Discussion about Always-On Connection to Origin

[SoftcoreGamer 352]

SimCity and The Sims share many genre characteristics: solo-play, creative, open-ended goals, customizable.

Let’s put some historical facts and figures into perspective:

(sources here, here, and here)

11,000,000 --- TheSims Offline total unit sold during TheSims Online launch

1,000,000 --- TheSims Online expected subscribers

100,000 --- TheSims Online active subscriber peak at 6^th month

35,000 – TheSims Online active subscriber bottom at end stage

100,000,000 – TheSims Offline total unit sold by 2008, during TheSims Online end stage

EA only reached a mere 10% of their projected subscriber number. Shocking (for EA not for fans) disinterest from the market. But the even bigger slap is, TS online only captured less than 1% of offline TS players. Wow... Less than ONE PERCENT of The Sims CORE FAN BASE!

Even then, this tiny little 1% who bothered to subscribe must have hated Online so much - 2/3 of them left!

Was that not loud and clear HATE ONLINE message from SIM GOD-GAMER customers? Was that not a deafening WE ARE NOT AS GULLIBLE AS YOU GAME BOSSES THINK?

At minimum, 99% of The Sims Offline customers DON’T CARE about The Sims Online. 99%! And I thought SimCity’s 96% won’t-buy-online-only-Sc2013 poll result was extreme.

The magical ratio = 1000 OFFLINE : 1 ONLINE.

What kind of business would spend crazy money running after the 1 instead of 1000? What kind of business would throw away instant 10 million copies sure-fire sales strategy and pursue EXPENSIVE PROVEN-FAIL GRANDEUR CONCEPT? One which is OUT OF TOUCH - with reality, with what investors really look at, and especially, with their long time customers.

There are hybrid The Sims SimCity players, and also game customers cum investors. SimCity is not the first or only single game being forced online by EA. The result thus far is uneven, but most glaringly - UNSUSTAINABLE. Last few years have seen game company arrogance, horrendous PR and ANGRY FANS everywhere.The stark reality is: EA stock plunged steeply in the last one year deviated far from NASDAQ mean.

Time for more civilized and down to earth PR policy, a.k.a. Ubisoft? Their games are starting to sell again.

  Edited October 9, 2012 by CaptCity  

[cirugo 1,889]

That's why they're making the new SimCity online only. They know if they give players a choice that no one will choose that option. Look at the gameplay habits of Diablo 3 players: http://pc.gamespy.co.../1225710p1.html

[SoftcoreGamer 352]

Diablo3 is a confirmed FAIL, again, because it was forced online. Like us SC4 core fans, poor Diablo fans waited TEN years for a franchise reboot. Instead of capitalizing on pent-up raging demand, Blizzard turned the popular single-play gem into a disappointing always-on gambling den now banned by South Korea govt. That's right. The actual damage is…

Active subscriber number peaked A WEEK after launch at 140000, then drop to less than half at 45000, within A MONTH. Shocking? To arrogant Blizzard and their European investors, probably. But the fans who screamed OFFLINE SINGLE-PLAY? Vindication. Though these still upset customers have much preferred a game they get to play over petty psychological victory...

Diablo3’s 140,000 to 45,000 decline curve does echo The Sims Online active sub pattern - 100,000 dropped 65% to 35,000. Very likely, SimCityOnline will repeat this pattern.

It’s not like EA could afford MORE BAD PR REPORTS. Star Wars: The Old Republic has yet to justify its SIX years $200+MILLION development cost – the hype has deflated and lost around 50% subscribers in half a year, now going free to play.

Stock price tracks market mood, investors see through hypes. Evidently The Market doesn’t buy into gaming giant’s forced always-on-equals-steady-income model anymore. PR has value, it seems.

