Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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  • Ed Mar

    But as you pointed out, you need an always-on Internet connection for it’s DLC (like that hasn’t failed, ever).   And worse yet, it looks like you’re going to be forced to play and work with online city neighbors as well.

    What happened to having a little privacy when you wanted to just have a little time yourself?   This is like having your kid’s little hand flapping and waving about underneath the door when you’re trying to hide away in the bathroom….

    • SamSam

      Dude, you need to buy bathroom doors with less clearance…

  • http://exile.wordpress.com/ spartikus

    Apparently you can build a launchpad for a rocket but not a bikelane.

    • kartwaffles

       To get rid of homeless people, simply eliminate parks and vacant buildings. Maxis developers are geniuses.

    • Braden O’Guinn

      Building for city walkability indexes is to be released in the DLC.

      • Sagodjur

        Unless offline play is to be released in the DLC, I’m not buying.

  • ObeyMyBrain

    So they are marketing it as Simcity, Game of Thrones edition?

    • http://hgomersall.wordpress.com/ heng

       That’s what I thought – look at all the multi-lane roads. boooooring!

  • ObstacleMan

    It’s not just an always on connection, but your cities are saved on EA servers and they simulate a whole global economy so really the new SimCity is more of an MMO

    • kartwaffles

       If it’s an MMO, make it like EVE so I can go to other people’s cities and, uh, … trade with them.

  • xzzy

    Sooooo conflicted. 

    On one hand, simcity, a franchise that’s been offering awesome games for as long as I’ve owned a PC and it’s always a good time.

    On the other hand, idiotic DRM. 

    Seems like one of those turning points in my life where either choice has profound implications on the rest of my days.

    • LintMan

      Some other lowlites to maybe help your decision:

      - Tiny city area: just 2kmx2km.  Forget those giant regions you had in Sim City 4.

      - No terraforming.  Unlike in every other Sim City game.

      - No save/reload: forget smashing your city with disasters and then reloading from an old save.

      - No subways.

      http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/11/under-construction-simcity-in-game-footage-shown/#more-127546

      • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

         Wow.

        It’s been Zynga-ed.

        It’s not a Sim-City, it’s a Farmvile.

  • http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki

    Fuck this on line only crap.
    Let’s talk about Anno instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=own-yY6bN6c

    • xzzy

      Anno is nearly as bad.. hardware scanning DRM and a three install limit. Try to install it on a 4th hardware configuration.. and you get to sit on the phone begging for a reset.

      • http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki

         Fucking Germans… Ok then, back to Sim City 4.

        Got it free on steam!

    • GawainLavers

      Uh, also requires an online connection…through the mega shitty Ubisoft UPlay.  I almost didn’t install the game the UPlay crap was so obnoxious.  In the balance, though, I’m glad I did, Anno 2070 is every bit as beautiful, if not more, than the Sim City video above.  Gameplay for Sim City, of course, remains to be seen.  There wasn’t much infrastructure management in Anno 2070, for instance, which I missed.

  • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

    If they can’t be bothered to offer me an offline sandbox then fuck em. I would play online, but I would play offline too. Submission to force is not an option where video games purchases are concerned.

    I expect legacy lines to be able to offer me at least something of the experience I was initially attracted to, which in the case of Simcity, was sandbox. By myself.

    What possible reasoning could they have for failing to accommodate me? Did they think I would not purchase updates if offered? Because if a game is good I will. Did they think I would not pay a subscription to pay online? Then what are all these charges on my credit card? Oh, it’s other game companies making money.

    • ObstacleMan

      I expect not long after SC is released EA will say:

      “Oh, gee, sales have tapered off and now we don’t have enough game sales revenue to pay for these big expensive servers.  Everyone will have to start paying a subscription fee.”
      I can also imagine that there will be lots of “DLC” (how is it downloadable content if the content is all hosted on EA servers?) that you have to buy or your city will be at a disadvantage to anyone who has paid for it.And some day EA will just shut down the servers because they don’t make enough money on it, or there is a new version out and they want everyone to upgrade instead of just playing the game they already bought.

      • vonbobo

        Yup. There is a growing collection of online conversion fails (including many successful legends) that all follow this similar path.

  • Jorpho

    Companies and consoles may come and go, but I guess we will never be free of the idea that pre-rendered footage is a reliable indicator of a gameplay experience.

    • nowimnothing

      Based on what I have seen in other venues, that did look like gameplay footage, albeit with the hud turned off. now it may not actually BE gameplay footage just because it would be easier to animate it, but I think there is little difference if it is accurate. 

      Nothing like just showing cut scenes in a FPS ad, which is what it seems like your dig would be better directed at.

  • http://profiles.google.com/converge42 blah blahblah

    All this hate before the game even comes out is killing me. Everyone said this same crap about Civ 5, then it sold well enough to get a GOTY edition. Oh, and the required internet connection didn’t ruin the game for me! Surprise! The streamlining of the game took care of that no problem.

    • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

       Civ 5? That only required a connection to install. You don’t even need Steam to play offline

    • LintMan

      Except Civ 5 doesn’t require you to always be online, and AFAIK never did.  Maybe you’re thinking about Steam, but Steam actually has an offline mode.  Sim City 5 requires a live constant internet connection.

    • cservant

      CIV5 didn’t require a constantly online connection, whereas EA announced one that requires constant online access almost on the first day.

      I play CIV5, got a free copy from my pre-order of xcom, offline fine.  How come SIMCITY requires and is designed the way it is?

      Call it as it is, a MMO game and we have no problems.

  • Jaye Sunsurn

    Can’t wait to download this w the offline crack provided by my local Piracy provider!

    • ObstacleMan

      There won’t be an offline crack.. There are no save game files.  It’s all hosted on EA servers.

