New interview with Rod Humble on 1up.com!

[AndisArt 2,068]

Check out the new interview with Rod Humble, vice president at Electronic Arts and head of the Sims Division on 1up.com  

He's making some interesting statements there. 

On the question of Will Wrights involvement with SC:S:

"Will's totally out of the loop on this project so I wouldn't like to pin the blame or the credit for this project on him. He's very busy with Spore."

On the future of SimCity:

"You know, if the SimCity player base doesn't like it, for sure they can expect the next iteration will be back to basics, I can assure you. And you know, this could end up being a separate fork. We could end up doing a SimCity Societies line in addition to our regular construction line. "

[masochist 111]

Did I spy a diagonal road in that last screenshot???

This game does look like it could develop its own loyal fanbase, but I probably won't play it. Not because it's "not SimCity," but because it just doesn't catch my interest too much...but that's just me.

That was an eye-opening interview, though...it seems like Mr. Humble knows that some of the hardcore fans aren't going to like it. And he said that it could be a separate branch if we didn't. If that's true...maybe the next one will make a big enough leap to be worth my money...

[schm0 27]

Listen to the podcast on the GFW site. It's provides an interesting take from a bunch of professional game writers. An interesting quote from the podcast: "...this is the SimCity for people who don't want to deal with water pipes."

From the interview, it seems that the future of SC5 depends on the success of SCS. If it doesn't have much success, then a true sequel will be in the pipelines. I can only hope, therefore, that this game goes straight to the bargain bin. I'll keep my fingers crossed for SCS to be a huge flop.

[The_Dalai_Llama 15]

Some of the quotes are definitely of interest. If the SimCity community remains adamant and continues to criticize this game, we might get our SimCity 5 in a few years.

[MarcosMX 222]

Very interesting, we shouldn't buy SCS to get a true sequel later on!!!

[zzsim 3]

On the future of SimCity:

"You know, if the SimCity player base doesn't like it, for sure they can expect the next iteration will be back to basics, I can assure you. And you know, this could end up being a separate fork. We could end up doing a SimCity Societies line in addition to our regular construction line. "

quote>

 

^ Thank you!  I don't think that SCSocieties will be a bad game, I just don't feel that it is an appropriate successor to SC4.  I'm sure that if they announced that this was a spinoff or a new franchise, a lot of the community including myself would be much more open minded about this game's possibilities.  Most of the communities anger comes from the fact that we think that we will never see a traditional sequel to SC4 that follows in the franchise's tradition.

[Sim_BOB 2]

You needn't take it any further, sir. You've proved to me that all this ultraviolence and killing is wrong, wrong, and terribly wrong. I've learned me lesson, sir. I've seen now what I've never seen before. I'm cured! Praise Bog! I'm cured!

[baertooth 330]

I don't want to kill Societies. This maybe why it's important for us hardcores, as a previous thread suggested, to start a letter/petition going so they know there is a Simcity communty out there live and kicking waiting for SC5. Maybe there is still time the community can convince them that a name change is in order and if this is to be a fork, do it right and do in now instead of confusing the customer with a game that is not a true sequeal to the moderen city mayor level simulator we all know and love.

[AndisArt 2,068]

Originally posted by: zzsim [ I'm sure that if they announced that this was a spinoff or a new franchise, a lot of the community including myself would be much more open minded about this game's possibilities.  Most of the communities anger comes from the fact that we think that we will never see a traditional sequel to SC4 that follows in the franchise's tradition.quote>

 

Precisely!

[jazzmine54868 0]

im glad to hear there will be new SC soon.  I dont have an opinion as i havent tried it out.

just a couple of questions. is is Vista friendly?  I just recently read that there will a nother new Sim City out in early 2008?  is this true or just a nother hype?

mary olson

[jazzmine54868 0]

im glad to hear there will be new SC soon.  I dont have an opinion as i havent tried it out.

just a couple of questions. is is Vista friendly?  I just recently read that there will a nother new Sim City out in early 2008?  is this true or just a nother hype?

mary olson

[Pixelrage 34]

Does Wright still own the SC franchise, or was that completely contracted over, too? If he still owns it, this reeks of "sellout"....

[Braxton 0]

This was certainly a good interview. Some very good questions asked and I like the idea that we could see a SimCity 5 that is a true sequel to SC4.

[beebs 129]

Originally posted by: Pixelrage Does Wright still own the SC franchise, or was that completely contracted over, too? If he still owns it, this reeks of "sellout"....quote>

The SimCity franchise was owned by Maxis, not Will Wright himself, so far as I know. Like its been said many times before.. the fate of the series is in EA's hands.

