EA makes it clear SimCity servers are just for social features, still rejects offline mode

Over the past week there has been mounting evidence that the newly released SimCity doesn’t actually need a server connection for the core game to work. It’s only when you add in the social features, multiplayer aspects, and forced cloud saves that an Internet connection becomes mandatory.

Seeing videos of people playing the game offline, at first for 20 minutes and then indefinitely, has seen EA and Maxis beset by questions of “why isn’t there an offline mode?” Following an admittedly horrible launch with limited access to the game and long wait times to connect to play, an offline mode would make a lot of sense, but EA is continuing to reject it.

The rejection is a confusing one, though. Lucy Bradshaw, general manager for the Maxis Label at EA, has posted on the EA blog the reasons why SimCity needs to be an always-connected game. Here’s a summary of those reasons:

• State of each region gets constantly updated for all players
• Players need to draw on resources of other player’s cities to “reach the peak of each specialization”
• The Great Works feature relies on tracking player contributions
• All social world features require players be online
• Gifts are all handled online
• The Global Market uses a dynamic supply and demand model
• Connection ensures players visiting another server see the most up-to-date visuals
• Saves checked for legitimacy in the cloud

There is nothing in the list that looks to be a core game feature, and it’s important to note it’s up to the player to select whether they want to play with connected cities or not. Solo play sees the player manage their own city without outside influences.

EA is basically arguing that the social aspects are a core part of their “vision” for the game, and therefore SimCity must be an always-connected game. So even if you intend on ignoring all social features, EA still wants you connected. There is no mention of the connection also acting as an anti-piracy measure, but it does ensure checks are done to discover cheats or hacks.

It has become abundantly clear from players, EA’s communications with gamers, and even a Maxis developer, that SimCity does not require an Internet connection in order to function as a game. It does need one to function as a social game, of which I’d guess most players aren’t really bothered about.

EA is not going to change its mind and implement an offline mode as far as I can tell. They’ve have a lot of negative feedback and bad press and nothing has changed, and with the server issues slowly being sorted out there’s no reason to think EA will have a rethink. So the next big test will come in a year, maybe two, when the game is less popular and EA no longer wants to pay for the serversSimCity requires. At that point, will the game become unplayable, or will we finally get an offline mode?