EA Closes SimCity Studio

cptnjarhead said:
Not surprised at all. I picked up SC on sale, $15 or something, its fun, but nothing like the previous versions, and it has some mouse cursor issues on my machine.
EA sucks balls.
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I'm glad I got mine on sale. I'd be pissed if I paid full price.

It was broken for a long time, still has a few issues. It could easily be done as a mobile game or a Facebook game. It's one of those style. It's not a city simulator. It's a social game. Spend a day on a city, then move on and start a new city. It's not like the old ones where you can go weeks on a single city and just keep improving.
 
NeghVar said:
SimCity 2000

If you are still into the original, get DOS box and as for the game, its out there.
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Didn't Steam have it for a while to where it used it's own emulator? So, it would launch from Steam within Windows without all the extra work (or it was set up to be compatible with Windows?).
 
sfsuphysics said:
I think that particular studio was everything that was Maxis, so it did SimCity & The Sims.
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Because Sim brand brought in as much revenue as whole studios. The Sims alone brought in as much money as the whole EA Sports studio at one point.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Didn't Steam have it for a while to where it used it's own emulator? So, it would launch from Steam within Windows without all the extra work (or it was set up to be compatible with Windows?).
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Actually, Steam does use DOSbox for the older DOS/Windows 3.1 games. It is included with each game. When X-COM : Enemy Unknown was released, Steam also had a sale on all previous X:COM games. UFO Defense and Terror from the Deep used DOSBox
 
NeghVar said:
Actually, Steam does use DOSbox for the older DOS/Windows 3.1 games. It is included with each game. When X-COM : Enemy Unknown was released, Steam also had a sale on all previous X:COM games. UFO Defense and Terror from the Deep used DOSBox
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Ah, cool. Didn't know that. I knew they had a way of getting those older games to work, didn't know they just used DOSBox.
 
NeghVar said:
Now, how long does EA plan to maintain the authentication servers?
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For what? They aren't shutting down SimCity or The Sims 4. Both have had their support (and in the case of TS4, development of expansions) moved to a different EA studio.
 
Yousay what you want about EA, they are just like any other business. They cut their losses.
 
daglesj said:
At the end of the day someone in each of those game studios signed on the bottom line for a wad of cash. They knew what they were doing.

Who is to blame? Not 100% with EA*.



*Not a fan of EA but they are not totally guilty here.
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I understand everyone getting on the hate train, but this is the damn truth of it. No one forced those studios to sell out.

I think there is an argument to be made about the state of the industry due to EA, meaning its hard for smaller studios to compete with the conglomerates. There are still a few studios around that manage to do more with less and avoid selling out after a bit of success.
 
Staples said:
Yousay what you want about EA, they are just like any other business. They cut their losses.
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There's no excuse for losing money on a beloved franchise like Simcity. They got greedy and ended up ignoring the core audience in the never-ending search for more money. I'm sure there are a lot of people like myself who would have bought the new game if it wasn't a glorified facebook app.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Didn't Steam have it for a while to where it used it's own emulator? So, it would launch from Steam within Windows without all the extra work (or it was set up to be compatible with Windows?).
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They're probably not selling the Windows version because it's a 16-bit exe, which won't run on 64bit Windows. That's a shame because it's a lot better than the DOS version.
 
And this is why I consider Ubisoft and Electronic Arts to be my least respected companies.
 
haz_mat said:
I understand everyone getting on the hate train, but this is the damn truth of it. No one forced those studios to sell out.

I think there is an argument to be made about the state of the industry due to EA, meaning its hard for smaller studios to compete with the conglomerates. There are still a few studios around that manage to do more with less and avoid selling out after a bit of success.
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The trend to sell out to big publishers like EA was driven by rising publishing costs. I suspect those same big software publishers had a hand in that. Now that we have digital publishing you're seeing a return of risky and creative titles like Kerbal Space Program.

Regardless, the issue isnt so much that Maxis sold out to EA, its that EA keeps running good IP into the ground in their drive to maximize profits despite their promises to do better.
 
Sad loss for the gaming industry. Why can't EA just release these brands back to the original creators instead of executing them? Oh wait, that would be admitting that they screw up everything they touch.
 
NeghVar said:
Buying out competitors, claiming their assets, and killing their name. How many more game studios will fall before the SEC steps in to prevent this hostile attempt to monopolize the video game industry?
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You're kidding, right? The government LOVES companies that do this sort of thing. Comcast took over all the cable companies. Stanley and Bain Capital are taking over all the tool manufacturers. In Bain's case the whole purpose of their company is to buy up all sorts of companies, ship the jobs overseas, and pocket the savings. And there are lots of other "holding companies" and such that do the same stuff.

The SEC does not give a crap about us.
 
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