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EA's "We're Sorry About SimCity" Games Announced

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By MrJenssen18-03-2013

We just got an interesting E-mail from EA, announcing the list of games those unfortunate enough to buy SimCity, will get as a token of gratitude and apology. You bought the game (before Mach 26), you endured the torture, so you get a free game of your choice.

"Our SimCity Mayors are incredibly important to the team at Maxis. We sincerely apologize for the difficulties at launch and hope to make it up to you with a free PC game download from Origin. We'll be opening up the redemption portal country-by-country so some of you may see it a little sooner than others. The portal will be live worldwide for everyone to select their game by March 22."

The list of games you can choose ONE from, contains the following titles:

  • Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)
  • Bejeweled 3
  • Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)
  • Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)
  • Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition)
  • Need For Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition)
  • Plants vs. Zombies
  • SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

"We're humbled by your patience and passion for the game. Thanks for building something very special with us, together."

So does this seem like a befitting band-aid to your hurt feelings? Will one of these games cover the damages caused? Either way, be sure to redeem the title of your choice before 07.00 GMT on March 31, 2013. Because after that, it's time to stop weeping over the issues SimCity has caused you, according to EA.


Comments (11)
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Posts: 241

I think people certainly understand that EA really isn't into customer service, but I'm not complaining about a free game. Sure, it's just a bribe to win back support, but I'd rather they do that then nothing at all.

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Posts: 1317

The problem is though, they're basically bribing the players to shut the fuck up and look the other way. They certainly aren't in the business of improving. This same bullshit will happen again next time they release a game like this. SW:TOR was a massive fuck-up on launch, and so is SimCity. How many examples does it take for people to understand that EA really isn't into customer service? Or customer communication, for that matter?

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Posts: 207

@Stunt, what's wrong with PvZ??

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Posts: 241

@Endzville, Yes! We need paragraphing and replying! :P

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Posts: 241

@Stunt, SimCity has broad appeal, I know a lot of people who were excited for the knew one and weren't PC gamers or gamers at all, so they probably wanted to offer something more casual in the lineup.

@Jenssen, The DLCs are optional, so getting the standard edition of anything for free is still a good deal.

I think I am the only PJ Staff, or at least one of a few, that bought/preordered SimCity. For me, this is good news and the game selection is good. Especially since some of those are of near equal value and quite new. Between this and the resignation of their CEO, I think EA have addressed things nicely. That however does not excuse that this situation arose in the first place.

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Posts: 267

aka, please buy DLC

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Posts: 240

Also: paragraphing, I beg of thee.

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Posts: 240

Not that there isn't a generous choice of games there, DLC included or not, but it kind of annoys me in the same sense as Sony did by giving out free games for Playstation Network's long downtime last year or the one before that. The way I saw that was similar to how I see the case here: you're entitled to your money back, if you so desire, and an apology; but why you're entitled to a full game, and its DLC too for that matter as some people would believe, is something that grates me. It's a clever move on their part, of course, even if people will find a way to complain about it anyway, but I don't think that they should "have to" or people should be demanding it to be the case (I don't actually know if that was the case here but it's what everyone was demanding from Sony when they had their downtime). A less popular opinion that I also hold is that it's a cheap way to ease people's anger. Apologise for being idiots, refund the costs to people who want their money back and get it fixed. That's all any developers or publishers should have to do in this kind of situation. Not that it shouldn't have been the case from the beginning though; I'm giving them no benefit of the doubt here.

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Posts: 1548

...EA...

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Posts: 1317

Hehe, yeah. And notice how they're giving out the standard editions for retail games. No DLCs. And you don't have the choice to buy BF3 *OR* the Premium pack. Of course, that's because they want you to get one for free, so you can buy the DLCs afterwards. Even when trying to be nice, it's business first.