EA run into problems with Advertising Standard over SimCity website - PC Mac

The ASA have upheld parts of three complains against a website for SimCity video game. They challenged whether the website features were misleading as some features were disabled or not included in the game due to problems at launch.

First Simcity major update tonight with fixes for city processing bugs and fewer in-game disasters - full list of changes included in the Update

Update 2.0 will improve city processing issues that EA's Origin servers have suffered to manage properly due to high demand.

The opening of Simcity was plagued with issues, with customers complaining about problems getting online, and others complaining about pretty much everything.

Having problems with SimCity? - grab some help plus Something Special for Your Trouble

After loads of issues and negative reviews of SimCity - EA have added up to date information on their help website - here

SimCity is Back! with reimagining of the City-Building Simulation - PC

The franchise that laid the foundations of the city building simulation genre is back, empowering players to create the world of their imagination! EA announce that SimCity is breaking new ground in 2013.

Demo Version of SimCity Societies - Updated Content Free Download June 12

SimCity Societies from The Sims Label, Electronic Arts

Demo will show off much of the new fan requested content and features that have been added to the game over the last few months through five free game updates. Just some of the features and content added to Societies include:

· New strategic modes: Basic, Hardcore and Nightmare, each one a more intense challenge to your city buildings skills.
· Three new exotic disasters, including UFOs, a giant robot and a massive monster
· New events and crises, including counter-cultural revolutions, general strikes, epidemics and more
· Easy firefighting controls. Put out the flames faster!
· Improved road placing controls
· Almost countless UI additions, everything more charts and graphs to new auto-execute buttons for special abilities
· City Policies, giving you the power to enact Universal Healthcare, Indoctrination, and other ways to affect, or control, your citizens lives
· Six scenarios ranging from the relaxing the intense
· Dozens of new buildings and special Sims
· More than 100 other additions and improvements

The free downloadable demo will include the tutorial, a challenging scenario and two major disasters.

Look for it on June 12 at www.simcity.com.

The SimCity Societies free game updates are available right now at www.simcity.com. When you download update 5, it will include all previous updates.

Upcoming for SimCity Societies after the demo launch is its first expansion, Destinations, and the massive compilation, The SimCity Box (which includes Societies, Destinations, SimCity 4, SimCity 4 Rush Hour, Snap City and Spore Creature Creator Trial Version), due out on June 23. Check www.simcity.com for more info.

Simcity creator from the sims label for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS

Create, Enjoy, Destroy Amazing Cities On The Wii; Develop Your City From Ancient Times To The Modern Day On The Nintendo DS

First details for SimCity Creator, exclusively for the Wii and Nintendo DS. SimCity Creator is an open-ended, highly creative game with a sense of humor that allows players to utilize the distinctive gameplay aspects of the Wii and Nintendo DS to create, enjoy and destroy epic cities. The most accessible and light-hearted game from the SimCity franchise, SimCity Creator will ship on September 22, 2008 in North America and on September 19, 2008 in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. SimCity Creator is designed to be a city-game experience for families and players of all ages!

SimCity Creator for the Wii
Be a powerful mayor - create, enjoy and destroy your ultimate city. Start by zoning your city, constructing homes, businesses, factories, skyscrapers, freeways, railroads, and much more. SimCity Creator is a visually exciting experience with a completely new user interface, designed specifically for the Wii and the Wii remote. You’ll discover many ways to customize your city, including 13 city styles to explore, such as American, European and Asian themes. More city styles will be revealed, so stay tuned for more information!

You can also place a selection of more than 30 “Hero” buildings into your city to make it distinctive and momentous. Some of these iconic buildings are based on the current day, some on history and some on fantasy. The more city styles you explore, the more Hero building options you have.


For the first time, take the liberty to build transportation systems with free placement of rounded and curved roads and rail lines, taking your city to new creative and curvy heights. And get a new perspective on your cityscape from a helicopter, a jet or a propeller plane which you can use to fly over your creation. Check out what you’ve built in your aircraft of choice!

Disasters that players of SimCity always love remain an important and entertaining element in SimCity Creator. Using the Wii remote you can create earthquakes, tornados, call in destructive robots and monsters, create fires and discover many more ways to cause havoc. You created it, and now you can destroy it. With hours of fun and replayability, the fate of your city and its citizens are in your hands!

SimCity Creator for Nintendo DS
Guide your city from ancient times into the future with SimCity Creator for Nintendo DS. Evolve your city through time, starting with ancient times, the middle ages, modern times, present day and the future. Four play modes are available, Challenge, Free Play, Chance Encounter and Gallery, giving options to make the game as challenging or as creative as you want. Earn epic landmarks along the way to enhance your city and mark your progress into the next era. Choose your path through history and make a city for the ages.

