Hasta La Gadget!

It seems like SimCity is just full of bad news. SimCity has received a lot of negative feedback for its ridiculous Always-On DRM feature. At first, EA stated that the Always-On DRM was added mainly because of security issues, but now its saying that it was added because the developers envisioned SimCity as “always-connected”. Lucy Bradshaw, the General Manager of EA’s Maxis label, stated that they had designed SimCity “with multiplayer in mind”. By having the always-connected feature, they were able to create essentially an MMO.

Bradshaw explained that they envisioned a game where cities would constantly be up to date. Players would be able to help each other out with supplies and services, send gifts to each other, promote trading in the Global Marketplace, and more. Simply, they wanted players to always be connected to each other. Even if players wanted to play alone, Bradshaw stated that they’d eventually want to play with other players.

Now here’s the part where everyone gets pissed off. Bradshaw says, “So, could we have built a subset offline mode? Yes. But we rejected that idea because it didn’t fit with our vision.” Essentially, SimCity could have operated with both an online multiplayer mode, as well as a single-player mode that many of the series’s fans asked for. Bradshaw justifies her case by saying that there are “thousands” of people who love SimCity’s always-connected feature, a statement that has been debunked by thousands and thousands of other fans.

Obviously Bradshaw’s statement drew in a huge list of angry SimCity gamers. Many came out to call Bradshaw and the SimCity developers liars. They commented on how the “always up-to-date” trading services sometimes take up to an hour to update, and how even online saving is unreliable, with many players losing multiple cities due to an error in the cloud-based servers. The SimCity launch was a massive failure due to the Always-On DRM, and EA has experienced continuous PR damage since then. This may be the last nail in the coffin for the SimCity series.

[via EA]

EA lied about SimCity not being offline-capable is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Battlefield lovers rejoice. Electronic Arts and DICE are going to be holding a special event for Battlefield 4 on March 26th at 7:00 p.m. PST. The Battlefield 4 event will take place in San Francisco, California at the 2013 Game Developers Conference. The invitation, received by Gamespot, says, “Please join us to celebrate a new era of Battlefield.” Nothing else was mentioned on EA’s invitation.

So what do we know about Battlefield 4 so far? We know that EA is planning on releasing a beta for Battlefield 4 sometime during Fall. We also know that if you’re one of the players who purchased Medal of Honor: Warfighter (and considering its poor sales figure, there aren’t that many of you), you will instantly have access to Battlefield 4′s beta.

There are also speculations that EA and DICE may announce Battlefield: Bad Company 3 at their Battlefield 4 event. Battlefield: Bad Company 3 was spotted on LinkedIn from a user who “provided video game prototype, design, and demo feedback” on the game back in 2009-2011. Battlefield: Bad Company has done remarkably well in sales in the past, with Bad Company 2 selling around 6 million copies. And EA isn’t blind. It knows that gamers have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of a Bad Company 2 sequel.

The timing sounds about right for EA to announce that next chapter in the Battlefield game line. It had just launched the final DLC in its Battlefield 3 line-up, Battlefield 3: End Game. The DLC became available for PlayStation 3 Battlefield 3 Premium subscribers on March 6th, and Xbox 360/PC premium subscribers on March 12th. The expansion comes with 4 new maps, 2 classic game modes, more vehicles, more assignments, and more achievements. The DLC, combined with the other 4 DLCs should be able to keep Battlefield 3 gamers entertained until Battlefield 4 is officially released.

[via Gamespot]

Battlefield 4 event to be held on March 26th is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

SimCity has updated its blog and has stated that its making good progress in restoring stability to its servers. Lucy Bradshaw, the General Manager of EA’s Maxis Label, stated that tens of thousands of new players are logging into SimCity everyday. SimCity’s launch on March 5th was admittedly a huge failure. The always-on DRM and the server issues with the game resulted in a majority of players being unable to login, download the game, or even unlock their game.

Bradshaw stated that SimCity is seeing major improvements. She said that they have improved their server response time by up to 40 times, doubled the amount of players in-game, and have reduced the amount of server down times. They are also rolling out new servers and replacing their old servers so that more people will be able to maintain a stable connection to the game. However, because they’re replacing the old servers, you may see some downtime in the near future.

Also mentioned by SimCity through its Official Twitter is the possibility of there being an offline mode in the future. While it won’t happen anytime soon, it may be implemented in the future. The tweet says, “We have no intention of offlining SimCity any time soon but we’ll look into that as part of our earning back your trust efforts.”

SimCity will begin updating its servers today during the evening. This is great news for those of you who have the SimCity game and weren’t able to refund it for your money back. Players will be updated through the EA forums as well as through the game launcher about pending updates. Also for those of you playing SimCity, you will also receive a free game from EA beginning on March 18th. We’re still not sure whether or not you’re allow to choose which game you get for free, or if it’s going to be a selected by EA themselves.

