EA details free Origin games as apology for SimCity launch disaster
By
Martin Gaston, News Editor
List of games being given away by EA includes Battlefield 3 and Dead Space 3.
EA has detailed the list of Origin games it will offer to customers affected by the disastrous launch of SimCity.
All copies of SimCity registered on Origin before March 25 will give applicable customers a chance to pick one free game from the following list: Battlefield 3, Bejeweled 3, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Plants vs. Zombies, and SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition.
The games provided, with the exception of Sim City 4, are all standard edition.
EA will roll out the redemption process across its three territories in waves, starting in North America by 5pm PDT on Wednesday March 20, before reaching Europe by March 21, and then Asia and South America before the end of March 22.
Games have to be claimed by 11:59 PDT on March 30.
"Our SimCity Mayors are incredibly important to the team at Maxis," said a statement on the EA website. "We sincerely apologise for the difficulties at launch and hope to make it up to you with a free PC game download from Origin."
"Starting today," continued the apology, "every player that has activated their copy of SimCity will receive an email that will give directions on how to redeem this offer, and you can also find more information on our FAQ. 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. We don't want any of you to miss out on your free game, so please note that you must register your copy of SimCity before March 25, 2013 at 11:59 PM PDT and you must claim your free game by March 30, 2013 at 11:59PM PDT.
"At Maxis, our studio values dictate that we innovate and create something that is quirky, complex and challenging. Sometimes this bites us in the butt, but our servers are green and we're seeing record numbers of players all online and having a great time.
"Here is the list of games that you will be able to choose from once you are able to redeem. It's a great list of games across the whole EA portfolio, so pick one and add it to your Origin library on us!:
"We're getting great feedback from our fans and know that many of you are having fun and exploring this whole new expression of SimCity," the developer continued. "We're humbled by your patience and passion for the game. Thanks for building something very special with us, together."
For the latest on SimCity, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
By
Martin Gaston, News Editor
Has absolutely never at all had the song from Beauty and the Beast sung to him at any point during his life, ever.
344 comments
1 Like Morons. All that people are going to remember is that EA and Maxis lied about DRM, crippled what should've been a great game, and lost huge amounts of money and consumer goodwill because they wanted to save relative pennies on piracy.
1 Like To me it seems like a strategie to get people to buy simcity now. we are on the 19th, and it's offering rewards until the 25th, if I wanted BF3 for example, I would be tempted to buy Simcity right now so I could get a free copy
@zeusbark That is exactly what they are doing. I realized the same thing as soon as I heard the announcement for this. For one brief moment I thought about buying Simcity and collecting my free game. Then I came to my senses. That's exactly what this is. It's a marketing strategy. Nothing more.
1 Like @RoadStar1602 @zeusbark Funny, same here. For a moment I thought hey! I want to get free BF3!!!... wait a minute... I don't even want SimCity, why would I buy a game I don't want just to get another game. If I wanted both games it would be a good deal, but I don't. And that's how I to realized what they were doing. I'm sure a lot of people are gonna buy it to get a "free game" Just read the comment below this one. =)
@RoadStar1602 @zeusbark Oh, I know, don't get me wrong, I to played the sh"$% out of sim city 2000 and cim city4. This game has been dumbed down to please/attract the whole generation of people who played "The Sims" I'd be into an old hardcore style SimCity game, not the garbage they put out with this one.
1 Like @zeusbark @RoadStar1602 Don't get me wrong. I want Simcity. I've wanted it for 10 years. I just don't want THIS Simcity. I don't want to have to rely on EA's servers or my own connection to play a game I paid $60 for. I don't want to have the content of my game limited so that they can sell it to me in bits and pieces later for more money. I don't want the size of my city to be 1/10th the size of the previous version of Simcity. No thanks. I'm not paying an inflated price for a bad product.
@Blade_Runner22 YES BLADE! HURRY AND BUY SIMCITY FOR 70$ SO YOU CAN HAVE A FREE 40$ GAME!!111
Not bad, free game is always a bonus. A lot better than the nothing that Blizzard offered for D3.
3 Like cool just got to pick my free game for the SimCity mess up. I selected Dead space 3 full game free not bad for an apology. I have played SimCity now for 5 hours no problems and is really fun.
@jason1460 Wow, you've played a game that's been out for two weeks for a whole 5 HOURS?! Lucky you!
@Sarg1010 @jason1460 yeah sucks sarg1010 being in my 40's not as much free time to play!!!!!
With the exception of the PopCap games there (And SimCity 4), Aren't the rest of those games just catalysts for DLC?
This reminds me of what retail stores do. Store screws up, customer complains. Store gives customer a $5 off coupon to shut them up. The customer has to come back into the store to spend that $5, and they either buy something that is more than $5 (and spend more money), or less than $5 (and waste credit). So in the end, the compensation the customer gets is just more marketing and will probably lead to more sales.
1 Like Oh wow... EA has done something good! Quick mark the day! Lets celebrate this legendary occasion from now on!
1 Like @megakoresh ..nah its not good its the biggest gaming conspiracy in history well done ea its working :(
@outlabin33 @megakoresh You know even mentioning the word "conspiracy" in such context immediately kills any chance the comment could be taken seriously.
In Australia, can already select game, it's downloading now, well done EA for offering decent choices. And when things like gifting in SimCity are working properly map sizes won't matter and I'll be satisfied with that game too.