“SimCity Creator for the Wii and Nintendo DS brings two separate, delightful new ways to create, enjoy and destroy your own cities,” said Rod Humble, Head of Studio for The Sims Label. “On the Wii, for the first time in the SimCity franchise, you will have the ability to build curved roads and differently shaped zones allowing you to make more authentic places all utilizing the motions of the Wii remote. Employing the new city advisor system, you will be able to make the game as complex or simple as you want. On Nintendo DS, we will give you the ability to make a city develop through time and to overcome the different challenges each era of urban development presents. I know both long-time and new SimCity players will enjoy these innovative experiences in SimCity Creator starting this September!”

SimCity Creator will be available on the Wii and Nintendo DS on September 22, 2008 in North America and on September 19, 2008 in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.


Product Specifications
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: Wii/Nintendo DS
Ship Dates: September 22, 2008 in North America; September 19, 2008 in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions
Category: Simulation/Strategy
ESRB Rating: This game has not been rated
PEGI Rating: This game has not been rated

Source Code for SimCity released

"Source code for SimCity has been released under the GPLv3. For legal reasons the open source version was renamed Micropolis, which was apparently the original working title. The OLPC will also be getting a SimCity branded version that has been QA'ed by Electronic Arts.

Some very cool changes have been made by Don Hopkins, who updated and ported what is now Micropolis. (Here is an earlier Slashdot discussion kicked off by a submission Don made.) Among other things, it has been revamped from the original C to using C++ with Python. Here is the page linking all the various source code versions. Happy hacking!"

More here...

EA Japan builds SimCity 2 video game for Nintendo DS

It hasn't been long since SimCity first made its way to DS - we're weren't particularly impressed either - but EA Japan has already announced a sequel.

First screenshots have emerged on its Japanese site along with early information on the game. The big hook this time is you'll be able to build up settlements and cities through the ages, from the caveman era to medieval times and then the industrial revolution. So forget fending off UFOs and fixing damage caused by rumbling earthquakes. It seems like you'll be concerning yourself with rogue wildcats and the plague instead.

According to information in the latest issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, you'll even be able to combine resources from different ages in Free Mode to create the sort of hybrid city that'd surely made modern day architects weep. We also hope that EA will be improving issues such as the random difficulty curve and the lack of scenarios in the first game.

Currently listed with a March 19th release in Japan, there's no information on US or UK releases yet. On past experience, we'd be hoping for a summer launch - we'll let you know as soon as EA makes an announcement.

Source: Pocket Gamer

SIMCITY SOCIETIES FOR MOBILE PHONES

Use Your Mobile Phone to Create and Manage Your own Metropolis

The return of one of PC gaming’s most popular series – SimCity™ – is coming to mobile! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that SimCity™ Societies is available for mobile phones beginning this month in Europe, and soon to follow in North America. Create and manage your own metropolis in this versatile city-building game designed so that every decision influences the look, feel and success of each society.

Inspired by the highly-anticipated PC game, the mobile version allows players to not only construct the cities they desire, but also create unique cultures, societal behaviors and environments. SimCity Societies for cell phones welcomes new players to the SimCity franchise with casual ‘on-the-go’ gameplay perfectly suited for mobile. For SimCity fans they will find that the true benefit is in the game’s depth and the complexity to maximize the efficiency of their city.

Players start by choosing from a selection of scenarios or can begin with an empty patch of land. The goal is to then determine the look and feel of each society - from police state to liberal utopia – by placing down a variety of building types like homes, leisure spots, workplaces and industrial sites. With 50 buildings inspired from the PC game to choose from, players are able to give their city its own unique personality. As each city evolves, players will be able to unlock new buildings that can help advance – or regress – their society. Management skills are also required since the city will faces many challenges from their societies – including disasters like earthquakes and alien attacks.

“We are very excited to release the mobile version of SimCity Societies” says Javier Ferreira, VP of European Publishing, EA Mobile. “This is a great game for either someone new to the SimCity experience as it is engaging and rewarding quickly or for loyal SimCity fans to take the their game experience with them anywhere they go. The creativity and immersion offered on the mobile platform demonstrates the universal appeal of SimCity and its ability to translate well to the mobile game experience.”

The SimCity franchise is one of the most popular PC gaming franchises in history, having sold more than 17 million games worldwide to date since the SimCity launch in 1989. Subsequent base game releases include SimCity 2000™ (1989), SimCity 3000™ (1989) and SimCity™ 4 (2003).

