EA Refuse to Refund SimCity - Possible account ban if you take action

[Veho]

I'm just confused as to where you started reading this conversation...

Page 1.

At this point, I'm either a troll or misunderstood, meaning, you're either feeding the troll or an asshole...

I'm feeding the troll, then. I don't mind, you seem to cherish the attention.

 

[JoostinOnline]

So I assume you didn't read any of the articles announcing the problem, or any of the later articles where the companies admit the problem exists?

The issue is there's too few servers, so while some people can play, the majority who try to play the game cannot at any given time.

Seriously, start reading, it's helpful.

TL;DR

 

[WiiUBricker]

That's why I don't have origin.

 

[Scuba156]

So I assume you didn't read any of the articles announcing the problem, or any of the later articles where the companies admit the problem exists?

The issue is there's too few servers, so while some people can play, the majority who try to play the game cannot at any given time.

Seriously, start reading, it's helpful.

They're getting there. I haven't had any trouble connecting myself, but I've noticed that there are a lot of servers that are full, and if it's full then you can't retrieve your saved city on that server of course.

The only problem I've had is during gameplay, where all of a sudden I get a pop-up saying I've been disconnected from the server and it boots me back to the home screen. It then informs me that my save is corrupted and I need to either roll back to a previous one or abandon the save. The most I've lost is about 5 minutes of gameplay, but a lot was done in those 5 minutes.

No cheetah speed is also annoying as it takes so long to build up large sums of cash. Achievements still seem to be working though as I've earned a couple, even though they said they were disabling them so I've got no idea what's going on there.

So yeah, there's still issues and hopefully they will be fixed soon as it is a really good simcity title. That guy has probably had little time playing the game, is lucky, or just ignorant.

EDIT: just started up simcity, and now I'm getting the server busy message so it looks like I can't join the server to play

Another edit: Got in 5 minutes later

 

[narutofan777]

You see ea knows people will still buy their game. To that end it doesn't matter how many people complain; some people may try to boycott ea games but really how much will that accomplish? There are millions of people who buy games, and those few people who would effect a boycott are NOTHING compared to millions.

For another reference see diablo 3. It had no offline mode for pc so a bunch of haterz and a lot of people like to s--- on it. Blizzard still made millions..lol

ea and blizzard most definitely understand that.

Also I laugh when I read user reviews on diablo 3...lol blizzard got their money and it made them $$$$$$$.

Either way ea and blizzard stay on the winning side of their bank manager.

 

[DSGamer64]

So if EA is such a terrible company why do you people continue to support them? To anyone who bought Sim city, learn your lesson and stop bitching.

I don't support them because they have been prone to doing stupid shit the last few years. I had no problem with them until they did stuff like can NHL games for the PC (that was ages ago though) and most of the sports games were never properly optimized for computers as well. Maybe if they went back to bringing sports games to the PC and did them properly, I'd be a little more inclined to support them. Maybe when they stop thinking about their pocketbooks and think about consumers when it comes to how they distribute games (i.e start putting games on Steam again), I will start buying their products again. When they get over this always online DRM for single player games, I will support them again. When Origin isn't required to play games, I will support them again.

All those blunders and poor business mistakes are what have turned me away from EA over the last few years. Sure, they might be business decisions in order to make money, but at the end of the day is the honest customer who is going to buy a product just because of it's name alone, worth more then a few pirates who might steal a game?

You see ea knows people will still buy their game. To that end it doesn't matter how many people complain; some people may try to boycott ea games but really how much will that accomplish? There are millions of people who buy games, and those few people who would effect a boycott are NOTHING compared to millions.

For another reference see diablo 3. It had no offline mode for pc so a bunch of haterz and a lot of people like to s--- on it. Blizzard still made millions..lol

ea and blizzard most definitely understand that.

Also I laugh when I read user reviews on diablo 3...lol blizzard got their money and it made them $$$$$$$.

Either way ea and blizzard stay on the winning side of their bank manager.