[Godzillaman 21]

Originally posted by: beebs

Originally posted by: Pixelrage Does Wright still own the SC franchise, or was that completely contracted over, too? If he still owns it, this reeks of "sellout"....quote>

The SimCity franchise was owned by Maxis, not Will Wright himself, so far as I know. Like its been said many times before.. the fate of the series is in EA's hands. quote>

NOOOOOOOOO WERE DOOMED!!!!!!!!

i hope they make this a spinoff so they make a true sc5!

[Sim_BOB 2]

WHY ARE WATER PIPES SUCH AN ISSUE?

[offgreen 1]

Have the conceded some ground here? I don't care if there is a sim city without water pipes, as long as there is one with them!

Just 5 more years now people...

[Braxton 0]

Originally posted by: Sim_BOB WHY ARE WATER PIPES SUCH AN ISSUE?quote>

I'm just as baffled about this as you are.

[Mr. Flibble 134]

Originally posted by: Sim_BOB WHY ARE WATER PIPES SUCH AN ISSUE?quote>

Because they're not clown schools or cryo-prisons. Pipes are just not cool and necessary features in a city like them.

What scares me most about this interview is that someone so woefully out of touch with what would appeal to long-time SimCity that the end result is SC:S, I am quivering at the notion of what they would do to an attempt at a serious SimCity.

[Odainsaker 2,137]

"...this is the SimCity for people who don't want to deal with water pipes."

Don't dismiss that too fast...there could be a huge market of people with limited free time who just want to dally in a sandbox mode. I've seen my mother, brother, and grandmother try to play SimCity 4, they just want to draw roads to replicate their real-life neighborhood or make some pretty skylines and dream cities with unlimited budgets. All the minutae strategizing and clever tricks that hardcare players obsess over is over-their-head tedium to them....wiring pipes and power lines was like spending their free time trying to wire together mismatched analog cable, combination DVD players, and older televisions to a playstation with an ethernet connection. Less enjoyment, more frustration. NAM was somewhere we fought in Southeast Asia. Hence, for such casual players who may love the sceenshots and ideas but not have the time or mindset for the arcane city service management simulation, their cities always fail. At the other end, I just like modelling elaborate and lofty dream houses in the Sims, dropping into them hapless renditions of family members and celebrities forced into humorous situations, and I don't even bother with all the intricate lifestyle simulations. I nearly went blind scrolling the tens of thousands of available user-made Sims wallpaper for that perfect dollhouse room.  Superficial fun perhaps, but to dismiss those play styles as somehow not worthy of our favorite game just makes us an increasingly smaller and less relevant niche.

I always thought SimCity 4 would do better with a freeform sandbox option, where the advisors placed things like pipes and power lines for us, and for critical structures did a pop-up asking for placement decisions. Thus, the casual player can focus on their own personal enjoyment of a LEGOs game at their own range and level, and they can explore the core gameplay options on their own at their own pace. It doesn't hurt me if that is "cheating," for there is no competition. But I don't think it should be a wholly separate line from the original core game, as separate "lite" and "hardcore" packaged versions or iterations would likely undermine each other rather than working hand-in-hand.

[megalopolitan 0]

Odainsaker has a critical point, and it is one they are acting on. Don't think for a minute SCS won't sell, it _will_ sell. And a lot of the reasons he points out are why, among other things, like people like the blonde haired chick in the video looking at a retail shelf "Oh there's a new SimCity, how cool" and thoughtlessly puts it in her Wal-Mart shopping cart... sigh.

Personally, I find it laughable that they expect me to believe they give a ... about the fanbase.

[schm0 27]

I would also add that in the Sims, building and modding has a pretty big learning curve. If the player is dedicated enough, they learn how to make what they want. Sure, take away water pipes but make sure the player has to provide enough water for his city by reducing it to a statistic. You'll have to plop down an extra few water plants to make way for the new residential zone you just put in, but the pipes are already there. And make roads more user-friendly. The NAM has given more options to players, but they're still not easy to use. The things you pointed out that the average player didn't like, most of us could have done without, as well.

But keep in mind, the support for that game is still strong in wake of continued expansion packs. EA would be wise to follow this trend with the SC franchise. I'd willingly shell out $20 for a DVD's worth of professionally-rendered models, cool game add-ons, maps, etc.... if only there was a place I could buy something like that.