SimCity Boss on Game’s Failure: ‘This is on Maxis. We Own It.’

Kotaku: "This is on Maxis," said Lucy Bradshaw, the studio's boss, in response to a customer's allegation that publisher Electronic Arts required SimCity to always connect to the game's servers, even for the fundamentally singleplayer modes of the city-building simulation. "EA does not force design upon us," she said. "We own it, we are working 24/7 to fix it, and we are making progress."

[PirateThom]

I hate when EA developers do this.

"Oh, it's not EA, we all just happen to make piss poor decisions with our games."

Maxis - Subsidiary of Electronic Arts

Even if it's the developer's choice, they still work for EA and, as such, it's still EA.

[pompombrum]

The idiots at EA probably make them do it tbh, try and shift some of the blame but will never work. Always Online DRM has suit stench written all over it.

[Bimkoblerutso]

They act like we don't notice that this is a common trend with studios that are "acquired" by EA.

Come on guys. Have some goddamn integrity for chrissakes.

[Hydrolex]

this is like when a cop abuses his power, who gets sued ? the police department not just the cop

Maxis represents EA, EA makes the final decision, they should have known this wouldn't workout

[FOXDIE]

I have a friend that works @ EA and he confirms this. Each studio does and work independently, this is the studios fault.

[overlorduk]

@PockyKing Most businesses these days, including EA, seem to have forgotten that the best way to make the most mmoney is to keep their customers coming back for more by offereng them great deals/products/services, not by trying to find every way possible to scam/con/defraud/lie and cut corners and rip off customers at every oppertunity and to try and save a few bucks.

[SilentNegotiator]

LOL, exactly. It's like saying "EA didn't do it! EA did!"

[Relientk77]

Glad to know they take the blame for their own mistake. I hope they get the fix out asap

edit @ below: Oops sorta forgot EA stands for Evil Arts ;-) silly me

[classic200]

Don't you realize they are lying because EA told them to.

[Hydrolex]

the naive people that disagreed with you ... grrr

lol it's okay, this is for all ages, they will grow up one day

[Wingsfan24]

@classic200

I feel like all the internet does nowadays is bitch and moan about everything. EA's evil, Ubisoft is evil, microsoft is evil, sony is evil, bethesda is evil. Jeez, stop playing games if it pisses you off that much.

[sjaakiejj]

Finally, someone with common sense. Bubbles :)

[Hydrolex]

if you don't bitch, they will rip your shit apart... all these companies care about is $$$$

[Wingsfan24]

Last time I checked, that's what you go into the business world for...is to make money.

[DigitalAnalog]

This excuse again? I like how you discount many other companies like Valve & CD Projekt who does more to cater to their consumers while still making money. And yet these money-making tactics you so approved are now backfiring you COMPLAIN? Oh the irony!!

[Wingsfan24]

Who says I approve of them? But there's no point in wasting your time online saying "Fuck EA" all day long. You can't even come to N4G anymore to discuss a god damn video game. It's just all about hating on everything.

I never once said I was ok with the things these companies do, but I'm not going to waste my time worrying about it all the time and coming online just to join the crowd and say "Fuck EA".

[Godmars290]

And of course this is hard if not impossible to believe since we're talking about an issue of policy. That as a security and anti-piracy measure an always online requirement is of more if not total benefit to EA. You can't play it on the go - unless of course you have wi-fi.

[Root]

"EA does not force design upon us"

Yeah right....Visceral Games said that and then Bioware and look at those franchises now. Hell Insomniac games said that and you can tell from Overstrikes first trailer to FUSE what happened.

Knowing EA they probably have sniper cameras dotted around the studios who work for them. Say one bad thing about EA and they'll blow your head off.

[MikeMyers]

So who forced Sucker Punch to change the look of Cole? Who forced Quantic Dream to drop DLC in favor of Move support for Heavy Rain? Who forced 3D on the Uncharted franchise? Who influenced Insomniac to make a Move title and to add split screen viewing for 2 people to take advantage of the Sony Playstation 3D TV.

You can say whatever you want about EA as long as you have proof to back it up. We know they screwed up with SimCity, we know they have shady tactics for DLC, we know they are the ones behind online passes (which Sony also adopted), we know EA is trying to force Origin on PC gamers. What we don't know is that Fuse was the result of EA's influence. What we actually have are Insomniac denying it and telling the public how it's their Ip and why they wanted to go multiplat. If anything they are showing that working solely for Sony isn't working out for them going forward. So it looks to me you're the one who's fishing to make EA worse than they might be.