Except Diablo 3 had the Auction House, chat for item trading and friends lists (that also linked between SC2, WoW and D3 for chatting) going for it that made the always online component a little more bearable. What sucked about D3 was all the subsequent class nerfs (especially Demon Hunters) about a week or two after the game released, just because people were already clearing Inferno and farming Diablo for gear. Now it seems like the game is just one endless grind of the exact same thing over and over again in order to gear up just to progress. I seriously was gear swapping and upgrading for every boss in the first two acts on Inferno now and you just pretty much farm until you get your Monster Power level up to 100. It wasn't the always online requirement that pissed people off ultimately, it was how they handled the game after release.

 

[Hop2089]

Always online DRM ftl, this needs to die fast, same with online passes both are crossing international boundaries and now I see it in Japanese made games.

I'll just play Sim City 2000 on the GCW Zero's Dosbox once I get the system and not deal with the craphouse. EA, you were great in the 90's but now you are a pile of elephant shit.

 

[Black-Ice]

See guys, this is why you should just play League of Legends

 

[Depravo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21741528

 

[Qtis]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21741528

Going the good old 404 for some reason (even through the BBC site). Possibly up later on

 

[Depravo]

Going the good old 404 for some reason (even through the BBC site). Possibly up later on

Odd, still working fine for me. Maybe it's a region thing.

Here's a copy of the article -

Spoiler

EA apologises over 'dumb' SimCity launch

Delays and crashes have dogged the launch of SimCity

Electronics Arts has apologised for the shambolic launch of the latest version of town-planning title SimCity.

Gamers have reported long queues to play, bugs and other glitches since SimCity launched on 5 March.

The company said the way it had set up the launch had been "dumb" and that it "really feels bad" about the way gamers had suffered.

As compensation, all those who bought SimCity will be offered a free Electronics Arts PC game this month.

Since the game launched, the online computers that co-ordinate play have been regularly overwhelmed.

Many gamers reported waiting 30 minutes or more before they could start to construct a city and said the game was sluggish once they were playing. Others said it often crashed or was slow to respond to changes.

The troubles led online store Amazon to briefly suspend sales of the download version of the game.

In a blogpost, Lucy Bradshaw, general manager for SimCity, said the way Electronics Arts (EA) and Maxis, the studio that created the game, had set up the servers had contributed to the problems.

Unlike all other versions of SimCity, the latest requires gamers to remain online while they play, as each city they construct sits on a chunk of virtual territory shared with other players.

These regions share certain over-arching characteristics such as crime levels, resources and pollution.

However, said Ms Bradshaw, the way people played the finished game was very different to what EA and Maxis had seen during early, or beta, testing.

She wrote: "A lot more people logged on than we expected. More people played, and played in ways we never saw in the beta."

"OK, we agree that was dumb, but we are committed to fixing it," she added.

To clear the queues, EA had doubled the number of servers supporting the game, Ms Bradshaw said.

In addition, it had engineers working on fixes for the bugs.

This work, said Ms Bradshaw, had led the number of "disrupted experiences" to drop by 80%.
Features that had been turned off late last week to help lighten the load on servers would be restored soon, she added.

As compensation for the trouble, players would soon be offered a free PC game from EA's catalogue, said Ms Bradshaw.

Emails detailing how to claim the free game would be sent out on 18 March, she added.

 

[BORTZ]

See guys, this is why you should just play League of Legends

GET OUT

 

[Rydian]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21741528

Am I the only one that sees "We don't have enough servers because more people are playing now than played in the beta" and thinks "FUCKING DUH"?

 

[McHaggis]

But sure, go on and continue being scared and lazy. Was it you (before the name change) that was bitching that you needed to install a game from disc before you could play it?

He asked why consoles are inferior, but much of what you said is at least possible or an advantage for gaming consoles too.

