An Open Letter to EA

[schm0 27]

Several solutions have been offered as a form of  venting our frustrations in a productive manner. Making our own game, while ambitious and in good spirit, depends on talent, money, and the donation of thousands of hours of work. While I support this endeavor, I fear it will fall short of our ultimate goals. Petitions against TM or EA will have little effect as they are under contract and already in development. Talking with TM on their forums will achieve a good and necessary conversation, but will not change the finished product by leaps and bounds. I have given up on hoping that SCS will contain any playable content that I would be interested in.

I believe an open, peer-edited letter to Electronic Arts will have the most impact. If you all agree, we will need to address several key issues: the main statement (thesis) of the letter, three to five supporting arguments, and the conclusion. And, of course, the signatures of over 1000 people. I think this is a modest goal, and if made available to the public, could have significant impact on the production of SimCity 5/6/Whatever. Of course, I would not ask it to be endorsed by Simtropolis itself, but rather use it's fan base as a catalyst.

What do you think?

[baertooth 330]

I'm up for asking EA to change the name to SimSocieties and start a new 'Sim' franchise instead of creating an inappropriate sequeal to Simcity. They're months away for release so this should be easy to do. Providing an alternative option that's doable is important.

[spoty101 0]

Yes I agree with the poster above a new name would be a good idea since this isnt a city simulation game they should change the name to something more related to the sims considering u try to make the people happy, and for all the simcity fans out there they should really make another simcity and make it like simcity 4 but MUCH better.

[Cleaner475 150]

this should be done I'd sign - I agree with baertooth as well.

[Pixelrage 34]

not for nothing, but this is just going to be a waste of your time, since they won't care.

[schm0 27]

Perhaps, but do you think they'd dismiss 1000 people outright?

[John-SJ 13]

A thousand?  more like a couple hundred.  Maybe 3, tops.  Still three hundred signitures is not exactly insignificant. 

I also doubt that EA will have any interest in changing the name to SimSocieties or similar.  I'm guessing that having the SimCity name on the box and in ads is pretty important to their marketing strategy.

[Superchan 23]

they should at least make a ture sc5

[Jarzai 0]

Originally posted by: schm0 Perhaps, but do you think they'd dismiss 1000 people outright?quote>

 

Yes. They've already disregarded the collective opinion of over 170,000 members of Simtropolis, so what's 1,000 sigs on a petition/open letter going to mean to them? There's little chance that they've missed the insightful feedback over the years from the members here on the SC series, they made a conscious choice to disregard it.

[John-SJ 13]

170,000?

Perhaps EA and TM understand that of those 170,000 only a tiny percentage are still active in the community and in the game.  Perhaps they also understand that registering on this site is not the same as being a hardcore player who will accept no game other than an improvement to SC4.

Just a thought.  (or a couple of 'em)

[outriderdriver 4]

I would side with the ideas that we could ask them to consider changing the name from Simcity Societies to Simsocieties, or that they probably would'nt because of a marketing strategy that is primarily to use the Simcity name to make a sale. Some companies are only into the business for the ultimate buck.

Edited - Content

--beebs

[schm0 27]

Ok, we're getting a little too specific here. Right now I'm looking to see if anyone thinks it's a good idea.

The basic theme of the the letter will be the path that has been chosen for the franchise, and how it has strayed from the core philosophy of the game. The supporting arguments will relay things that are missing in SCS that are part of this "core" and how it has affected the fanbase.

[Jman47 0]

I think that it is the best option we have at this point, so ill put in my 2 cents:

1 The transportation system should be just as immersive as SC4, if not more so, to give the feel of a real city that can get people into that empire-building, megalopolis running attitude that got so many people hooked in the first place.

2 region play shoud be included at least as optional, giving those same feelings mentioned in my first point.

3 mention the fact that SC4 was one of the best selling games when it came out just the way it was and that ST has over 174000 devoted members that love the game the way it is, and that simplifying it will only make that hardcore fanbase go south.

4 it prolly would be wise to mention the money EA will lose from the hardcore fanbase going south, even while appealing to new fans. after all, EA is nothing if not greedy. if 174000 people dont buy the game that would have before hand if these features were included with the game and it sells for 50.00 USD thats 8,700,000 USD they could have had.

5 mention the massive project that has come about on ST, to make a new simcity ourselves! that kind of action shows more than anything how much we want a CITY simulation and not just a social simulation. if any thing, it should be BOTH.

6  i think getting at least 10000 sigs should be a goal, which is only a fraction of the ST fanbase, and im sure at least that many feel the same way as we do.

everyone tell me what u think of these ideas i might be able to come up with even more.

[thecross21 3]

Sign me up. I want a realistic city building game where you have to actually think and plan rather than plop chocolate factories all over the place. Why don't the EA people just listen to our ideas? Aren't businesses supposed to listen to their customers?

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: baertooth I'm up for asking EA to change the name to SimSocieties and start a new 'Sim' franchise instead of creating an inappropriate sequeal to Simcity. They're months away for release so this should be easy to do. Providing an alternative option that's doable is important.quote>

They've generated the media publicity already and the reviews are starting.  That means it's effectively too late to change the name.

thecross21: No, businesses don't exist to listen to their customers or anything like that.  They listen because they want to sell something (most of the time).  Very rarely do businesses listen because they are trying to make the lives of the customers better.

[ftwly 5]

suppose that some simcity fans can make a new simcity game for us,a game inheritance the simcity4.just like LFS designed by racing fans.then SCS will Leave out in the cold.

[John-SJ 13]

You forget the fact that by the time SC fans create a new game that SC:S will be a few years old, at least!

[shpangler 19]

no offense, but a thousand signatures is nothing when a game like this could easily sell hundreds of thousands, maybe even a millions worlwide. EA would read the letter and sure it would show them the displeasure of how Sim City Societies is affecting us, but they'll probably just throw it away.

