It's been three days since "SimCity" launched in North America and everyone—fans and retailers—are starting to look at the larger picture.
An internal memo from developer Maxis obtained by Polygon suggests the studio plans to get the game stable as soon as possible by "quickly and dramatically" increasing the number of servers for the game. "Maxis is working 24/7 to deliver on our promise," writes Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw. The memo assures the "SimCity" team that the game is "a software achievement they can be proud of," but also calls the increasingly hostile consumer and critical response "fair." According to the note, more than 700,000 cities were created on March 5, the day the game was released.
In addition to the game's "challanging" North American launch, the memo suggests that players in Europe and Asia are also starting to suffer from similar connectivity issues. Reports from European outlets MCVUK and Eurogamer have indicated that UK servers have been holding up so far.
In the meantime, fans who feel that, as a product, "SimCity" has not delivered what was advertised or been, you know, playable, have begun asking for refunds. And EA has been saying "no."
A wave of players who purchased the game via Origin, EA's digital distribution service, requested refunds after a community manager suggested that unsatisfied customers could get their money back if they contacted EA's customer support, Polygon reports. After pulling the message, EA has clarified that, as a rule, they do not offer refunds for digital products. One Redditor says he was able to get his money back by calling EA technical support, but other reports have suggested that may not be a viable course of action.
At the same time, they also clarified that players will not be banned from Origin for requesting a refund: Rumors suggesting that ideas began after a customer support representitive suggested a player could be banned for disputing the charge to his credit card.
Third-party retailers, meanwhile, are handing out refunds. Players who purchased the game on Amazon, for example, can get their money back if they choose. Amazon also seems to have started taking orders for digital and retail copies of the game, after removing the option to buy it yesterday. The product page for both versions of the game now includes a warning regarding the server issues: "Many customers are having issues connecting to the "SimCity" servers. EA is actively working to resolve these issues, but at this time we do not know when the issue will be fixed." The note also directs customers to EA's "SimCity" support page.
UPDATE 1: More than 40,000 people have signed a petition requesting that EA remove the forseeable source of "SimCity's" technical woes, the game's mandatory DRM and online features, from this and all future games:
"When I, And millions of other people, buy a game that has a single-player experience," writes petition creator Ryan Lashley. "We expect it to work regardless of our connectivity to the internet, or quality of our connection. EA has made this impossible, so many people with an unstable connection will not even be able to play the game in the first place, let alone anyone who wants to play on the go/with no internet connection."
UPDATE 2: In light of increasing public outrage, EA has shut down their online marketing campaign for "SimCity."
According to Polygon, an email sent to EA's Origin Linkshare affiliates asked advertisers to remove any promotional copy or links from their websites: "We are requesting that you please stop actively promoting the game... We will notify you as soon as the "SimCity" marketing campaigns have been resumed."
UPDATE 3: In an attempt to mollify the internet, EA will be offering "SimCity" players a free game on March 18 'from the EA portfolio.' Hopefully it's more 'Road Rash' and less 'Madden 06.'
