New SimCity To Require Constant Internet Connection

eldavojohn writes "According to Lead designer Stone Librande, it has been confirmed that the next installment of SimCity will require a constant internet connection. Perhaps as a form of DRM, the 2013 edition looks like it will be the first to include online play but will also require you to constantly be connected to Origin to play — even if that wasn't your point of purchase. Add SimCity to the growing list." Update: 03/29 02:09 GMT by S : An online connection will be needed to start the game, but you won't be kicked out if your connection dies.

Comments

Console games to follow

[crazyjj]

Publishers have already managed to kill the used market for PC games with stuff like this. Console games are next. A lot of new console games are already requiring online activation for certain features (like Mass Effect 3). It's only a matter of time before they require online activation to work at all, and then ultimately require an online verification check each time the game is started.

A requiem for the days when consumers actually owned videogames, and could still play them just fine, even ten years later, using just the original game discs/cartridges.

Re:Console games to follow

[mhajicek]

Amazon Kindle anyone? They did "unsell" certain books retroactively, and actively erased them from people's Kindle's remotely.

Re:Console games to follow

[Darinbob]

I am going without. It helps that there are so few decent games anymore anyway and that the used classics I have are more fun. My purchase of new games has significantly declined in the last 5 years, I'm probably getting less than 10% of the games I used to. I just won't buy this stuff, and I absolutely resent the ridiculous attitude that I'll buy the stuff anyway no matter what they do.

I also resent the idea that I should just accept this like a sheep! The war is NOT over! I will continue to tell people to boycott this sort of stuff.

Re:Console games to follow

[Cute Fuzzy Bunny]

We'll see how well the 'killing of the used game market' runs. I think its going to show a lot of signs of unintended consequences.

For example, I can buy a new release game for $35-50 when it comes out. I know I can play that (or my son will) for a month or two off and on and when I'm done, I can get $20-25 for it used. Now if the game is missing content for a used buyer or requires buying a $5-10 code to make everything work, then the used game is worth $10-20, which means I'm not particularly interested in spending $50 on it.

I also bought MANY used games, liked a franchise and bought the 2nd, 3rd or 4th game new.

At this point, I've been jabbed by 4-5 used games I bought in the last quarter of 2011, which required a code to fully operate. As a result of my disappointment, I wont be buying any games produced by those manufacturers. While I would have bought several games a month in Jan, Feb and Mar, I havent bought any. Likely to continue since this 'strategy' is being widely deployed.

So I wish the game manufacturers luck, they may find that they're going to need it. Because right now my plan is to buy 2 or 3 year old games new when they drop under $25 and never buy a release game again unless its free of codes and anti-resale tactics. The good news is there are dozens of awesome games for all of the platforms that are old, cheap and we havent played yet.

These shenanigans will also do a number on the game rental places, since none of those games will be fully operational without the code.

Re:Limited use

[Petron]

Except for the fact that leaded gasoline cars could run unleaded gas with lead-replacement additives put into the fuel.

A lot of DRM would be much more acceptable if the publisher guaranteed to put out a patch X months (or even years) after release to allow off-line play. In a game's life-cycle, the first few months of release are the most profitable. Trying to prevent copy-right infringement at that point is the most productive. If a company, say after 6-9 months would release a patch that removed the DRM, it wouldn't bother me enough to prevent me from buying the game.