      • echolocate chocolate

        They’ve got around that plenty of times before. I mean, heck, there are LOTS of third-party (I was going to say illegal, oops) MMO servers, for heaven’s sake.

  • http://twitter.com/TriggerTX TonyF

    During the last Steam sale I picked up Cities XL 2012. It’s pretty close to what I’d have hoped out of SimCity 5. I’ve been playing it almost non-stop in my free time since then. I just wish it had natural disasters. Sometimes it’s fun to throw a tornado or Godzilla at your city and see how well it copes. I understand that due to the online cooperative bit in SC5 you’ll no longer be able to do that there too.

  • Cowicide

    Wow, after reading about all these DRM hassles to play games, I’m glad I don’t waste much time with them.  Sounds like it’s a better idea to just pirate the games and circumvent all the DRM online snooping and hassles.  Oh well… riding my mountain bike outdoors seems to have far less restrictions and bureaucracy, I’ll just stick with that.

    • Sagodjur

      I don’t have to call search and rescue when I’m lost on a mountain in Skyrim.

      • Cowicide

        I don’t have to call search and rescue when I’m lost on a mountain in Skyrim.

        Yes, but plenty of sedentary people call ambulances for heart disease, that’s for sure. ;)

        Heh, I have to admit I do like Skyrim because of the graphics. I haven’t played it except to roam around and check out the visuals and kill a monster or two on a higher level that someone else saved.

        • Sagodjur

           http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skyrim1.jpg

  • http://www.jimdraws.com Thorzdad

    Yes, I know it is going to require an Internet connection to play, but look at how pretty it is!
    So, DRM is ok as long as it’s pretty?

    Even if it didn’t require an always-on connection, the other aspects of this game that all seem to be downgrades from what a “real” SimCity game should be, make it a strong No-Sale for me.

  • David Aked

    I’m fine with always on.  I am annoyed that we have to create a bajillion online accounts to manage all these online games.  I get annoyed when the servers are offline (Eg.  Diablo 3 servers.  Again a game that could be single player but isn’t).  But I suppose I’m willing to take a chance.  Too much of this looks like too much fun (For me.  YMMV).  My concerns:  Server stability/availability, effects of latency (Diablo3 this is killer!).

    As for feeling like you will be thrown in the deep-end with everyone., if you look at the details from the SimCity website, you do NOT have to take part in the ‘Whole world online community’.  You can setup yourself in your own region and not take part.  You can also create a ‘neighbourhood’.  Yourself and some friends.  It will just mean that you can’t have yourself ranked against the rest of the world, for those competitive people.

    • echolocate chocolate

      You summed up my feelings nicely. IF they can make the networked aspect of the game worth my time, by allowing me to actually trade and collaborate or compete with neighbour cities, then I’m really excited. There is so much potential for a Sim City that lets multiple people build in a larger region.

      What I’ve heard about the supply chain systems and traffic systems suggests that while the cities may be smaller, the simulation is much more detailed. It sounds like you actually have to connect specific industries together, a la Transport Tycoon, not just vague “industry”. That’s a really interesting direction to take the game in, if they have actually done it and not just faked it with awful “Social” mechanics.

      I have my fingers and toes crossed.

  • Boundegar

    There’s a downside I haven’t heard anybody mention yet.  Did any of you play Spore?  I did, until it got old, which was pretty quick.  Spore allowed you to play on- or offline, and if you played online your game automatically downloaded other players’ creatures to populate your universe.  Great idea, except the user creations were always crazy twisted blobs called “ilovenaruto6969.”

    Turns out little kids like computer games.  Who knew?  Now imagine playing SimCity, where all the neighbor cities are a small random jumble with names like poop and fart. And you can’t delete them.  And they’ve been abandoned for a year, but you still can’t delete them.

    Maybe an offline option would have been a good idea.  Except pirates.

  • MadLogician

    I will never buy a game that requires an on-line connection to play.  End of story.

  • Daemonworks

    Correction: It’s going to require an internet connection to play /legally/

    • cfuse

      It’s a bit more complicated than that. This is entrenched DRM, you literally don’t have the code to save games on your machine.

      What makes these games so annoying (and potentially impossible) to pirate is that someone would have to write a server emulator.

  • http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers

    I would just like a copy of SimCity 2000 that’s capable of running in modern Windows at any screen resolution in all its pixel-perfect glory. 1920×1200 isometric pixel art gaming would be fantastic.

    • ocker3

       I mentioned “reticulating splines” to a flat-mate, and while cleaning out her office’s CD store she found a copy of SimCity 2000, I may load it up for old times sake :)

  • http://twitter.com/the_damned_fool the damned fool

    Is anyone else looking forward to the day that the Sims will be integrated into SimCity? Not for me, but I have a brother obsessed with the Sims…so well, you know.

  • McGreens

    I’m intrigued by the “Mild violence” content rating. Are we going to be able to include SimMuggers?

  • CastanhasDoPara

    I’ll say this again because it bears repeating.

    Just say NO to onerous DRM.

    Go to hell EA, I will not reward you asshats for shitting all over my favorite game of all time. (No matter how sexy the actual game may be, I will maintain this principled stance. And furthermore attempt at all chances to actively dissuade others from rewarding your stupendous idiocy. Again, go to hell EA, you slugs.)

  • gjbloom

    I learned my lesson about always-online DRM from UBI when my somewhat fickle DSL connection caused my single-player game on my own PC to boot me out of the middle of the game every time I tried playing.  Looks kinda cool, and I would otherwise consider buying it, though I’d probably wait a bit for it to go on sale.  Too bad.  This one goes on the ‘pirate only’ list, which means I not only won’t have to cope with their absurd DRM, I won’t even have to wait for it to go on sale.  Win-win.