SimCity Now Available; Always-On DRM Causes Major Launch Day Issues

Oh it's Diablo III all over again...sort of. After being warned about the massive clusterfail that is always-on DRM, countless gamers still went out to purchase EA and Maxis' latest SimCity game. It's kind of a blessing and curse for the game's launch, because it's receiving rave reviews while also being jack-hammered into the dirt by the people who paid for the game.

Lucy Bradshaw, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA’s Maxis Label commented in the press release about the game finally launching after a lot of anticipation, saying...

“For more than 23 years, SimCity has been inspiring future mayors and urban planners,”. “The new SimCity is powered by the most advanced simulation engine ever. It is more responsive and expansive than ever before. It is a SimCity where decisions you make at the local level will send rippling waves across an entire region of cities. Building on the core ethos of what made the original SimCity so powerful, this new SimCity is the game we have always dreamed of making.”

GlassBox is what's powering this latest SimCity, marking it one of the most advanced strategy games ever released (just until Star Citizen arrives).

Streamlined city-building, asynchronous multiplayer and an organic ecosystem built and capable of evolving around millions of players all help make SimCity a one of kind experience.

However, while it's great that the game makes some steps in the right direction, it also moves the gaming community back a whole bunch of steps by including the same kind of server-side always-on DRM that plagued Diablo III.

Blues News has a rundown of the community napalm that transpired as the game's forums and twitter are bombarded with people who can't play the game, login or stay connected due to overloaded servers, identical to Diablo III's launch day.

At this junction, however, I think Cliffy B. was right about one thing: If you really don't like this sort of thing, please don't buy it.

Unlike Blizzard, EA has decided to offer an olive branch early on, enabling angry and frustrated consumers to get refunds on their purchase.

It's just so sad that always-on DRM wins out again.

Nevertheless, you can learn more about SimCity by paying a visit to the official website. If you're smart, you'll grab a lawn chair, a handful of popcorn, sit back and watch the city burn under the explosive reign and technical nightmares that come with an always-on infrastructure.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.