SimCity Societies on PC shipped to retails stores across North America and Europe on 13th November 2007.

THE SIMS 2 TEEN STYLE STUFF INTRODUCES MUST-HAVE STUFF FOR YOUR TEEN SIMS

EA Launches First-Ever Stuff Pack Expressly for Teen Sims Introducing New Fashions, Furniture, Gadgets, and Décor Items

For the first time, Electronic Arts has brought The Sims players a stuff pack with the exclusive intent of giving their teen Sims everything they need to express their unique style! The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff*, now on store shelves, lets your teen Sims define their own space while showing some attitude with all-new, unique furniture, décor items, fashions and more! Whether your teen Sims identify as “Goth,” “Thrasher” or “Socialite,” there are plenty of new ways for them for them to express their true selves by the way they dress or the way they decorate their rooms inside The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff!

With The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff, players can give their teen Sims a new stereo, TV, and other gadgets to keep them up to date and in touch with their friends. Make sure your Sims are always sporting the latest teen fashions including track suits, designer jeans, and yoga outfits. Let your young Sims express themselves in ways only teenagers can! In addition, The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff is the first stuff pack to feature a The Sims contest winner! A fan with the username Nessabop was the grand prize winner of The Sims 2 Seasons Simlish Karaoke Contest, which pitted fans of The Sims 2 and The Sims On Stage against each other in an online karaoke contest. The challenge was to sing the song ‘Smile’, originally recorded by Capitol Records artist Lily Allen. The top two finalists were chosen by Lily Allen herself. The grand prize winner was given the opportunity to record The Sims 2 song ‘Chocolate’ at EA Headquarters! Nessabop’s version of ‘Chocolate’ is featured in The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff and is available for download at TheSims2.com!

KEY FEATURES


Dress to Express: Give your teen Sims new outfits that truly express their personalities, from activewear for the skateboarding, surfing “thrasher” to the latest trends for the “socialite” or some more unique wear for the “goth” of the family!

Private Spaces or Party Spaces: All teens want their own room that is a place where they can be happy when they want to get away from it all, or a place where all of their friends can hang out. From elite furniture like a “Fit for Royalty” bed to the more laid-back look of a cool “Fluffy Rocker” to a “Tall and Terrible” armoire for a darker dominion, there’s something here to make everyone feel right at home.

Tech-Savvy Teens: Teens today spend their time playing with technology, and your teen Sims should be no different, so here you can find computers, music players and all types of gadgets and electronics for your Sims to stay as current as you do!

Product Specifications
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts Redwood Shores
Ship Date: Europe: November 9, 2007
Format: PC
Category: Simulation/Strategy
PEGI Rating: 12+

Requires The Sims 2, The Sims 2 Special DVD Edition , The Sims 2 Holiday Edition or The Sims 2 Deluxe for PC to play.

About The Sims
The Sims franchise celebrated its seventh anniversary in February. The game skyrocketed to the top of the charts when it began shipping to stores in February 2000 and quickly became a gaming and cultural phenomenon. The Sims PC based product and expansion packs were the best selling PC games of 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. Translated into 22 different languages, The Sims has inspired seven top selling expansion packs. please confirm accuracy of this statement. They include: The Sims Livin' Large, The Sims House Party, The Sims Hot Date, The Sims Vacation, The Sims Unleashed, The Sims Superstar and The Sims Makin' Magic. The Sims 2 shipped in September 2004 with sales already topping 13M units worldwide, it was the best selling PC game of 2004. The Sims 2 University shipped in March 2005, The Sims 2 Nightlife shipped in September 2005, The Sims 2 Open for Business shipped in February 2006, The Sims 2 Pets shipped in October 2006 and The Sims 2 Seasons shipped in February 2007. Combined sales for the franchise are approximately 90M units life-to-date. For more information on The Sims 2, visit http://www.thesims2.com and for more information on The Sims franchise titles, visit http://www.thesims.com

Sims Creator Wright inducted into BAFTA

Creator of The Sims, Will Wright, joins legends such as Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin and Steven Spielberg as he is inducted into BAFTA's Fellowship at this year's Awards ceremony
Monday 15th October/... Will Wright, the creator of The Sims, the world’s best selling PC gaming franchise with more than 90 million units sold, will shortly join an exclusive number of household names from TV and Film as he becomes the first recipient of the Fellowship from the video games industry at the British Academy Video Games Awards 2007. The Fellowship is the highest accolade the Academy can bestow on an individual for their creative work.

