SimCity Server Woes Earn Apology from EA
EA can't make up for lost real time in SimCity, but offers free game for jilted users.
AP
Problems in the SimCity servers kept would-be citybuilders offline.
If you bought the new "SimCity" game last week, fear not: You should be able to play it now.
Electronic Arts in Redwood City is apologizing to buyers of the new "SimCity" after server errors kept users -- who must be online to play the game, even in single player mode -- in the dark and not building cities, according to reports.
The latest version of the 24-year-old city-building franchise was released Tuesday, but some retailers stopped selling the game after angry gamers reported no gaming available.
The problem was too much success: Servers faced far more users than anticipated, according to game developer Maxis.
"More people played and played in ways we never saw in the beta," said a company representative. "OK, we agree, that was dumb, but we are committed to fixing it. In the last 48 hours, we increased server capacity by 120 percent. It's working -- the number of people who have gotten in and built cities has improved dramatically."
EA is also offering jilted users a free PC game in the hope that they won't stay mad, the Associated Press reported.