[via SimCity]

SimCity increases stability and considers ‘offline mode’ in the future is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Xfire, one of the most popular PC gaming messaging mediums with over 23 million subscribers and over 250,000 active users per day, has decided to bring something new and game-changing to the industry. Xfire has just launched Battleground, a fully-automated competitive PC gaming platform. Battleground brings competitions and tournaments directly and automatically to its users, allowing them to experience the most entertaining aspects of PC gaming. Not only that, certain competitions and tournaments will offer great prizes to the winners.

Battleground will have three gaming modes, however only one is available at this time. Instant Action mode allows players to jump quickly into a game. During the game, the players will earn “Battle Tokens” from in-game achievements and for finishing tasks listed by Battleground or Xfire. These Battle Tokens are then used for Direct Challenges, to enter Tournaments, or to purchase sweepstakes entries.

Direct Challenges and Tournaments will be available in the future. These will be sponsored events that occur frequently. Players will be able to compete with each other in order to win gaming gear, new games, in-game items, and other goodies from Xfire’s partners. Players can also win “X-Coins”, which is a virtual currency used to challenge other gamers, or compete in direct challenges, for even more prizes. X-Coins can also be purchased using PayPal, VISA, MasterCard, or American Express.

Paul Kim, CEO of Xfire, states, “The most successful games today are ones that have a competitive element, but currently the experience is fragmented and lacks structure.” Battleground was created in order to make competitive gaming more easily-accessible to most gamers. Kim says, “We think Battleground has the potential to redraw the competitive PC gaming landscape.”

Battleground only has a couple of games available at the moment. Right now, players can compete with each other in Call of Duty 4 and Counter-Strike: Source. New titles will be added in the future of course. Currently on the waitlist is BattleField 3, Counter-Strike: GO, Call of Duty 2, World of Tanks, Team Fortress 2, Planetside 2, and District 187. Alongside Battleground, Xfire has also revamped its website and client in celebration of its 10-year anniversary.

[via Business Wire]

Xfire reveals Battleground, draws in competitive gamers from all around is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Razer, one of the most well-known manufacturers of gaming gear, is now re-launching its gaming peripheral line-up designed for Blizzard’s StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm expansion. The collection of gear is designed to give StarCraft II players the edge that they need in order to dominate in their matches. Razer is bringing back its StarCraft II product line because of the positive response it received during its initial launch. This re-launch will only be available for a limited amount of time.

There are 4 things that gamers are able to purchase from Razer’s collection. There’s the Razer Spectre Staracraft II Gaming Mouse, the Razer Marauder Starcraft II Gaming Keyboard, the Razer Banshee Starcraft II Gaming Headset, and the Razer Starcraft II Zerg Edition Messenger Bag. The Razer Spectre, Marauder, and Banshee all have an APM (Actions-Per-Minute) lighting system that responds to the gamer’s movements and speed. The lighting system features a multicolor LED that can be customized to any color the gamer wants.

The Razer Spectre is a lightweight, 5-button, gaming mouse that gives RTS (real-time strategy) gamers the control that they need. It also features a 5600 dpi Razer Precision 3.5G laser sensor and a 1000 Hz Ultrapolling/1ms response time. It is priced at 59.99 in both the U.S. and Europe.

The Razer Marauder is a gaming keyboard which features a multi-colored backlit keyboard that has elevated keys which will improve rapid command input as well as increase your gaming performance. There is also an “on-the-fly” macro recording system, and the keys are laser-etched and conveniently spaced. The Marauder is priced at 99.99 in both the U.S. and Europe.

The Razer Banshee is a gaming headset that comes with a configuration utility that allows you to adjust your equalizer, pitch, and volume, providing you the best sound experience while you game. It also comes with a detachable microphone boom that will allow you to easily transport this device. The device is priced at 89.99 in both the U.S. and Europe.

Last, but not least, there is the Razer Zerg Edition messenger bag. The bag is a weather-proof, tear-resistant bag designed to protect all of your gaming gear. It has a compartment for your laptop, gaming peripherals, and also a mobile gaming device. It’s inner-lining is shock-absorbent in order to protect all of your expensive devices. The messenger bag sells for 79.99 in both the U.S. and Europe.

If you’re a diehard StarCraft II fan, or if you need peripherals that can enhance your gaming experience, you should act on this sale now before Razer discontinues it again. Razer is also holding a sweepstakes. Players will choose the race they align themselves with, whether it’d be Protoss, Zerg, or Terran, and 3 lucky players from each race will be awarded the Razer StarCraft II gaming headset, mouse, and keyboard, along with a StarCraft II strategy guide and clothes.

[via PR Newswire]

Razer is re-selling StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm gear for a limited time is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.