After one of the most disastrous launches in the history of PC gaming, "SimCity" gamers are asking for one thing to be the solution to some of their frustrations with this always-online game, but EA seems unrelenting to oblige.
According to a report from VG24/7 on Friday, Maxis GM Lucy Bradshaw talked about how the always-online component to this game was designed into the fundamental pillars of "SimCity."
"It’s fundamental to the vision we had for this 'SimCity.'
"From the ground up, we designed this game with multiplayer in mind – using new technology to realize a vision of players connected in regions to create a 'SimCity' that captured the dynamism of the world we live in; a global, ever-changing, social world.
"The game we launched is only the beginning for us – it’s not final and it never will be. In many ways, we built an MMO," Bradshaw said.
While they may believe "SimCity" is an MMO of sorts, every installment in the franchise before this one had a major component of offline gaming in it. That is one of the factors that made the game so great.
The cities you could build were enormous and you had ultimate control over all of them. The fact is that some folks still do not have Internet nowadays, and even if they do, many gamers prefer the offline experience just as much as they do multiplayer.
Why do you think every console game has a single player and multiplayer component to it?
"SimCity" may have been trying to innovate in this manner, but the franchise was never an MMO or an always online game. So they decided to change the very fabric of the game after a handful of installments before it.
It's one thing for "World of Warcraft" to always be online, but it's another to have a game with zero history of being online-only to make a switch after a solid, loyal fan base has already been established.
Bradshaw then talked about how they could've built an offline component to the game, but they chose not to.
"Could we have built a subset offline mode? Yes. But we rejected that idea because it didn’t fit with our vision.
"We did not focus on the 'single city in isolation' that we have delivered in past SimCities. We recognize that there are fans – people who love the original 'SimCity' – who want that.
"But we’re also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality.
"The 'SimCity' we delivered captures the magic of its heritage but catches up with ever-improving technology," Bradshaw said.
Perhaps it may have been better not to admit this game could have had an offline component to it because that now begs the question, why in the world didn't they put it in the game as a second option from online?
What did Maxis have to lose by putting an option in for offline gaming? What do they have to lose now by not eventually making that change in the future?
It's more than clear that gamers want it, and they will gladly welcome an update changing that. Perhaps it's a pride issue now for Maxis, but there are a lot of "SimCity" gamers who are puzzled by this situation in the end.
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