So if you have proof, provide it. Otherwise stop the nonsense. You're probably just upset because Insomniac went multiplatform. Which probably explains why you want Spyro to go back to Sony and not Insomniac.

[AusRogo]

Do you seriously think EA did nothing and Insomniac just changed the style? I dont hate EA, I just think that they wouldve definitely had something to say about 'Overstrike'. Im sure FUSE will still be *okay and I love Insomniac, and good for them going multi platform. I just wish they had gone with another publisher instead. Thats just me though. Edit: why did you bring Sony into the EA discussion anyway?

[DragonKnight]

"So who forced Sucker Punch to change the look of Cole?"

No one, the fans hated the new design of Cole and Sucker Punch listened. Completely different scenario.

"Who forced Quantic Dream to drop DLC in favor of Move support for Heavy Rain?"

Considering Heavy Rain has DLC, no one again.

"Who forced 3D on the Uncharted franchise?"

No one. For one thing, Uncharted is owned by Sony as is Naughty Dog. But if we were to believe all the 3rd parties, and indie devs, Sony are very accommodating to work with and never force devs to compromise their games. 3D doesn't compromise anything, it's an option.

"Who influenced Insomniac to make a Move title and to add split screen viewing for 2 people to take advantage of the Sony Playstation 3D TV."

Influence huh? Nice change there.

"You can say whatever you want about EA as long as you have proof to back it up."

You mean despite their open support of always-on DRM and the fact that franchises, under their watch, had fundamental shifts in design philosophy?

"(which Sony also adopted)"

Unnecessary and fanboyish jab. Also ignores the other publishers that support them.

"What we don't know is that Fuse was the result of EA's influence."

Unless one is braindead, one can use common sense to see the common denominator in the complete 180 Insomniac performed when changing Overstrike to FUSE.

"What we actually have are Insomniac denying it and telling the public how it's their Ip and why they wanted to go multiplat."

As if to say that Insomniac would come forth and out their publisher for ruining their game. It's naive to think that a publisher won't exert pressure to have their say in how the game is being designed. They want to ensure a good return, so to say that they wouldn't force a change to more bland and mainstream choices is, again, naive.

"If anything they are showing that working solely for Sony isn't working out for them going forward."

Another fanboyish statement. They've never had anything negative to say about Sony and they've always been an independent studio, so they could easily have done so. They went multiplat for more money and to try something different. Plain and simple.

"So it looks to me you're the one who's fishing to make EA worse than they might be."

Because they don't do a good enough job of that themselves.

"You're probably just upset because Insomniac went multiplatform."

Fanboy statement #3 and hypocritical.

"Which probably explains why you want Spyro to go back to Sony and not Insomniac."

This is about EA, not Activision.

[moegooner88]

What does Sony have to do with this article ?

[rezzah]

Curious about 2 things:

Where in Root's comment does he/she mention Spyro? I'd like to know where you got your information (last line) about his opinion on Spyro.

Also why is all of your examples of negativity in a company focused only on Sony? I mean You gave 5 examples yet didn't provide at least 1 from another company.

As much as you may make assumptions of fanboyism on another, one can also assume your dislike/hatred towards Sony.

Besides both parties do not know the entire truth. Unless they (both of you) were in on the conversations between publisher and developer there can only be accusations.

Edited for missing word.

[edgeofsins]

@rezzah

He is talking to multiple people stating dumb arguments. Look harder.

[Root]

I was going to argue but it seems Dragon Knight has already brought up most of what I would of said...so thanks DragonKnight

""Which probably explains why you want Spyro to go back to Sony and not Insomniac."

Don't know why you've brought this up but I'll answer you anyway. I want it to go back to Sony for two reasons

1) Insomniac don't want Spyro anymore, they've said it themselfs. Their heart wouldn't be in it anymore

2) Spyro for me growing up, like a lot of us, relating Spyro to Sony and the PS. So it's better having it go back to them now since Insomniac has went multi platform.

Why must you insist on arguing on every post you make towards me, trying to make me look stupid and that I'm a bad guy. In the end Mike you just make your self look stupid, immature and plain silly. It's quite sad to be honest.

Honestly you've went totaly off topic as you've ranted your way towards the end of your long and boring reply. We've went from EA to Sony/Spyro.....why?