[abvex 0]

I am all up for this, and put this letter (once completed) on digg and you'll get a whole lot more than a 1000 signatures; then you'll get some REAL attention!

I have a digg account and I will digg your letter up to the front page and I believe so will others on this forum.

[Godzillaman 21]

its pointless. if they ignored this whole community, then they'll ignore however many people you want to sign. there was the other petition, and that didnt work (i think) and no offense but i think this won't work too.

[parmenio 2]

May not do much good, but it can't hurt. We might as well do it.

[schm0 27]

Hmmm... perhaps we can generate more buzz by writing the magazines that do articles on the game? What if we formed a letter that sidestepped EA altogether and went right to the source: other fans. If we announced our displeasure and gathered enough signatures to appear in a small blurb or even in the opinion section, we could make a larger impact than you might think. How about changing the course of this idea and sending it off into a new direction?

[Jarzai 0]

I really don't like to discourage anyone from doing something that they feel strongly about, and i'm a relative newbie on this forum so factor my ignorance in.

However, these gaming mags thrive on exclusives, be it interviews, screenshots, ads, or just blurbs, any exclusive PR will do -its what moves their copy. They are unlikely to want to bite the hand that feeds them by carrying negative fan buzz about a game or company that they're courting for content. But you may be on to something with an editorial/opinion insert, a little controversy might be welcome there.

Another approach is trying to score a Fan Interview with the devs at TMill concerning the new game SC:S. A collection of questions from the fans here that gets picked through and processed by the most dedicated and respected fans here. If its carefully edited, polite, and well thought out, you can actually ask some pertinant questions, get solid answers, and get your points across at the same time. Of course they'd need to agree with it, and that might be difficult with the recent hostility between fans and devs.

[+Guest]

Two things.

First of all, I like the sound of getting a blurb or mention in a widely read magazine or gaming website. I'm always doubtful of petitions, especially online petitions, even if they do carry with them a well written letter of explanation. Large companies like EA will generally ignore 1000, 5000 or even 10,000 signatures. Their projected playerbase is usually at least in the hundreds of thousands. Unless a petition comes around that can really represent a large percentage of that population it will probably be met with indifference. Being faced with that obstacle is exactly why I think sidestepping that avenue would be an advantage. If we can make our opinion known to a wider audience in a more public setting it will force someone to listen. Even if there is no response from EA, a larger group of people will have heard us and perhaps someone else out there won't go making the same mistakes we've seen here with SCS.

Secondly I have to say that I'm reminded of something when reading the press releases and information about SCS. I think it's worth mentioning because in any kind of statement we make, whether in an open letter or some other forum, the parallels that can be drawn make a strong point. For anyone who has at least a passing knowledge of SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) my mention of the NGE (New Game Enhancements) won't be surprising. There are a lot of ways in which the release of the NGE to SWG was disturbing at best, unscrupulous at worst. The major comparison I'd like to make between the NGE and SCS is the way that both of them seem to completely dissolve all that is known and loved about the game they are a part of. The NGE eliminated many aspects of SWG that dedicated players enjoyed. SCS does the same with the SimCity series by removing complexity and tools that have been or have become a staple of gameplay. Without those things SimCity ceases to be what it's always been and becomes something else entirely. Just as the SWG playerbase rebelled against the NGE (SWG went from over 200,000 subscribers down to less than 50,000 today) SimCity fans will rebel against SCS. Dedicated players from SWG actively discouraged other potential players from joining the game. I even recently heard a story of one person so upset with Sony Online Entertainment he advised his company to purchase equipment worth over $50,000 USD from a company other than Sony. It's easy to see passionate SimCity devotees finding similar ways to take business away from EA. Just because the games are different doesn't mean the feelings involved are. In both cases a dedicated playerbase feels slighted and ignored. It's possible that both cases will result in a playerbase reacting in an extremely negative way towards the company responsible. I think that parallel may be an important one to draw in any document we as a community write.

[josefmayor 8]

IThey are just copying City Life this is so stupid.

I'm up for signing a petition!

[Spike345 20]

I am horrified, this game sounds so crappy, sign me up! - We cannot let this happen!

[timotheus4 39]

No guys, don't you see -- all the best and brightest at Maxis are working on Spore, the Next Big Thing. Spore's been in the works for years and it won't be out until the middle of 2008. SCS is a second-rate project, not even being created by Maxis, clearly meant to bang up something for the 2007 holidays before being utterly forgotten. That's what explains why SCS looks so bad. They're not putting the proper thought and development into it, because -- no disrespect to the Tilted Mill folks -- they don't even know the game. This is not SimCity 5 -- merely an intermediary whack.  If Maxis still cares about SimCity, they'll give us another good one in six or seven years. But for now, all emphasis is going to be on Spore, just like it always was on The Sims in the past.

If we just recognize this for what it is, as an intermediary step - call it SimCity 4.5 if you want - and realize that it's not the same game as what all the former SimCitys were, we'll have a moderately good game on our hands. I think TM may have realized this by not giving Societies a number.

aaaand looking around forums after getting that knee-jerk out it seems everybody else has thought of everything I said already. I'll bow out now. The good thing about SCS is that it isn't making me emotional about the SimCity series and it won't make me waste time and money in college.

[schm0 27]

Ok, so which route do we want to take? Should we write EA? Or should we start a campaign to have our voices heard by writing GFW or any other magazine that does a story on SCS?

[swimasb 0]

I vote we start out by writing to a magazine.

[ADG 0]

I'll sign

Calling SC:S a SimCity game makes as much sense as if ID software was making an FPS game taking place on earth fighting aliens and call it Doom 4