that didn't meet...

SimCity (2013) Releases
North America
  • Windows
    • Released 03/05/2013
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Maxis
    • Score 6.5
  • Mac
    • Released 06/11/2013
    • Price at Launch 59.99
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Maxis
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