"You can say whatever you want about EA as long as you have proof to back it up"

When do most of us ever have proof against anything developers do most of the time. Seriously it's not like they are going to leave breadcrumbs for us to follow the trail, they'll make a mistake and cover it up as quickly as possible. They aren't going to admit something that hurts their reputation and in EA's case even more.

Seriously you are basically the type of person why the gaming industry sucks so much today and why we get treat like crap. You HAVE to have solid evidence if a dev does something bad or you HAVE play the game to judge it even though you can see it won't be good and what the devs are up to despite knowing deep down they don't really deserve your money.

I love the most though how you can't let people have their opinions and would go on rants like you've just done, despite making yourself look silly, just to have a go at me.

Maxis have messed up, EA are to blame aswell...thats all you need to know

EDIT

Thanks to the other comments above, very well said guys, least you now know what Mike is like. Check back on one of my comments in a few articles later to see another off topic reply from him

[yewles1]

Wait... did you REALLY just bring Sony into a subject about EA over SEVEN times?

[MikeMyers]

AusRogo,

They might have had some say but we don't know. It's pure speculation. The reason why I brought up Sony is because Root thinks Sony is some savior all the time when they too run their department as a business. Why do you think they put so many resources into the Killzone franchise? It's because they seen the Halo brand explode and wanted something to tap into the growth of the shooter market.

DragonKnight,
"Considering Heavy Rain has DLC, no one again."

Completely off base.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010...

"Holding your breath for new Heavy Rain DLC? Well, stop. Game Informer has learned that the "Heavy Rain Chronicles" have been put on indefinite hold, with creator Quantic Dream saying they were urged by Sony to redirect their focus on an upcoming Move patch for the game. It's not been canceled completely, mind, but it's not looking good."

DragonKnight
"3D doesn't compromise anything, it's an option."

It still requires resources.

"Influence huh? Nice change there."

The fact is Sony put pressure on studios to make Move titles.

"As if to say that Insomniac would come forth and out their publisher for ruining their game. It's naive to think that a publisher won't exert pressure to have their say in how the game is being designed. They want to ensure a good return, so to say that they wouldn't force a change to more bland and mainstream choices is, again, naive."

Why would they go from working with Sony to working for EA and saying they want to own their own IP and be more free to do what they want but then go to EA to have them tell them what to do? Talk about grasping at straws just because you people have a problem with EA.

"They went multiplat for more money and to try something different. Plain and simple."

They wanted more exposure and to be able to create their own IP. Funny how you people defend working for Sony but attack them by aligning themselves with EA and implying it's far stricter than what their relationship with Sony was.

moegooner88
"What does Sony have to do with this article ?"

It has everything to do with relationships with Insomniac and their past history and their new relationship forward. It also has to do with Root whom I was originally replying to because he thinks Sony can do no wrong and nothing EA does is right. Insomniac felt it was best for their company to align themselves with EA to ge more exposure for their next game and not just on Sony branded platforms. They also wanted FULL control of their IP. They don't own the Resistance IP and look at how that turned out on Vita. Resistance 3 was a great game but sold poorly. Can we connect the dots? Naughty Dog doesn't own the Uncharted IP either and now we have Uncharted: Fight Fort Fortune. Who's idea was that?

So again Sony treats its IP's like a business so to suggest EA are pure evil because Fuse looks so much different than CONCEPT ART for Overstrike shows how desperate gamers can be to pin any little thing they don't like on companies they hate.

[MikeMyers]

rezzah,
"Where in Root's comment does he/she mention Spyro? I'd like to know where you got your information (last line) about his opinion on Spyro."

He has in the past. It is also relevant to the current discussion because it used to be done by Insomniac. What he is trying to do is discredit Insomniac as much as he can now that they no longer work directly for Sony while attacking them for working for EA now.

"As much as you may make assumptions of fanboyism on another, one can also assume your dislike/hatred towards Sony."

Show me where I hate Sony. That's one of the dumbest things I've heard and shows how touchy some Sony fans can be where if anyone points a finger at them all of the sudden they hate Sony. Don't waste my time.

"Besides both parties do not know the entire truth. Unless they (both of you) were in on the conversations between publisher and developer there can only be accusations."

Oh, but we can assume it's true for EA and Insomniac because we hate EA right?

Root,
"Don't know why you've brought this up but I'll answer you anyway. I want it to go back to Sony for two reasons

1) Insomniac don't want Spyro anymore, they've said it themselfs. Their heart wouldn't be in it anymore

2) Spyro for me growing up, like a lot of us, relating Spyro to Sony and the PS. So it's better having it go back to them now since Insomniac has went multi platform."