Time to reconsider the virtue of traditional niche single-player games like SimCity - Ubisoft has repented and the fans don’t hate them that much anymore. Bonus of selling Offline games is far less server disasters stinky ruthless PR issues or ugly international lawsuits. All there is to do with offline product is just churning out expansion packs a la The Sims, voila constant income over next 10 years. So why make life difficult for everyone and risk being hated even more? How about constructively hyping Single-Development, Double-Revenue model instead?

  Edited October 6, 2012 by CaptCity  
Removed inflammatory comments.

[Urban Cartographer 601]

I must agree, Softcore Gamer.

Blizzard is acting like its new sister, Activision, in terms of gutting content in favour of $$$. EA is no different from Activision-Blizzard, in terms of the ability to see dollar signs before customer loyalty.

Blizzard is becoming very hated, along with Activision and EA. I never enjoyed any Blizzard game (except for StarCraft II).

[bunky 6]

SimCity and The Sims share many genre characteristics: solo-play, creative, open-ended goals, customizable. It therefore pays to REMEMBER 99%+ THE SIMS CORE PLAYERS IGNORED THE SIMS ONLINE.

As one of the 99%+ and a five-year lurker of this site, I am saddened that this issue has forced me out from under my bridge and to finally make a forum post.

I remember reading somewhere that EA will allow solo player regions, why would they not make this the default offline play option? I have owned every Sim City for PC and most for other platforms and if the online requirement sticks around until release date this may be the first PC sim city I don't buy.

OCCUPY EA (not actually, but you get my point) - make games for the 99%, not the 1%...

  Edited October 8, 2012 by bunky  

[Urban Cartographer 601]

SimCity and The Sims share many genre characteristics: solo-play, creative, open-ended goals, customizable. It therefore pays to REMEMBER 99%+ THE SIMS CORE PLAYERS IGNORED THE SIMS ONLINE.

As one of the 99%+ and a five-year lurker of this site, I am saddened that this issue has forced me out from under my bridge and to finally make a forum post.

I remember reading somewhere that EA will allow solo player regions, why would they not make this the default offline play option? I have owned every Sim City for PC and most for other platforms and if the online requirement sticks around until release date this may be the first PC sim city I don't buy.

OCCUPY EA (not actually, but you get my point) - make games for the 99%, not the 1%...

As a fellow Ontarian, I cannot condone what EA is doing to the new SimCity. I have been a long time SC4 player (note that my join date is in 2007!) and I enjoy creating cities of my dreams. With the online requirements, that will no longer be possible for me. EA, I am out.

[kwetzel345 101]

Urban Cartographer, I will go with you as well. I also have given up on this game, at least until they patch the things they broke.

[iowahawkeyedave 8]

Urban Cartographer, I will go with you as well. I also have given up on this game, at least until they patch the things they broke.

I haven't really been following the forum all that much lately, but what things have they broke in an unreleased game?

To me always on doesn't bother me really, just as long as single player is kept as an option and not removed entirely. I'm excited about the game and won't give up on it. It's SimCity and I've owned every SimCity game since the first one, I'll at least try it and see if I like it.

[wozzar 154]

I must agree, Softcore Gamer.

Blizzard is acting like its new sister, Activision, in terms of gutting content in favour of $$$. EA is no different from Activision-Blizzard, in terms of the ability to see dollar signs before customer loyalty.

Blizzard is becoming very hated, along with Activision and EA. I never enjoyed any Blizzard game (except for StarCraft II).

Can Starcraft 2 be played offline.

[iowahawkeyedave 8]

It therefore pays to REMEMBER 99%+ THE SIMS CORE PLAYERS IGNORED THE SIMS ONLINE.

It should be noted that The Sims Online was launched in 2002, and was ahead of it's time when it came to the types of casual social gaming brought on by Facebook which launched in late 2004 and didn't really get popular until 2005 & 2006, and other social networking sites. Could be a factor in why it failed as well.

Ten years is an eternity with technology & gaming to do a comparison with how things are currently.