Maybe gamespot will recant on their nerd rage review... maybe not.
1 Like @SlothyCounter They probably should re-review...just like everybody else who gave the game more than a 3.
1 Like You need to honestly ask yourself. Are you going to be playing this game a month from now? I just don't think this game has the lasting power of previous SimCity titles. I wish it did but it doesn't. If EA made a commitment to a much larger map, bug fixes, off-line mode, that would be a different story. But I don't think they have any intention of going that route. They may but it will come in a DLC with a price tag.
1 Like @Whiskey3romeo @SlothyCounter Remember there is still the 'game' part of the release, always online requirements aside. Terrible release week but Diabalo 3 didn't have to pay for that, and Blizard certainly didn't offer a AAA game as compensation. Bitch about EA all you like, but saying SimCity is a terrible game is a stupid way to do it.
@SlothyCounter @Whiskey3romeo
I have to concur with SlothyCounter on this one. Gamespot would be acting hypocritical if they allowed D3 to get away with it and held Sim City to higher standards.As a gaming company specializing in reviews, it's their job to be objective. Their review of Sim City was not objective. Argue how you like, but there isn't a member here who would claim that the DRM fiasco had nothing to do with the low rating.
This was a political move by gamers, and supported by a gaming company. This move was against DRM, and companies that enforce it. EA made a mistake with that particular component, but a large portion of the game still remains an innovation.
Take this analogy: It's like you bought a new car. Okay, it's a BMW, so maintenance is high and you'll always have expenses with it. It's sold to you with a faulty set of tires. You decide to review the tires in depth. That's what happened with Sim City. You can't drive on faulty tires, so you rage and hold the entire car responsible, even though BMW didn't make those tires.
2 Like @SlothyCounter @Whiskey3romeo Way more wrong with that game than just the servers, which still aren't working as intended. Go read the EA forum. The list of bugs grows everyday. When you have a boat traffic jam in open water or game mechanics where electricity follows the same routines and pathing as sewage and traffic and somehow gets lost before it reaches the other end of town even though you're generating more than enough, you have very serious flaws. Those are just a few of the dozens that are being discovered and documented on a daily basis.
1 Like So how many games is EA going to give away for free to make up for their clumsy attempt to keep people from getting their games for free?
makes sense to be honest but yet again this is Sony, will be interesting to see what Microsoft have instore for everyone.
Red Alert. Originally by Westwood but after Red Alert 2, EA bought them off. After RA2, it was a shit fest. Old people's game.
According to the fine print on Origin (when selecting the game), if you don't download the game by 31st March you forfeit the right to do so.
Not to be confused with the deadlines for selecting the game OR activating Simcity.
3 Like Awwww, it's OK, I forgive you. Here lets have a hug. *slips a bag of cocaine in their back pocket and then calls the cops*. Nah, that would be stooping to their level but you get my point.
ATTENTION!!
if you are an UNDERAGE user on Origin (i bet most of you are) you can only choose SIMCITY 4 or BEJEWLED 3. (underage means under the age of 18). sorry, and you can't choose which one, they will automatically add it to your account and if you don't believe me, GOOGLE IT.
@axelx666 If you are underage you cant play mass effect, medal of honor, battlefield, dead space nor you cant buy them so what is your point?
@slayerSS-3 That was the point, just the other way around. It does not say in the article that people under 18 can only get 1 of 2 at does not get to choose.
Didn't you read the article before reading comments, it's pretty clear what point axel has.
@JachAnen doesnt have to say anything, you dont have the age you cant buy those games in the first place...
Not letting you choose, plants vs zombies or need for speed well that it's wrong but the other games is ok
6 Like This is pure marketing genius!!!
Notice how it says "before March 25"... (6 days left for the slow ones)
All the sheep that talked smack against EA will raise sales by the 25-th like nothing happened. Maybe even exceed revenue expectations.
They turned their fiasco into a marketing stunt. BRAVO!
PS: AND FFS RETARDS, LEARN HOW TO SPELL!!!!
>>> http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling
Mark my words. After the dust settles, SimCity 5 will be playable offline and they will increase the city sizes.
This whole THING was 100% against pirates and by the time the game does get pirated, they wouldn't care because they milked the cow thoroughly.
Ironically, piracy would even benefit them at that point because they would have nothing to lose, and the modders would do their bid of keeping it alive the same as SimCity 4.
I pirate games constantly, but I would have bought this NO QUESTIONS ASKED if it was a normal release because it is that good.
WELL PLAYED EA!
@Ba8emk The dust already settled. EA isn't going to update the game after the 25th. They'll tell people to purchase DLC that also don't work. And no they're not going to make the game playable offline and no they won't increase the city sizes. Making games good means they actually have to spend money, which they don't intend on doing.
@Ba8emk Yep this is exactly what I was thinking, they just pulled off marketing genious. Present it like a sorry note to all the poeple they screwed over, letting "smart" people think they're getting away with a 2for1 bargain by buying in, but really they're just feeding out of EA's hand.
1 Like I'm not just concerned about the server issue - which will go away in time. It's mostly about the fact that the cities are SO TINY. Also, the game is saved on the cloud so you can't just save your city, trash it with a ton of disasters for fun and then reload it to an pristine state.
Given the cost of games offered - it's about $10-20 bucks off. MoH SUCKS btw - they can't give it away.
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