1) If they wanted to keep the Spyro license they would have. It's no longer theirs so move on. If anything it should be Nintendo, not Sony.

"Why must you insist on arguing on every post you make towards me, trying to make me look stupid and that I'm a bad guy. In the end Mike you just make your self look stupid, immature and plain silly. It's quite sad to be honest."

Yes, more personal insults because you can't handle the truth.

"Honestly you've went totaly off topic as you've ranted your way towards the end of your long and boring reply. We've went from EA to Sony/Spyro.....why?"

I already explained, keep up. You're the one who mentioned Insomniac in a topic about SimCity so don't even go there. Any chance you get you'll take a pot-shot at Overstrike. Even if the game turns out great you'll still whine about it and how it should have been the old game we seen no gameplay on and how working with EA ruined it anyways for you.

"When do most of us ever have proof against anything developers do most of the time. Seriously it's not like they are going to leave breadcrumbs for us to follow the trail, they'll make a mistake and cover it up as quickly as possible. They aren't going to admit something that hurts their reputation and in EA's case even more."

Then why keep repeating it like it's more and more true each time you say it? Do you ever just shut-up?

"Maxis have messed up, EA are to blame aswell...thats all you need to know"

If that was all we needed to know then you would have ended it there instead of bringing up Visceral and Insomniac. Why must you keep contradicting yourself?

[2pacalypsenow]

"I sure hope that after we right this ship, you will give the game a try. It is really good, worthy of the brand!" Yeah if i wanted to rent a game i would use gamefly no thanks.

[pompombrum]

Why do these developers still keep doing this? Nobody believes them and for a good reason. It's like the retard who said the reason there are server issues is because people are having so much fun that they don't want to come off.. Maybe that's why EA employ them, skilled at their job but so naive at everything else they're easier to boss around.

[ThreshStar]

Fine, EA didn't hold your hostage to all of these utter failures.

It does beg the question: How can EA on a CONSTANT basis buy these developers and then as soon as they become property, they begin to trip, stumble, and essentially fall apart in every facet?

Is EA cursed? Did they sacrifice livestock to warrant this type of success/bad luck?

[sjaakiejj]

Maxis has been property of EA for 16 years, so they hardly began to trip and stumble as soon as EA acquired them.

[Th4Freak]

But also they didn't have this ridiculous business model before.

[Ogygian]

If you haven't, like me, boycotted this game on principle then you deserve to put up with such long waiting times and difficulties. Games should be art, but products like SimCity and other online games detract heavily from this. There are two parts to a gane business: making money and gaining personal satisfaction from creating good games you feel proud of. The games industry needs to see a more ethical style of capitalism involved if it is to carry on any further, and as an economist, it makes me sad that governments haven't regulated against monetising the consumer and draconian DRM.

[MacDonagh]

This is sad. Just really sad.

[Captain Tuttle]

What a debacle

[JeepGamer]

EA: "If you want to keep your jobs then go out and fall on your sword for us."

[kostchtchie_]

ha ha reminds me of that Flash Gordon scene, ea trying to then put the sword back in us..ha ha

[kostchtchie_]

what did they think would happen with always online garbage, GJ on screwing the legit users over just to save few copies on torrent sites, DRM it hurts only legit players

[tommygunzII]

I stopped buying EA products at MSRP in 2005. No complaints here.

[Red_Devilz]

I wonder what would happen in following scenario:

Lets assume, Me and hundreds of thousands worldwide like me (best case scenario for EA) spend $60 each and buy this game in 2013.

1) Can EA keep doubling their "server capacity" every two weeks??
*Edit* when I say "Can EA keep..." I mean economically. Their will power can just be another vast topic for discussion

2) What will happen to the game that we would have purchased when it will no longer be profitable for EA to run the servers (or keep doubling their capacity)? Do we just trash the game DVD and move on?

3) In other words, EA is asking us to bet on this game (and our hard earned $60) without any legal commitment that they will keep running the servers with 0% (or at most <5%) downtime for next 10-15years

4) Lets say, after 4 years EA launches Sim City 2017 and decides to shut down SC2013 servers, then - back to point #2.

This whole business model is extremely greedy and lame.

Conclusion : Always online DRM = No Buy.

[TBONEJF]

EA ARE A BUNCH OF DOUCHE BAGS when they buy a small company they fuked it up. Just glad I don't buy their games any more