[SoftcoreGamer 352]

Time has changed indeed. Everything is faster, esp peak to trough rate. 3D MMO servers are higher maintanence in every sense of the word, hardware, labor, time costs inflated. A forced-online single-player game in 2002 could afford to die a slow grinding death over years. Today, EA average online game lifespan? Less than a year. A forced online single-player game in 2012, Diablo3, bombed within ONE month. SimCityOnline? They should be able to tell how long it will live by mid Dec.

It seems the misleading “there is single-player option” untruth is still spreading. Do question: what kind of single-play “option” subject single region to ONLINE GLOBAL economy/crime/pollution/jobs/resource price of Everybody Else? The ultimate effect of Always-On, is Our cities will not be ours in online SimCity. How many people will pay money to nurse and plant fruit trees in BIG BIZ gardens – knowing that the fruits will be 100% owned by them? How many people will jump in knowing Big Biz would randomly burn down your old fruit trees? [Edited]

- Terraforming – no more god mode, no more mayor mode terraforming; nevermind real life mayors get to flatten mountains and reclaim waterfront lands. Less is more. Take it or leave it!

- Realistic Map Scale – Maps now smaller than CXL; 10 years after last simCITY, we are given medium map for simTOWN. Small is beautiful. Take it or leave it!

- Most Basic Mayor Control - Maxis decides the numbers of towns you get to build in a region. Real life cities are tiny! Take it or leave it!

- Maximizing System Resource Usage - Severely compromised visibility and graphics thanks to Forcing an Offline game to online. SimHAZE is cool. LAG is great. Always online is the future! Take it or leave it!

- Long Living Cities in User's Safe-keeping - EA/Maxis decides when to kill our cities to cut cost or to boost demand for next SimCity. MMOs are meant to die fast anyway! Look how fast Diablo3 degenerate! We have the right to kill your cities, yes! Read the EULA! That's the deal with rent-a-game! Take it or leave it!

In one stroke, they killed 99% of what made SimCity fun in the first place, along with 99% of the traditional market too.

The 99% core fans majority are being told here and everywhere to stop protesting. The best way to stop their protests? Give the core fans what they want: a genuine offline single-player game.

  Edited October 10, 2012 by SoftcoreGamer  
Let's leave the opinion of others out of this. Plus, this is getting pretty repetitive. And try using lower case. Using caps is considered rude.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I hope EA releases the game as offline if no one uses multiplayer.

--Ocram

[Urban Cartographer 601]

I must agree SoftcoreGamer.

I also want an offline version of the game.

  Edited October 10, 2012 by Urban Cartographer  
Removed off-topic comments. Also, try lower case. Caps is considered rude.

[CaptCity 4,904]

It's becoming pretty repetitive in here. If there's nothing new to announce or discuss, there's no need for the same posters to keep making the same comments - just worded differently.

[Screwballl 196]

I agree that required full time online is just asinine. I have essentially boycotted EA products for several years now because they just do not listen to the players.

Another point worth mentioning is they tried to force online with SC4 and that failed miserably (aka was cut before it was released).... CitiesXL tried online and that failed miserably.... So why would Maxis/EA try to force a concept that fails continuously on us?

edit:

I saw in an interview that you can set specific regions to Private.

So it is technically possible to play single-player if you don’t want any outside interaction?

Yeah. We’re definitely catering to different playstyles. We know that there are quite a few SimCity players who do want to play alone. When you create your region, you could just set it to private and play any one of those cities by yourself. You’re jumping around between the cities and playing that way. And later on, if you want to invite a friend, you can invite a friend to your game if you’d like. We’re going to have a matchmaking system, so you can just hit play and we’ll put you in a region with other players, and you can play that way as well.

So at least we will have that option, although I suspect they will force some sort of limitations so if you want your cities to grow Endymion a specific point, it will require online collaboration and playing with others....

  Edited October 10, 2012 by Screwballl  

[jacksunny 741]

Another point worth mentioning is they tried to force online with SC4 and that failed miserably (aka was cut before it was released).... CitiesXL tried online and that failed miserably.... So why would Maxis/EA try to force a concept that fails continuously on us?

