Update: SimCity Will Not Require An Always On Connection

Yesterday we reported that SimCity would require a constant internet connection to play the game. Many of you weren’t happy with this idea.

Now EA has confirmed to GameSpy that you won’t need a constant internet connection to the EA servers to play. However, you will still have to register an Origin account and be logged in to start SimCity. If the connection drops after signing in, the game will not pause or close.

So, the facts are that you will not be able to access SimCity without an Origin account & an internet connection. When you do start playing you cannot be kicked from the game for loss of connection.

Source: GameSpy

20 Comments

  1. Good, don’t mind Origin, At least it isn’t constant connection.

    • I didnt until I realised they are allowed to look at anything on my HDD’s no thank you.

      • What does that mean though

        Perhaps it’s a check to see home much free space there is, therefore while you may seem like you’re giving too much permission away, you’re not really. Most stuff would have scary ‘permissions’ if they had to detail them.

  2. A lot better. Still a stupid idea though.

  3. Something tells me after seeing the internet uproar they changed tack a little. Very good news.

    • Only if they did this with ME3 saw the internet uproar with that awful ending. I just finished the game last night could not believe that ending, I see why people are moaning.

  4. It’s a step in the right direction but it’s still not cool, is it?
    I mean, this is still stupid. Just not quite as stupid as requiring a constant connection. So, er… well done on only being a bit stupid, dudes!

    • Most Steam games require it now, for example my beloved Total War and Dawn of War games need activating online on Steam before I can play them offline. I don’t mind that too much, but a constant net connection would be very annoying.

      • isn’t that just a one-time activation though? Not every time you start the game?
        Man, it’s come a long way since the days they made you turn to a certain page in the manual and type in the code word!

      • Fair enough if you’re on dial-up but since most gamers will have always on broadband where’s the problem?

      • Broadband is not entirely foolproof & does fall over every now & again (some more than others). When itwas rumoured that it required a constant connection, that meant that if your net fell over, you could no longer play your singleplayer game.

        As mentioned, this is better but not fantastic, as you still require that initial connection to play your game.

      • And most normal people would just find something else to do if that happens… like when the PSN was down! We all survived that didn’t we and that lasted weeks, not like the hours or days that at worse an internet connection may be down!

      • No, but the point is when this relates to singleplayer games, which really shouldn’t require any kind of online handshake at all. You could still play your singleplayer games in the Sony downtime, couldn’t you?

        (Well, apart from final fight which apparently has a similar DRM)

        That’s obviously besides the fact that no-one should really be able to stop you from doing what you want to do when you want to do it. Unless its illegal of course. In which case, very naughty.

        As others have suggested, if you want to play a game whilst travelling etc, you really shouldn’t require an online activation to do so.

  5. This isn’t much better imo.

  6. Great, so I have to start it on my laptop, put it on sleep mode with the game running, then resume when I’m on the train and don’t shut it down at all? Wonderful…

    It’s an improvement but marginal. Constant internet connection or internet on startup, about the same for me, my Internet is fairly stable so I’m not that concerned about it going down. This means I can’t play it on my laptop when I’m on the train for a few hours, like I do with Civilisation and others. Or use it at my parents house, as they don’t have internet (no need for it, no computer etc so why bother?). Don’t fancy using my phones personal hotspot for loading this up, as there will inevitably be a crapload of data going up and down when you open it, patches etc.

  7. This is no better. You wont be able to play on flughts or anything like that. I love playing football manager on the plane/long drive :(

    • that would be bad for any travelers.

  8. And this is supposed to be better? I don’t know.

  9. If I may interject with my considered and hopefully eloquent opinion: What a crock!

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