Maxis General Manager says Online Nature of SimCity is Fundamental to the Game

The need for a constant internet connection to play the new SimCity has been criticised by many to the extent where some people have even developed mods that allow you to play it offline. However, Maxis and EA have rebuked all the criticisms by saying that the Online Nature of SimCity is fundamental to the game and the vision they had for the game.

Maxis’s General Manager, Lucy Bradshaw, claimed that the “always-on” nature of the game was not added because of pressure from Corporate EA, it was added because it is part of what Maxis wanted the experience to be like and because SimCity needs to “catch up with ever-improving technology”. Lucy Bradshaw claims there are no secret clandestine plans to try and control players actions and that the Online component is meant to enhance the gameplay experience – not stifle it in any way. She goes as far as claiming that with SimCity she believes that Maxis have actually created an MMO. Offline mode was a possibility that Maxis rejected because it didn’t fit in with their vision of what the game should be like.

Lucy Bradshaw’s argument is quite convincing but it neglects to answer many other critcisms. Maxis and EA have both pulled away from the “online connectivity is necessary for the game to run properly” because the offline mod showed that this simply wasn’t the case and in essence EA and Maxis were lying about this particular aspect of the game. They have also left themselves open to immense amounts of criticisms as no doubt people will attack the “online experience” statements with “is server downtime and waiting in a queue for hours part of this wonderful online experience?” Maxis also haven’t answered any questions about the nature of the DRM, continuing to dodge those questions despite pressure from fans.

You can read the full statement/blog post by Maxis’ General Manager, Lucy Bradshaw, here.

Is constantly connected gaming the way of the future? Are Maxis and EA right to not give in to pressure to develop an Offline mode? Let us know what you think! I don’t know about you but this video really summarises what I think about a lot of video game publishers and producers at the moment:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-LE0ycgkBQ[/youtube]

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