They seem to be implementing it quite well. Perhaps they feel this time will be different, that people will enjoy it and it will be a success. I for one am looking forward to this feature.

[kwetzel345 101]

I am not very supportive of this feature, and that's because of whats been lost. If almost half of the stuff we lost got re-instituted into the game, then I would gladly not mind the feature.That has not happened tho and if those features can't be returned because of multiplayer, then I HATE this feature and hope it burns and fails. In fact, all I want as does other people, is a single player sandbox mode. That's all Maxis.

[wozzar 154]

ABV say Diablo 3 wasnt a failure and lots of people purchased the game. However there was the potential to sell more games of Diablo 3 to new players if it wasnt for the online requirment so they could have made more money. I didnt buy the game because of the online requirement so they lost lost out on potential sales to new players.

SCS13 may be succesful but the gamers will be very unhappy about the online requirment. But there is a simple solution to this dont buy the game.

  Edited October 11, 2012 by wozzar  

[~Dee~ 215]

ABV say Diablo 3 wasnt a failure and lots of people purchased the game. However there was the potential to sell more games of Diablo 3 to new players if it wasnt for the online requirment so they could have made more money. I didnt buy the game because of the online requirement so they lost lost out on potential sales to new players.

SCS13 may be succesful but the gamers will be very unhappy about the online requirment. But there is a simple solution to this dont buy the game.

I'm not buying it, as soon as I found out it was on-line only I realized it wasn't the game for me. It's so sad, I really looked forward to it, I haven't played a Sim City game for many years and I got them all, from the first to the last.

This game had the potential to be the best Sim City ever with it's glassbox engine and 3D graphics, if they only stuck to the successful formula of the previous titles.

Instead they are, in my eyes anyway, going backwards. I feel the loss of a great franchise.

[DanielCoffey 2]

If they named the game SimsTown Online, at least it would be honest... but remember - none of this stops us continuing to play and enjoy SC4.

[Screwballl 196]

If you have a decent software firewall, or Windows 7 Firewall, after you have the game registered and authenticated, set it to block SC so you are in eternal offline mode with it (if they allow it).

[FreewayofFlight 41]

I have been a loyal fan of SimCity since I first played SimCity 2000 over 10 years ago. I love creating a city that is 100% my own that is 100% on my own terms. When I first heard about the new SimCity, I was totally excited, but now it appears to be a huge letdown. The Online All the Time kills it for me, and the possibility that someone else can influence MY metropolis (or region!) makes me not interested at all.

Currently in SimCity 4, I have a region that is home to 2.5 Million Sims that I have been working on for nearly 3 years. As SoftcoreGamer said, it is like a child to me in a way, and I don't want my region to be tarnished because of any outside influence. And if I want to completely level my cities I should be able to and not have to worry about rebuilding them (unless I wanted to).

I have no interest in paying for a game where the cities I create will never be truly mine.

[Screwballl 196]

After a while, it will be a vengeful tactic (or just plain mean) to join others' region just to purposely build up excess industry and sewage, since pollution, crime and more can go across city lines, unlike SC4.

[Arangarx 20]

I have been a loyal fan of SimCity since I first played SimCity 2000 over 10 years ago. I love creating a city that is 100% my own that is 100% on my own terms. When I first heard about the new SimCity, I was totally excited, but now it appears to be a huge letdown. The Online All the Time kills it for me, and the possibility that someone else can influence MY metropolis (or region!) makes me not interested at all.

Currently in SimCity 4, I have a region that is home to 2.5 Million Sims that I have been working on for nearly 3 years. As SoftcoreGamer said, it is like a child to me in a way, and I don't want my region to be tarnished because of any outside influence. And if I want to completely level my cities I should be able to and not have to worry about rebuilding them (unless I wanted to).

I have no interest in paying for a game where the cities I create will never be truly mine.

