Amazon.com - 31 March 2013 release date

[waybig 35]

While we can't be 100% certain (though I think Amazon is usually accurate), but Amazon.com is listing 31 March 2013 as the release date! Mark your calendars!

[The_City_Builder 299]

Seems resonable.

[croxis 150]

Eh, I wouldn't put too much stock in it. The release gate postings always happen after a game is announced.

[Asheroo 53]

Yeah, don't believe it. At the moment, Amazon expects the game to be released Q1 2013 - which ends on 31st March, which is why they put that date up. My prediction too is Q1 2013 but you may never know sometimes.

Don't believe a release date from anyone but the developers

[GrimJr987 15]

Meaning end of the First Quarter

I doubt that this is the actual release date

[CommodoreTech 5]

We all want it to be then, but it'll end up being later... I'm sure it'll end up tormenting us and being released in like September next year...

[Prens 168]

A release on the 10th anniversary of SC4's release would be nice

[tSlater 134]

Never believe a release date from anyone but EA/Maxis. Game retailers etc. make up release dates all the time because it increases the likelihood of somebody making that pre-order.

[GMT 389]

Never believe a release date from anyone but EA/Maxis. Game retailers etc. make up release dates all the time because it increases the likelihood of somebody making that pre-order.

plus many stores MUST enter a release date once they register a title cuz the system works this way

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

EA/Maxis has kind of sewn themselves into a box by calling the game SimCity 2013 but that gives them to December 31st next year to put the game on the market. If they are lucky they'll get it done in time for Christmas.

I have been in this game long enough to know that you can never tell when some glitch will delay a programmer. All it takes is a little flu epidemic in the developer shop to kill any thought of getting it out on time.

I always take program delivery dates with a large grain of salt.

And, BTW, throwing a mob scene at a program that is behind doesn't necessarily get it done. It just ups the administration costs. It is like throwing nine women at a pregnancy and expecting a baby in one month.

[Tarkus 6,932]

The game is not called "SimCity 2013". It's called just plain "SimCity". People on this site and elsewhere, however, have been calling it "SimCity 2013" and "SC13" because the initial promotional trailer and the Gamestar article specified that it would be released some time in 2013, but ultimately, they're not locked into that in the same way as "Cities XL 2011", for instance (which actually was part of the title).

From what I've seen of the actual Maxis/EA promotional/PR side of things, they prefer to call the new game simply "SimCity" and have (for quite some time) retconned the original 1989 game as "SimCity Classic".

-Tarkus

  Edited March 9, 2012 by Tarkus  

[Spinmaster 75]

Hmm, March 31? Awesome! Let me try holding my breath...

... well, that should just about do it. Eh, on to plan B.

Maxis: take your sweet time and get it right. SC4 was great, the reboot SimCity should be greater than great, and the last thing ANY of us needs - the last thing YOU need - is to release a well-inspired game that crashes regularly. SC4 was - is - enough fun to put up with the crashing, for most of us. But it'll be wholly unacceptable if that happens again. So please, take your time. Nobody here is going to be drawn to some other "city" game even if it gets pushed into 2014 (hope not, but...). "Been there, done that" for most of us. We'll be here when the new SimCity is ready - however long that takes. Please - take your time.

[tSlater 134]

I have been in this game long enough to know that you can never tell when some glitch will delay a programmer. All it takes is a little flu epidemic in the developer shop to kill any thought of getting it out on time.

I always take program delivery dates with a large grain of salt.

Which is why Blizzard waits so long to tell people the release dates. Having a publicly revealed release date also causes features to be half-done, dropped, or massive bugs to be shipped with the game simply to make the release date. I hope Maxis keeps their actual date a secret, like Blizzard does, until they know for sure it's ready.

[Tarkus 6,932]

Having a publicly revealed release date also causes features to be half-done, dropped, or massive bugs to be shipped with the game simply to make the release date. I hope Maxis keeps their actual date a secret, like Blizzard does, until they know for sure it's ready.

Hence why the NAM Team never publishes release dates. We just release it. Time is the devil. Of course, we aren't a publicly-traded software company, but it explains our modus operandi. They have given themselves quite a bit of wiggle room, though, by just saying "2013" and not getting any more specific than that. That could mean December 2013 (in which case it's closer to being a 2 year wait).

-Tarkus

  Edited March 10, 2012 by Tarkus  

[jacksunny 741]

Hmm, March 31? Awesome! Let me try holding my breath...

Don't expect the game to actually be released on that date. I was thinking Jan. 14 would be a good date, as that is when SC4 was released, however it seems a bit early.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

Major games are usually released in Q4 and it is 1/3 of the way done so March 31 is rather premature.

