A SimCity Update
ea.com
A SimCity Update
1–10 of 74 posts
Re: A SimCity Update
#2Who wants to bet that the free game will be limited to 2+ year old titles?
And still no acknowledgment for the people that either don't care to play online or can't maintain a stable internet connection. Want to play while travelling? Want to play while in the military & deployed? Fuck you!
Re: A SimCity Update
#3> And to get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio.
> I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent.
To me, this seems insulting. They know most of their upset customers want a refund -- for now -- to feel like they've not quite been screwed over as much vs. forcing them to keep a broken product, and offering them a consolation prize.
I don't know why Maxis doesn't realize that if SimCity is really as great as critics claim, then the best way to redeem themselves is to offer full refunds, no questions asked, knowing that customers will return once the game is back up and running.
Not only would this show a little bit of class, but it may restore a little confidence and credibility to Maxis/EA, and their poor choices up to this point.
And again, if SimCity is really that great -- and aside from the DRM/always online aspect, and the current broken state, the fundamental game sounds solid -- then customer will come back. These early adopters are the true enthusiasts, and ultimately just want to play a functional SimCity.
So the net results will be the same -- and EA/Maxis redeems a little of what is left of their credibility.
Maybe Maxis would refund them and EA won't let them?
Re: A SimCity Update
#4> And to get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio. > I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent. To me, this seems insulting. They know most of their…
"Insults to the chef will result in larger portions" MAD magazine sticker I saw posted in an English cafeteria.
Re: A SimCity Update
#5This is a great opportunity for them to turn a shitty situation into one that will awe their customers. They should go overboard in terms of making their existing and potential new customers happy. While this is a good gesture, I don't think it's enough.
Re: A SimCity Update
#6Who wants to bet that the free game will be limited to 2+ year old titles? And still no acknowledgment for the people that either don't care to play online or can't maintain a stable internet connection. Want to play while travelling? Want to play while in the military & deployed? Fuck you!
[deleted]
Re: A SimCity Update
#7> And to get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio. > I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent. To me, this seems insulting. They know most of their…
Yes, I suspect the last line of your comment is at the heart of this issue and the doublespeak surrounding it coming from EA. SimCity is, to be sure, a great game. The problem seems to be that the people who control the strings (which, from our vantage point, we can only presume to be EA rather than Maxis) don't care about the reputation of the game and this PR disaster... only about their bottom line. And like so many other things, if money can be thrown at an issue, it's worth it to such a company.
What I mean by that is that I bet EA made this decision not with the intention of "how can we win back the good faith of our loyal customers", but "how can we ensure we make as much money (or lose the least) from this". You know, there is a reason why certain companies involved in pollution-creating waste disposal actually factor in the cost of simply accepting (or challenging) the legal fines for improper disposal into their decision making... if the cost of simply dumping improperly and paying the price (literally) outweighs the cost of properly disposing and cleaning up their business (literally and figuratively), their choice is, unfortunately, usually pretty clear.
Re: A SimCity Update
#8"And a result of this public outcry, we've decided to remove the DRM that is crippling this otherwise great software." - Said no company ever
Re: A SimCity Update
#9The lack of detail is almost a guarantee that they will limit the 'free PC download game from the EA portfolio' to whatever they feel is the minimum necessary to calm the masses. If they were giving away anything more than the bottom of the barrel you know they would be proclaiming how amazing they are for giving away another "full price game" or something similar. Also, 10 days gives them enough time to say "We fixed it! SC works great _now_. You should be happy to get anything on top of the full game you already have."
Re: A SimCity Update
#10> And to get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio. > I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent. To me, this seems insulting. They know most of their…
It is worth noting that Blizzard has a policy of 30day refunds, which had no noticeable affect on the PR catastrophe called Diablo 3.