Spoiler

• Far better graphics are possible. Granted, but not necessarily desired
• You can play tens of thousands of games that will never reach whatever console you have. And consoles have many games that won't officially reach a PC until they're powerful enough to emulate it.
• You can play pre-release versions of games. Consoles have (more?) demos, if you count those as pre-release versions (which is what they are)
• If you want, you can even make your own for free, and give it to whoever wants it, for free. Most free games suck, just like most homebrew free games on consoles
• You can run whatever sort of additional software you want, PCs have been multi-tasking since far before the first console. Not relevant (most non-PC gamers own a PC and do this anyway)
• You can mod the games. Some games have been played for years after their initial time only thanks to mods being made. *points to mods for various console games*
• Alternate and configurable control schemes. Use tons of different controllers (even console ones) in addition to mice, trackballs, etc. PC games aren't usually made for "innovative" controllers (Wii remote, Eye Toy, Kinect, GamePad, Donkey Konga bongos )
• You can access all sorts of services (voice in game, messaging, etc.) without it being officially supported by the console first. Granted, but not necessarily desired.
• You can record and edit your gameplay without additional hardware. At the cost of taking resources away that might be required by your games
• You can stream your gameplay without additional hardware. See above
• Unless it requires a third-party server (MMO-style), online play is free (yes this is an easy-as-hell jab at Xbox Live). Online play is free on other consoles
• Cheats are possible without specific hardware needing to be developed and licensed, as it can be done in software. Not always a plus, not something most gamers desire.
• And for older games, the most powerful emulation you can get, without needing somebody to release a hack, and without compromising your ability to access the latest games. Granted, but emulation isn't always perfect, sometimes it's inferior to playing on the original hardware. So a modern PC is inferior when compared to a 10 year old gaming console in some respects

But, you forgot "easily and progressively upgradeable" and "no regional issues", which is probably the most appealing thing about gaming on PCs (for me). And let's not forget what can put PC gaming at a disadvantage:

• Thousands of different hardware configurations and driver-related issues can cause games to be unplayable for some people until game updates or driver updates are released. Lack of proper certification could mean some games will never run on some configurations.
• Windows/Mac forced in most situations. Switching between operating systems because of compatibility is really annoying.
• Install times.
• CD keys (don't lose that manual!).
• Lack of commercially released games by Japanese developers.
• Always online DRM.
• Easier online cheating because PCs don't need to be hacked first.
• Seeing how you opted for the general PC software bullet-point, I'm going to say "malware".
• Most gaming rigs are much bigger, heavier and less portable than consoles (bar the X51, those things are magnificent).
• Someone said consoles are easier to use. To elaborate, their operating systems are built around gaming and entertainment. PC operating systems are built around general PC use.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just saying superiority of gaming platforms is subjective and relative. PCs are more suited for gaming for some people, and consoles are superior in the eyes of others. Personally, I don't have time to play every game that takes my fancy. Gaming on consoles is better for me. I work (from home) on my PC and I have difficulty keeping work and play separate if I have a ton of games installed.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Can we get off the PC high horse and just accept that consoles and PCs are entirely different entities each with their own sets of pros and cons?

It's really getting irritating.

 

[Rydian]

If I took "but they might not care" into account, I wouldn't have even responded, as it's the universal cop-out.

 

[retKHAAAN]

If I took "but they might not care" into account, I wouldn't have even responded, as it's the universal cop-out.

Scared of change? joodoneevinnomehomie...
It's possible I don't care about BetterDealsForGamesI'llNeverGetAroundToPlaying or MadGraphixYo!
Or maybe I don't want to pay $300+ for a PC that can handle the games I want to play when my console I paid 1/2 as much for handles them just fine.

jus' sayin

 

[Sicklyboy]

jus' sayin

I wanna know what game consoles you're buying for $150, unless they're pre owned.

jus' sayin

 

[retKHAAAN]

I wanna know what game consoles you're buying for $150, unless they're pre owned.

jus' sayin

MS refurbed phat Xbox 360 - December 2009 - Console/headset/20GB HDD/2 controllers - $149.99+ MI sales tax...so you're right, I paid $158.98 which is more than half of $300.
Not sure where I suggested I bought anything new.

 

[Wizerzak]

I can honestly think of literally only 3 reasons as to why consoles may be better than PCs:

• Possibly a few days earlier launch on some titles
• Good for people who are too lazy to update their GPU driver once in a while (takes 5 minutes at most).

Seriously, throw anything you want at me.