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EA Caves: SimCity Offline Mode Coming

Posted by Unknown on from the a-bit-late dept.

iONiUM writes "After EA staunchly denied any offline mode, it would seem the disastrous SimCity launch and continual gamer community anger (as well as a CEO firing), EA finally caved and has now going to make an offline mode. However, the obvious question still remains: is it too little too late?"

5 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Maybe next time by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not a chance. I predict there will be relatively few sales because of the "too little, too late" status, and EA will simply conclude that they were right all along... offline mode doesn't matter.

    --
    "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
  2. Re:too little too late? by erroneus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Gamers are picture perfect examples of addiction. Not "all gamers" but there is a subset of gamers significant enough to predict that no matter how bad things get, they will wait in line to spend lots of money so they can "earn achievements." And why? Because they can't get them in real life as easily or as well. That sense of achievement is addicting and even necessary.

    But it's not just gamers who suffer from this. How about all those football fans who rejoice when their team wins or gets sad when their team loses? How about those soccer fans? Have they decapitated and dismembered anyone lately? There's no end to the lunacy. None. And because of that business out there sees unlimited potential for exploitaiton.

  3. Not sure this is a "Cave" by Ksevio · · Score: 5, Interesting

    With offline mode, EA can now shut down the servers that were once required while still selling the game. Since SimCity isn't subscription based, the servers are just a drain of money for them at this point since the hype died down and not many are going to pirate it.

    Come a few months they'll be announcing that the online portion will be shuttered, but look forward to the next great EA release!

  4. Re:Not for me by tepples · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The market is not free for several reasons, two directly related to EA and one not so directly.
    • EA holds the exclusive license to several major sport leagues' rosters.
    • EA has claimed in a lawsuit (EA v. Zynga) that its copyright in The Sims Mobile extends to ownership of gameplay elements. This lawsuit was settled out of court, but it still contributes to a chilling effect on development of video games in the same genres as certain flagship EA titles.
    • Currently, there are three companies, whose names start with M, N, and S, with effective veto power over playing a video game on a television. I'm told only a commercially insignificant fraction of game buyers use a television as a a desktop PC's monitor, and this will remain true unless and until Steam Machines become popular.
  5. Re:Sweet. by danknight48 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most pirates stay away from dogshit.