Hasta La Gadget!

For awhile, it looked like EA was ready to stake a large part of its gaming future on social networking, introducing Facebook-oriented ports like SimCity Social and The Sims Social as well as more original titles. The game publisher isn’t quite ready to be a social butterfly, it turns out: following an earlier cull that focused heavily on sports-themed web games, EA is axing SimCity Social, The Sims Social and Pet Society on June 14th. There’s no mystery to the shutdown, as EA explains that strong initial demand rapidly tapered off — name recognition got the company’s foot in the door, but didn’t keep it there. Gamers who feel jilted should soon get an incentive to switch to more popular games from EA’s PopCap studio. We’re all in favor of shifting resources to where they’ll be truly appreciated, although we can’t help but feel sorry for SimCity fans that have just been burned twice in a row.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Facebook

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Via: The Next Web

Source: The Beat (EA)

After the disastrous launch of SimCity last month, we’re guessing that Electronic Arts lost a lot of customers, but Mac users have yet to get their hands on the game, and we knew a Mac version would be coming. Electronic Arts has announced that SimCity for Mac will release on June 11 with cross-platform support, meaning that a single copy of the game will work on either Mac or PC.

The launch of SimCity for Mac will come a bit later than EA hoped for. Originally, the game was set for a “spring 2013″ launch, but June 11 is technically during the summer. Either way, Mac users will finally be able to build the city of their dreams starting in just a couple of months. They shouldn’t have any problems either, since EA has finished upgrading their servers.

The game got off to a miserable start, with the midnight release not going as planned. Gamers who pre-ordered weren’t able to download their digital copy of the game, and even if gamers were able to download and install it, they were met with a bevy of server errors that deemed the game unplayable at first.

It became so bad that Amazon had to suspend sales of the game, and Electronic Arts told affiliates to “stop actively promoting” the game until the issues have been fixed. Of course, the game publisher tried to make things right with gamers, by offering them a free game for their troubles, but we’re not sure if that did the trick, since EA was recently voted the “worst company in America.”

SimCity for Mac launching June 11 with cross-platform support is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

SimCity‘s reboot has seen its fair share of tumult since launching for PC earlier this year — massive queues to log in, downed servers, and a messy (attempted) public relations cleanup. Things have more or less leveled off for the game since its rocky start, and its developer, EA Maxis, is now ready to launch the game on OS X. Or rather, as we read this, “You can finally delete that version of SimCity you’ve got on your Windows partition and play it natively in OS X.” Huzzah! The OS X version of SimCity launches on June 11th, and you can snag it for free if you’ve already purchased a PC version (and vice versa). Even better, both PC and Mac players can play together, cross-platform.

Similarly thrilling, the game’s “cheetah” speed (its fastest speed) is back, and EA Maxis is promising a 2.0 version of its game. Beyond fixing a variety of bugs, it’s unknown what’s in the update, but we’re fairly confident it won’t enable an offline version of the game (as so, so many players have requested) given EA’s repeated refusal to enable as much. When pushed on a release date for the update, EA reps told Engadget it’ll arrive “well ahead of the June 11 Mac launch.” Sounds to us like that Mac version will ship with Update 2.0 enabled, but EA wouldn’t confirm as much.

Filed under: Gaming, Software

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Via: Joystiq

Source: Facebook, EA

Electronic Arts has been taking a lot of heat lately, mostly over the recent SimCity fiasco that left many gamers unable to play the game, which led the company to the semi-final round of The Consumerist‘s “Worst Company in America” poll. However, EA isn’t taking all of its criticism lying down. Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore has addressed the poll and says that the company “can do better.”

Moore says that EA has made plenty of mistakes in the past, all of which are “100% legitimate.” However, he says that there are a few pieces of criticism that EA won’t let stand, including the claim that EA’s always-on internet connection feature is a DRM scheme, which Moore says “it’s not.” He also notes that free-to-play games are the preference with most gamers.

Moore also compares EA to popular sports teams, like the “Yankees, Lakers and Manchester United,” saying that “EA is one of those organizations that is defined by both a legacy of success, and a legion of critics.” In other words, with great power (and success), comes great responsibility, and EA certainly knows that.

Moore finishes up by saying that EA “is committed” to fixing their mistakes, and that the company “will do better.” With EA CEO John Riccitiello stepping down, will EA make some big changes to win the hearts over of gamers everywhere? It’s certainly possible, and Moore’s words seem promising that EA is dedicated to providing a better future for both them and the people who play their games.

EA responds to “Worst Company in America” poll is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Electronic Arts’ Real Racing 3 was the first time that the series had gone to a freemium model, with in-app purchases being the money-maker for the company. However, while users can download the game for free, many folks weren’t too pleased that restrictions were put on the game because of the $0.00 price tag. However, EA thinks that’s what gamers want most.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, senior vice president of EA’s mobile and social All Play label, Nick Earl, says that a majority of mobile gamers prefer the free-to-play model, and those who dislike it are a “vocal minority.” Earl says that “the market has spoken very loudly that that’s the model they like,” and he also says that “ultimately the numbers would show that they and others all support the freemium model better.”

Earl mentioned Real Racing 3‘s in-app microtransactions, which requires racers to pay money if they want to speed up certain tasks, such as repairs and upgrades, or if gamers want a fast track to owning that Lamborghini, they can pay real money to own one. Of course, users can earn coins throughout the game to help speed along repairs and upgrades, but the real complaint was the implication of these features in the first place.

When referring to the types of gamers who prefer the all-you-can-eat model, Earl notes “that’s the kind of people they are. But at the end of the day, they’re going to pay to eat, if that’s their choice. And they’re happy doing it.” In other words, deal with it if you don’t like it. Read our review of Real Racing 3 to learn more about the game.

[via GamesIndustry.biz]

EA says freemium model is most popular amongst gamers is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.