The Glade 4.0

I'm not too upset. I am sure things will get ironed out. EA is just notoriously bad at forcing products out the door before they're fully cooked.

So we'll just put you down on the "part of the problem" side of the fence, yes?

Me? You sure about that?

Facism is not a school of thought, it is a racial slur.

Facism is not a school of thought, it is a racial slur.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/SimCity-Hack-Lets-Users-Destroy-Anyone-Online-City-Thanks-Always-DRM-53685.html

It’s now been almost two weeks since Electronic Arts launched its newest, always-online SimCity game. Since that debut, EA has apologized for slow servers and said an offline mode wasn’t part of its vision, further inflaming customer ire. And now it’s time for another chapter in this unending saga of fails: We’re hearing from readers as well as reports online that any users who’ve contacted Amazon for any reason regarding SimCity are getting kicked out of the game.This phenomenon has been chronicled on Reddit as well as in gaming forums, and each story sounds a lot like what happened to Consumerist reader Jeff. He writes in that he had ordered the digital version of the game from Amazon, and decided to play it recently. But when he tried to play, he was told that he had an invalid key and that the game code had already been used. He figured maybe it was a glitch as he’d had to update the game, and went to sleep thinking such. The next morning it was the same story — SimCity wasn’t going to work for him. So he went to Amazon first, where he had purchased the game.


Amazon was more than happy to provide me with a new product key. I put the key in, SimCity re-appeared in my Origin game library. All is good, right? Wrong.

After yet another forced update, the game once again told me that the key is no good, that it had already been used. At this point, Amazon offered to refund me, which I declined because I want the game, I enjoy playing it, and I was one of the few that was patient enough to sit through the server issues, AND I’m one of the few that realize life is too short to worry about the always-on feature (although, I could totally live without it, but that’s an argument for another day).

So now, I contacted EA Origin through chat, and they said I need to call them. The problem is – I’m deaf, and a phone call is the only way to do this. EA Origin chat guy suggested I find someone to call on my behalf. What a jerk.

I used the relay (a service for the deaf where the middle-man relays the message in typed format). After an hour on hold, I was hung up on before I could answer. So here I am, sitting, waiting for someone to respond while being on hold for a second time. I realize that EA is backed up in the CR department due to the various gaming issues people might have. But this is ridiculous.
So I looked into the issue, and guess what? It’s happening across the board. Anyone who even remotely contacted Amazon about the game got their accounts cancelled – by EA. EA blames Amazon. EA claims that I (along with possibly thousands other users according to a thread) have been issued a chargeback. Except the thing is – I never asked for a refund, nor was I given one either. I had this confirmed by Amazon, which is why they were more than happy to provide me a new product key.


Jeff says he was finally able to use the relay to talk to EA, and found out that indeed, he’d been banned from the game because Amazon had instituted a chargeback. Except, it didn’t, because he never asked for a refund or chargeback of any kind. He adds that Amazon was nice enough to give him a $40 credit for the problems it hadn’t caused, while EA simply gave him a 15% discount off his next Origin purchase and blamed Amazon for his troubles. According to the post on Reddit, an Amazon CSR said EA is “aware of the issue” and will be busy re-enabling user accounts. Further proof that the word refund is a dirty word to EA these days? If you needed evidence, that is: EA is reportedly replacing its own support number with asterisks in the SimCity forum, just because players don’t already have enough hoops to jump through and hey, why not make it even more difficult to log complaints?

Now’s a great time to remind y’all that EA, winner of the Worst Company In America 2012, is up for a repeat on that title very soon. Something to think about.

For Our Patient and Amazing Mayors - A Free PC Download From Origin

Our SimCity Mayors are incredibly important to the team at Maxis. We sincerely apologize for the difficulties at launch and hope to make it up to you with a free PC game download from Origin.

Starting today, every player that has activated their copy of SimCity will receive an email that will give directions on how to redeem this offer, and you can also find more information on our FAQ. We’ll be opening up the redemption portal country-by-country so some of you may see it a little sooner than others. The portal will be live worldwide for everyone to select their game by March 22. We don’t want any of you to miss out on your free game, so please note that you must register your copy of SimCity before March 25, 2013 at 11:59 PM PDT and you must claim your free game by March 30, 2013 at 11:59PM PDT.

At Maxis, our studio values dictate that we innovate and create something that is quirky, complex and challenging. Sometimes this bites us in the butt, but our servers are green and we’re seeing record numbers of players all online and having a great time.

Here is the list of games that you will be able to choose from once you are able to redeem. It’s a great list of games across the whole EA portfolio, so pick one and add it to your Origin library on us!

Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)
Bejeweled 3
Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)
Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)
Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition)
Need For Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition)
Plants vs. Zombies
SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

We’re getting great feedback from our fans and know that many of you are having fun and exploring this whole new expression of SimCity. We’re humbled by your patience and passion for the game. Thanks for building something very special with us, together.

And now please enjoy a disclaimer from our head legal Llama…

*THIS OFFER DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CREDIT, CHARGE, DEBIT OR GIFT CARD. OFFER EXPIRES MARCH 25, 2013 AT 11:59PM PDT. VALID FOR NEW PURCHASES OF SIMCITY (“PRODUCT”) THAT ARE REGISTERED TO YOUR ORIGIN ACCOUNT BY MARCH 25, 2013 AT 11:59PM PDT. FREE PC DIGITAL DOWNLOAD GAMES NOT DOWNLOADED FROM ORIGIN.COM BY MARCH 30, 2013 AT 11:59PM PDT ARE FORFEIT. ELIGIBLE GAMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VALID WHEREVER PRODUCT IS SOLD. LIMIT ONE OFFER PER PERSON. CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER, GIFT CARD, REBATE OR OTHER DISCOUNT COUPONS. OFFER MAY NOT BE SUBSTITUTED, EXCHANGED, SOLD OR REDEEMED FOR CASH OR OTHER GOODS OR SERVICES. RETAILERS, DISTRIBUTORS AND EMPLOYEES OF ELECTRONIC ARTS INC. AND THEIR AGENCIES/AFFILIATES ARE NOT ELIGIBLE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED, TAXED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. SEE APPLICABLE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND DISCLOSURES ON http://WWW.EA.COM.

*USERS WHO ARE BENEATH THE MINIMUM AGE REQUIRED TO ACCESS INTERACTIVE ONLINE SERVICES WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE GRANTED A COPY OF SIMCITY 4: DELUXE EDITION AND BEJEWELED 3 INSTEAD. THESE GAMES WILL BE ADDED DIRECTLY TO YOUR MY GAMES LIBRARY OVER THE COMING DAYS.

Call me cynical, but that seems like a ploy to head off a class-action, because that's all the players would be likely to get out of one, anyway.

I've never played mass effect. How lost would I be if I picked 3

Facism is not a school of thought, it is a racial slur.

Mass Effect 3, The Old Republic, and SimCity have all had disastrous loss issues and profit issues. Regardless of the current state of any of those games, cashing in your free-game and continuing to support the MMO or playing through Origin isn't going to force them to deliver better products.

Yeah, I'd definitely play through all 3, they really do build on the characters throughout the series.

Looks like you can get 1 and 2 on steam for 19.99 apiece, to go with your free 3. I'm looking forward to going back and playing through the trilogy again in a year or two.