Until now, the much lauded Fellowship has remained an exclusive part of BAFTA’s more established pillars, TV and Film. But today’s British Academy recognises the massive impact of video games on popular culture and their huge contribution to the whole art form of the moving image.

Hilary Bevan Jones, Chairman of the Academy said “Will’s immense, creative body of work and his continued contribution to the industry make him a most worthy recipient of the Fellowship and being such a pioneer, we are thrilled that he will be the first person to receive this honour”.

Wright, who is widely accepted as one of the world’s leading visionaries in the field of video game design, has been passionately creating games for more than twenty years. Although he has worked on a number of hugely successful games, among them Raid On Bungling Bay (1984), SimCity (1989), SimCity 2000 (1993), SimCity 3000 (1989) and SimCity 4 (2003), he is best known for bringing to fruition one of the best-loved games franchises in history, The Sims – a game whose inspiration sprang from a combination of the aforementioned titles.

Other ‘firsts’ at this year’s Awards include the BAFTA Ones To Watch Award in association with Dare To Be Digital which recognises up-and–coming talent, and the PC World Gamers’ Award, the only publicly-voted award of the night (www.obsessedwithgames.co.uk). This year’s Awards will be held at London’s Battersea Evolution on 23 October. Music acts will include the indie rock band Athlete with another act being confirmed this week. The show will be broadcast on E4 on November 4 at 11pm and repeated the following weekend on Channel 4.

Climate Education In SimCity Societies

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New Game in PC Gaming's Most Popular City-Building Series to Feature Alternatives to Carbon-Producing Energy Sources

Electronic Arts and BP have collaborated to include climate change education within SimCity Societies, the next iteration in the genre-defining city-building franchise that has sold more than 18 million games to date. The collaboration brings together world-class game building skills and industry expertise on energy, electricity production and greenhouse gas emissions to highlight the impact of electricity generation on the emissions of carbon dioxide that are linked to climate change. The low-carbon electricity choices and monitoring of SimCity’s carbon emissions provide an entertaining, fully-integrated and accurate look at some of the causes and some of the major solutions available to combat rising levels of carbon and to help address the threat of global warming. SimCity Societies will be available at retailers across North America and Europe November 15.

"Since their inception in 1989, SimCity games have served as excellent creative and educational tools to convey complex subjects. With SimCity Societies, we have the opportunity not only to demonstrate some of the causes and effects of global warming, but also to educate players how seemingly small choices can have a big global impact," said Steve Seabolt, Vice President of Global Brand Development for The Sims Label at EA. "BP was one of the first major energy companies to publicly acknowledge the need to reduce carbon emissions and begin taking precautionary measures. As such, they are the perfect partner to help educate people on this important social issue in SimCity Societies."

The game does not force players to power their cities any specific way, but allows them to make choices, each of which come with advantages and disadvantages. Similar to real-life, the least expensive and most readily-available buildings in SimCity Societies are also the biggest producers of carbon dioxide, an invisible gas that contributes to global warming. Should players choose to build cities dependent on these types of sources for power to conserve their in-game money, their carbon ratings will rise and, at reaching critical levels, the game will issue alerts about the threat of the various natural disasters like droughts, heat waves and others that may strike their cities.

Alternatively, players can strive to create a greener environment and avoid hazards caused by excessive carbon emissions by choosing from a variety of BP Alternative Energy low-carbon power options. Using hydrogen and natural gas plants to wind farms and solar power, SimCity Societies encourages people to learn about some of the causes and consequences of global warming in an engaging, educational and meaningful way. While these power sources maintain nearby property values and keep the cities’ citizens safer from disaster, they also mimic real-life in that they cost players more of their funds, and do not produce as much power as less green options that take up similar space. Informative real-world snippets about power production and conservation will also be available in-game, informing players of global warming issues both virtually and in reality.

"The time was right for this partnership. EA was developing the next iteration of the SimCity series at the same time that we were looking for opportunities to raise awareness about low-carbon power choices," said Carol Battershell, Vice President, BP Alternative Energy. "EA has a powerful reach to the next generation and BP has a suite of low-carbon power alternatives. In our collaboration through this innovative game, we can provide education on the issues surrounding climate change, its association with carbon emissions and the ability to take early positive action through low-carbon power choices."

The SimCity franchise is one of the most popular PC gaming franchises in history, having sold more than 18 million games worldwide to date since the SimCity launch in 1989. Subsequent base game releases include SimCity 2000tm (1993), SimCity 3000tm (1999) and SimCity 4 (2003). SimCity Societies is being published by Electronic Arts and developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment.