Hasta La Gadget!

We know you’re excited for the SimCity reboot that’s coming out in February. We haven’t seen a new SimCity since 2003 when SimCity 4 was released, and Maxis and Electronic Arts know that you’ve been waiting patiently. That’s why the developers have decided to offer its fans an inside look at the upcoming game with a 9-minute video on YouTube.

SimCity lead designer Stone Librande walks us through the game by building a city of his own from scratch. He explains the basic concepts of the game and mentions a few rules that you have to follow in order to really get going in the game and create your dream city (like providing electricity, water, jobs, etc.).

Librande demonstrates some of the strategies that you can use, like building casinos to increase city revenue and building train stations to bring in loads of tourists to those casinos. Librande also demonstrates some of the different views that players can switch between, as well as explaining some of the HUD items.

The game looks simply amazing and incredibly detailed. Maxis has definitely delivered here, and this video just makes us want to play the game even more than before. Hopefully they release a demo sooner than the February release date, and possibly some DLC in the future. Until then, we have our calendars marked.

[via The Verge]

Maxis offers inside look into SimCity with 9-minute video is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s been nearly 10 long years since SimCity 4 was unleashed, and next February, we’ll finally be getting a new installment in the main franchise. Electronic Arts and Maxis seem to be making a number of changes with in SimCity, and if you want to check it out ahead of time, you might be pleased to know that you can now register to be in the upcoming closed beta. Of course, you may not get in, but you’ll never know unless you try.

Registration went live shortly after Electronic Arts discussed the beta during its Gamescom press conference. We’re not sure when this beta itself is going to go live, but we imagine (or hope, whichever term you prefer) that it’s only a few weeks away. Also unknown is which platforms are included in this beta, as Electronic Arts didn’t clarify if this beta is open to those playing on a Mac.

This closed beta isn’t just going down to offer longtime SimCity fans a look at the new iteration. In many ways, it’s a necessity for Maxis and Electronic Arts, as they’re requiring that all SimCity players have a persistent Internet connection while playing. The idea behind it is that individual players will be part of a larger persistent world, which – aside from the thinly veiled always-on DRM – does sound pretty cool. Let’s just hope that Maxis and Electronic Arts can get all of the kinks worked out before release – after all, remember how all of that beta testing helped the launch of Diablo III?

As stated above, we don’t know when this beta will be going live, but with registration now up and running, it can’t be far off. Given the large following SimCity has built in the past two decades, you can count on the fact that a lot of people will be interested in signing up, so good luck getting in. The registration form can be found here, and be sure to keep checking back with us here at SlashGear for more information on SimCity!

SimCity closed beta registration now live is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sure, it may not have been the most, you know, explosive launch at this year’s E3 — but if Facebook “likes” are any sort of metric (which, granted, is debatable), EA’s newly reborn and heavily-socialized SimCity has a bright future ahead of it. SimCity Social opened up shop on the Zuckerbergian social network this week, letting players plan and build cities, harnessing the site’s massive user base to build friendly relationships or form rivalries between towns. The 800k or so likes the game has currently racked up clearly aren’t enough, so EA is offering up exclusive content for those who click the friendly thumb. And seeing as how sitting in front of your computer wouldn’t be complete without some fried breakfast pastries, Dunkin’ Donuts is getting in the act, allowing players to gift coffee and doughnut “Boosts” in-game.

Continue reading EA opens SimCity Social on Facebook, really, really hopes you’ll ‘like’ it

EA opens SimCity Social on Facebook, really, really hopes you’ll ‘like’ it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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