Maxis: Have a free EA game for your SimCity trouble

SimCity's launch didn't quite go as expected. To keep it simple, server issues plagued the release of the game, preventing players from actually playing the game — thanks to the game's always-on internet requirement.

Truth be told, Maxis has developed a pretty damn good game. And it's unfortunate that it got off to such a rough start. To make it up to players, EA, the publisher of SimCity, is offering a free downloadable PC game from its portfolio.

Maxis General Manager Lucy Bradshaw took the EA blog to explain what went wrong with the launch of SimCity, apologize for the issues, and offer a free game.

"The short answer is: a lot more people logged on than we expected.  More people played and played in ways we never saw in the beta," Bradshaw said of what went wrong.

"OK, we agree, that was dumb," she admitted, "but we are committed to fixing it.  In the last 48 hours we increased server capacity by 120 percent.  It’s working – the number of people who have gotten in and built cities has improved dramatically.  The number of disrupted experiences has dropped by roughly 80 percent."

"The good news is that SimCity is a solid hit in all major markets.  The consensus among critics and players is that this is fundamentally a great game.  But this SimCity is made to be played online, and if you can’t get a stable connection, you’re NOT having a good experience. So we’re not going to rest until we’ve fixed the remaining server issues."

Bradshaw then offered a free PC download game from the EA portfolio to "get us back in your good graces." On March 18, if you have activated SimCity, you will receive an email explaining how to redeem your free game. The post didn't mention if every EA game will be available, or only certain ones.

"I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy.  But we feel bad about what happened.  We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent," she concluded. "SimCity is a GREAT game and the people who made it are incredibly proud.  Hang in there – we’ll be providing more updates throughout the weekend."

 I'll admit, I was extremely frustrated this week, but now that things are beginning to settle down I'm actually enjoying the game. To be honest, I'm actually a little surprised we're even getting a free game out of this. Will the gift of a free game win back over the hearts of many outraged at EA?