This version of Sim City requires you to be connected to EA’s servers, and your game is saved to the cloud. It appears that EA may have underestimated the hardware requirements to support online gaming as there have been widespread complaints on the internet about game server availability and reliability. Sim City’s Twitter feed is updating gamers on updates to the network, and here is a statement posted earlier today on the Sim City blog:
You, the fans, are important to us. It’s why we got into games and it’s because of you that we here at Maxis were able to complete our dream of making another SimCity. This has been an exciting week for us, but as you know there have been some bumps along the way. We want to shed light on one of the most significant issues that we are facing right now, as well as the steps we’re taking to resolve them so that we can provide you with an enjoyable experience.
Server capacity is our biggest obstacle. We launched in North America on Tuesday and our servers filled up within a matter of hours. What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn’t want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join. We added more servers to accommodate the launch in Australia and Japan, and then more yesterday to accommodate the launch in Europe. As of right now, we are adding even more servers which will be going live over the next three days. And, our plan is to continue to bring more servers online until we have enough to meet the demand, increase player capacity and let more people through the gates and into the game.
Earlier today, we released a patch that temporarily cut off some features including leaderboards, achievements and Cheetah Speed to reduce data stress on the servers and effectively free up space so that we can let more people into the game. These are great features that we’re proud of and we’ll turn them back on soon, but our number one priority is to bring stability to our servers. This update also resolved some of the bugs and issues that have been frustrating players. You can read all about it at http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/9341807.page
We will be posting regularly to keep you up to speed on developments, so please check back for updates. We are committed to doing everything we can to deliver a stable and enjoyable experience and we thank you for your continued patience and support.
Keep an eye on the Sim City blog, and monitor their Twitter feed @SimCity to stay abreast of this developing situation, and feel a little sorry for Andrew, who is having all sorts of issues playing this game in the UK!
In the meantime, check out these screenshots; the graphics look amazing:
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