[Mark Waybill 242]

While my inner idealistic romantic would love it to be released on the tenth anniversary of 4's release, my inner rationalist tells me that the longer we wait, the more development that has gone into it, so I'm not going to get angry if it doesn't get released straight away. Indeed I thought 2013 a bit optimistic if they plan on doing what we expect of this game and also correct any issues and bugs etc that will no doubt arise. I wish Maxis good luck (if they are reading this?) and personally also would tell them to take their time, so long as they are spending it constructively. As much as for me as for anyone else this is like the Christmas of a lifetime and I'll be counting down the days on the advent calendar, I don't want Santa's sleigh to have technical problems on the big day.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

September 22nd, 2013 is a far better guess than March 31st.

[L30 0]

And, BTW, throwing a mob scene at a program that is behind doesn't necessarily get it done. It just ups the administration costs. It is like throwing nine women at a pregnancy and expecting a baby in one month.

hahaha

I really wish game companies would just keep their projects to themselves until a certain release date is made. God, Blizzard had beeen killing me forever with Diablo 3.

[mavoric 0]

On this amazon topic, its cheaper on amazon UK than on origin for pre-order by £4.63...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SimCity-Limited-Edition-PC-DVD/dp/B007HLNLZ6/ref=sr_tr_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331912118&sr=8-1

[The_City_Builder 299]

The game is not called "SimCity 2013". It's called just plain "SimCity". People on this site and elsewhere, however, have been calling it "SimCity 2013" and "SC13" because the initial promotional trailer and the Gamestar article specified that it would be released some time in 2013, but ultimately, they're not locked into that in the same way as "Cities XL 2011", for instance (which actually was part of the title).

From what I've seen of the actual Maxis/EA promotional/PR side of things, they prefer to call the new game simply "SimCity" and have (for quite some time) retconned the original 1989 game as "SimCity Classic".

-Tarkus

^^ This.

It's really starting to annoy me to be honest.

[Charlie_Zane 963]

Seems like a reasonable release date.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

While I am sure that Maxis would prefer us to simply call their new game Simcity, it is unlikely to happen at least in the short term, because using Simcity 2013 or SC13 makes it clear as to what we are talking about and it is convenient. It is also necessary for a site like ST that talks about both this new game and the old SC4. If we just start talking about Simcity, then there could be confusion as to whether we are talking about the new game or the old SC4 game. (People are already getting confused, in making assumptions that for example the city tiles and regions will work the same way as SC4... )

If the game is delayed and released in 2014... well we can just switch to using SC14 for short... no big deal. Over time as SC4 loses prominence, we may just revert to SC or Simcity... that however will take time.

What we should drop though is talking about SC5... the game is clearly not going to be called that.

[mapboy 106]

Well, if anything, I personally think the 2013 should be in parenthesis. And SC5 is just a convenient acronym for the new SimCity. I know it's not called that, but it still is the 5th (Maxis) SimCity. So I'll be saying SC5 when referring to SimCity (2013) the same way that the fourth Fast and Furious film was just called 'Fast & Furious'.

  Edited March 17, 2012 by mapboy  

[SC4 meister 7]

And, BTW, throwing a mob scene at a program that is behind doesn't necessarily get it done. It just ups the administration costs. It is like throwing nine women at a pregnancy and expecting a baby in one month.

Touché sir, touché!

While I am sure that Maxis would prefer us to simply call their new game Simcity [...] What we should drop though is talking about SC5... the game is clearly not going to be called that.

But SC5 would just make sense, and we've all been calling it that for ages! Maxis is giving us curved roads, why not an easy-to-remember, crowd-sourced name? I don't think I could ever call it "Sim City." For me it has always been SC4, SC3000, etc. As far as the original topic goes, I would not be at all surprised to see Maxis hit a Q1 2013 date. They are well aware of our wait and patience levels, or lack thereof in some cases. Hopefully Maxis would not have given any time estimates if it wasn't fairly certain of hitting them. I check Amazon pre-orders on a weekly basis as part of my job, and while they are far from perfectly accurate to be sure, they are better than just about any other retailer. That said, I fully hear all the talk of interrupted deadlines--been there, done that. I would be heartbroken with a Christmas 2013 release, regardless of its name. On second thought, Simeistercity does have a nice ring to it...

[PeterSweet 5]

Well, SimCity 5 should be release dates on the Amazon.com from stores til late September 2013.

[Bantams 0]

Play.com now as a date of 15th Feb 2013 where as they had no date last time I looked

[jacksunny 741]

Swiss retailer ex lebris also has Feb 15th as the release date.

[tSlater 134]

Like I said, retailers invent their own release dates all the time for the purpose of filling in required fields or to generate hype / improve sales. Don't ever believe any release date until Maxis or EA themselves provide one directly to you.

[RyanMorgan95 144]

Zavvi.com suggesting a March 1st release date, so I'm guessing sometime in the Q1:

http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/pc/sim-city-limited-edition/10596787.html?utm_source=googleprod&utm_medium=gp&utm_campaign=gp_games&affil=thggps