I don't get why people are still calling it online only. Your game won't shut down if you lose your connection ;p Also, you can have private regions if you don't want to be affected by anyone else.

[spiritbw 111]

I don't get why people are still calling it online only. Your game won't shut down if you lose your connection ;p Also, you can have private regions if you don't want to be affected by anyone else.

1.)Your game won't shutdown, but you can't save your progress from the time you lose the connection to when your game crashes/closes because all games are saved to the cloud.

2.) If you can play by yourself in your own private region why have an always online connection for it?

[cirugo 1,889]

I have been a loyal fan of SimCity since I first played SimCity 2000 over 10 years ago. I love creating a city that is 100% my own that is 100% on my own terms. When I first heard about the new SimCity, I was totally excited, but now it appears to be a huge letdown. The Online All the Time kills it for me, and the possibility that someone else can influence MY metropolis (or region!) makes me not interested at all.

Currently in SimCity 4, I have a region that is home to 2.5 Million Sims that I have been working on for nearly 3 years. As SoftcoreGamer said, it is like a child to me in a way, and I don't want my region to be tarnished because of any outside influence. And if I want to completely level my cities I should be able to and not have to worry about rebuilding them (unless I wanted to).

I have no interest in paying for a game where the cities I create will never be truly mine.

I don't get why people are still calling it online only. Your game won't shut down if you lose your connection ;p Also, you can have private regions if you don't want to be affected by anyone else.

online-only means that you must be connected to the internet to play the game. the only thing that has been said differently is that they were working on a solution for temporary internet outages. so this means you can't play the game somewhere you can't get an internet connection. it also means that you are potentially subjecting yourself to all the annoyances and hassles of a multiplayer game or MMO just to play a single-player game.

  Edited October 11, 2012 by cirugo  

[Screwballl 196]

In the case of offline mode.... it will save your city to your PC just as it always has, it just syncs certain data to their servers like pollution, income, etc, not your entire city... so this claimed online whole city saving is just bogus.

[~Dee~ 215]

In the case of offline mode.... it will save your city to your PC just as it always has, it just syncs certain data to their servers like pollution, income, etc, not your entire city... so this claimed online whole city saving is just bogus.

I'm sorry, what off-line mode? There is no off-line mode.

Please don't spread misinformation and it has been confirmed that this is a server based on-line only game where your saved games are on the cloud, not on your PC.

[Screwballl 196]

In the case of offline mode.... it will save your city to your PC just as it always has, it just syncs certain data to their servers like pollution, income, etc, not your entire city... so this claimed online whole city saving is just bogus.

I'm sorry, what off-line mode? There is no off-line mode.

Please don't spread misinformation and it has been confirmed that this is a server based on-line only game where your saved games are on the cloud, not on your PC.

1) "Offline mode" is meant to mean "without internet connection", not an official mode in the game itself.

2) YOU are the one spreading misinformation. Think of the logistics, each city save file will likely be several MB on larger cities, possibly a whole region around 1GB, have several regions and that is several GB worth. Now do you really think EA would be willing to keep server rooms with hundreds of TB worth of storage, and high speed connection for free? They expect people with 768Kb DSL connection to wait 20 minutes just to "save" (aka upload) a single city? No it just doesn't make sense. Cities and regions are saved on your own PC. The online aspect is just where your game reports your resources, cash, and availability (aka can others join your region or you theirs?) and allows you to use regional and/or online world market, resource buying and selling.

The ONLY online game save option I have heard, and even then only in rumors is a PREMIUM pay per month online backup option where you pay them, to store your game saves (syncs the game save on your PC with their server).

  Edited October 12, 2012 by Screwballl  

[spiritbw 111]

Yet it's confirmed. You cannot play without a connection to their servers. This was practically from day one.

EDIT: oh, and the info doesn't have to be all that big. Look at what they did with the Spore creatures, buildings, etc. Millions upon billions of creations saved to EA/Maxis servers.

  Edited October 12, 2012 by spiritbw